Support Thread for Simple Walk

Jim,

I do have to say that your latest improvements to both Simple Walk and Hike have been very good. As a long time hike user I do like the simplicity of Simple Walk to be great. During the day the first screen is very easy and simple. I did my first walk tonight with 0.16, I have to say I really like the new page for the elapsed time and distance in a larger font. It is much easier to see at night with my aging eyes. :D At night I find most of the data on the first screen hard to read in the dark, even with the back light on.

This give me an idea. Would it be possible to give us the option to choose the data shown in these two fields? I am thinking about the following bits of info would nice to be easier to see when walking at night. You may be able to think of a few more fields.

• Elapsed Time
  
• Distance
  
• Activity Calories
  
• Activity Step Total
  
• Daily Step Total
  
• Heart Rate
  

If memory space permits, and you could make the screen optional, then maybe you could have the option for two screens with the ability to show two fields in larger font. I have a FR230, so I know memory is at a premium compared to newer watches.

Regardless of what you decide to do with this suggestion, Simple Walk has become my primary app on my watch. Thanks for offering your time to write the app and share it with all of us.

Jim,

• Elapsed Time
  
• Distance
  
• Activity Calories
  
• Activity Step Total
  
• Daily Step Total
  
• Heart Rate
  

Everything on your list is shown/formated in Simple Walk (if supported by the device), so what I might do is allow the user to select which two the user wants to see "large". While I could add another screen or two, in this app, I want to stay with a smaller number of screens than Hike/Hike2 to keep it "Simple". There's also the consideration that with Simple Walk, I support quite a few different devices, and for example, calories and steps aren't available on some of the hand-helds, and heart rate only when there's a HRM (strap or built in). So, in some cases, the only two that are available are Elapsed Time and distance..

If memory space permits, and you could make the screen optional, then maybe you could have the option for two screens with the ability to show two fields in larger font. I have a FR230, so I know memory is at a premium compared to newer watches.

Memory wise, this app does have a bit of smarts built in. Based on the memory on the device, I adjust the number of "spots" that are saved for the chart/route screen, saved laps marks, and floors (no memory is used for maring floors on devices that don't support floors for example). *

"out of the box", as I said, I want to keep a smaller number of screens, and if I add new screens that are "off" by default, some users may never know they are there. (It's a bit of a catch 22!), and as I said, in come cases, there may not be more than two things that can be displayed "large" to begin with. I need to think about the way I'd want to handle this.

Regardless of what you decide to do with this suggestion, Simple Walk has become my primary app on my watch. Thanks for offering your time to write the app and share it with all of us.

Thanks! From my apps you can kind of tell I'm not a runner - I'm a walker and hiker. I not only write the apps, I use them myself most days! :)

* with hike/hike2 they stated the same, but with Hike2 for devices with more memory, I was able to add a number of things that I couldn't do on the older watches - such as the HW Compass, graphs, saved waypoints, etc, which is why there are the two versions..

so what I might do is allow the user to select which two the user wants to see "large".

Jim,
I would be completely fine with this possible option. You could have the default options be the elapsed time and distance.

Like you I also am not a runner. I "run", more like jog, about 1-2 times per month, but I have used Hike about 12-15 times per month until I you released simple walk. Now simple walk is the primary app I use. During the day I primarily use the first screen and can see it fine during day light. I just found that the key data I was looking at (daily step count and elapsed time) were too small to see at night. Once I saw the large screen, I like it for viewing data at night, which lead to my suggestion.

Thank you for considering my suggestion. Having dabbled with application development in the past, I know every time you add flexibility, you end up adding a bunch of additional error checking to make sure the users can not break it. So I can appreciate your desire to keep it "Simple".

SABEARD -
Something else you might want to check out is the colors you use for the screens. In Hike and Hike2, I had two options - white background or black background (in Hike2, you can change this on the watch - that "more memory to do things").

In Simple Walk, it's a bit more flexible (like a watch face - you can set specific colors for things like the background, time, steps, etc).

I've found in low light, having a white background, and the text black or dark blue, it seems to be easier to read, and it looks fine during the day too.

Jim,

I will give that a try. I kept it "simple" a stuck to the default colors. :)

I will try a the following:
White background
Black text
Dark Blue time
Dark Red warning

It appears to look good during the day. I will let you know how it looks at night.

SABEARD

That's actually close to what I use for color settings on my day-to-day watch. (there are some days I head out before sunrise)

Now the good news and bad news.... The good news is that I'm testing a new version where the user can define what's in the two "big fields". That bad news is I didn't use your list of 6. I'm up to 10 :) (I added speed, pace, and a couple more).

Version 0.16a

On the screen with the two large font items, you can now configure what you see. For both field you can select (using app-settings):

• Elapsed Time (time since you started)
  
• Timer Time (time you were recording - the timer stops when recording paused)
  
• Distance
  
• Activity Calories
  
• Daily Calories
  
• Activity Steps
  
• Daily Steps
  
• Heart Rate
  
• Pace
  
• Speed
  

NOTE: not all the data is available on all devices. For example, the Edge devices don't do "Step" tracking, so if you select Steps on an Edge, the value will only be "--". If you see "--" for a field, it means the data isn't available.

Jim,

Wow, that was fast. I don't know how you have time to walk or work, as fast as you turn out requested tweaks to your apps. ;)

That bad news is I didn't use your list of 6. I'm up to 10

I figured you could identify a few more, which is why I intended the list to be a starting point.

I will install .16a today and give it a try. Great job. I look froward to trying it out.

I finished the install and I like the change. Keep up the great job.

Hi is it possible to get an auto pause on this app??

Sorry, I probably won't be adding auto-pause.

When you manually pause and are on the menu (resume/save/discard), you can hit the back button, and go back the the app's screens. The "shoes" on the main screen stop moving and change to the "warn" color, and there's an indication of the recording being pause on the other screens too. Pressing the "start" button again brings back the menu, and you can resume.