LiveCode 5.5 Released
Have you downloaded your copy yet?

By Heather Nagey

We're thrilled to announce the arrival of LiveCode 5.5, a great leap forward for all LiveCode users. This version brings you the all new field, with it's exciting new text handling abilities and Unicode improvements, and no less than 15 new features on Android, and 8 for iOS, largely bringing these two platforms into line with each other. We're so pleased with 5.5, we've made a 60 second video for you to enjoy too.

To help you get to grips with the new features, we've created a series of new lessons. Take a look at how to style paragraphs, using the "flagged" property, displaying a table, or hierarchical list support.

For mobile there is a lesson on using custom URL schemes, and you can check out local notifications in this newsletter.

For a detailed discussion of the new Field features, please see this newsletter article.

Text Messaging for iOS and Android
Text messaging has been a much requested feature we've now added for you. Here's how it works:

Use the command mobileComposeTextMessage to launch the default text messaging app.

mobileComposeTextMessage recipients, [body]

The recipients is a comma separated list of phone numbers you want the message to be sent to. The optional body is the content of the message you wish to be sent. Note that once you've called the mobileComposeTextMessage command you have no more control over what the user does with the message - they are free to modify it and the addresses as they see fit.

Upon completion of a compose request, the result is set to one of the following:

• sent - the text was sent successfully
  
• cancel - the text was not sent, and the user elected not to save it for later
  
• failed - the text could not be sent
  
• false - the device does not have text messaging functionality

You can determine if the device has the text messaging client configured using the function
mobileCanComposeTextMessage(). This returns true if the client is configured.

Mobile Features Added
New features on both iOS and Android include:

• Rotation sensor
  
• Local notifications
  
• Custom URL schemes
  
• Text messaging
  
• Vibration
  
• Busy indicators

Features new to Android that iOS already supports include:

• Native browser control
  
• Modal pick wheel support
  
• Date picker support
  
• GPS
  
• Compass
  
• Multi-channel sound
  
• Beep
  
• Custom fonts
  
• Idle Timer configuration
  
• Localisation calls

For more information about LiveCode 5.5, please visit this webpage.

So how do you get your hands on this new release? If you have a Complete license, have purchased in the last three months, or have an old style "legacy" update pack, you can just log in and download LiveCode 5.5 from your account. If you've got an older license, just log in and click on any of the "update addon" buttons next to your platforms to get your upgrade. Remember, if you buy an upgrade or a new license before midnight next Tuesday you can get a free copy of MobGUI too (use coupon code MOBGUIFREE).

LiveCode 5.5 is a significant advance, coders everywhere can now spend less time formatting text and balancing code between platforms, and more time creating fun, exciting, rich featured and cross platform apps!

Important: The file format in this release has changed to allow us to better support the new field and unicode features. This means that if you wish to retain compatiblity with older versions of LiveCode, you must save your projects by choosing "Save As... legacy format" in the File/save menu.

About the Author Heather Nagey is Customer Services Manager for RunRev Ltd.