MobileSheetsPro v1.7.2 was just submitted to the various app stores and it contains a frequently requested feature: the ability to have one tablet load songs and turn pages on other tablets. You will now find a new option under the overflow menu on the library screen: Connect Devices. Upon choosing this option, you will be presented with a dialog where you can choose which type of connection you want to use. Both wifi and bluetooth are supported, and both have slightly different workflows.
With wifi, all tablets must be connected to the same access point, and that access point must allow multicast traffic. One tablet can create a named group, other tablets can join that group, and then the master tablet can load songs, setlists and turn pages on the others. You can control both whether the master will load songs/setlists and turn pages, as well as whether you will allow the master to load songs/setlists and turn pages on your device. This provides a little flexibility depending upon the needs of the group.
With bluetooth, you must allow the tablet to access your location (this is a requirement for discovering bluetooth devices), and then enable bluetooth if needed. When a group is created, you must allow the device to be discoverable. The device will only be made discoverable for two minutes in order not to consume power needlessly. During that two minutes, other tablets will be able to detect the master tablet and join its group. When searching for groups to join, the scan will only last 12 seconds. You can toggle the scan back on if needed, and you can also make the master discoverable again if needed.
In order to support the new features, several new permissions were added. This means that the update will not be automatically downloaded through Google Play. Users will have to go Google Play and authorize the new permissions when they update the app. The full list of changes in the update can be found below:
MobileSheetsPro v1.7.2
I'm now going to work on adding all of these changes to the Windows side so that it will be possible to connect devices on both versions.
Mike
With wifi, all tablets must be connected to the same access point, and that access point must allow multicast traffic. One tablet can create a named group, other tablets can join that group, and then the master tablet can load songs, setlists and turn pages on the others. You can control both whether the master will load songs/setlists and turn pages, as well as whether you will allow the master to load songs/setlists and turn pages on your device. This provides a little flexibility depending upon the needs of the group.
With bluetooth, you must allow the tablet to access your location (this is a requirement for discovering bluetooth devices), and then enable bluetooth if needed. When a group is created, you must allow the device to be discoverable. The device will only be made discoverable for two minutes in order not to consume power needlessly. During that two minutes, other tablets will be able to detect the master tablet and join its group. When searching for groups to join, the scan will only last 12 seconds. You can toggle the scan back on if needed, and you can also make the master discoverable again if needed.
In order to support the new features, several new permissions were added. This means that the update will not be automatically downloaded through Google Play. Users will have to go Google Play and authorize the new permissions when they update the app. The full list of changes in the update can be found below:
MobileSheetsPro v1.7.2
- Added a new "Connect Devices" feature that lets one device load songs and turn pages on other connected devices
- Added additional required permissions for the new connect devices feature
- Fixed issue where automatic scrolling would stop after the first scroll on the last page of a song
- Avoid duplicate songs now works when "Let MobileSheets Manage My Files" is disabled
- Fixed issue where reordering songs in a loaded setlist didn't take effect until reloading the setlist
- The MIDI tab of the song editor can now be scrolled on smaller devices
- Added back the New button to the group selection dialog
- Added new button on the textbox annotation window to insert symbols as text (♯, ♭, ♩, ♪, ♫, ♬)
- Fixed display of new group input control on some devices
- Fixed various reported crashes
I'm now going to work on adding all of these changes to the Windows side so that it will be possible to connect devices on both versions.
Mike