Post/Author/DateTime	Post
#1 jkohlhepp Oct 08, 2009 15:23:02	Hello, I have completed a beta version an iPhone-compatable website for searching the D&D Insider Compendium.  Right now it only supports searching monsters, but if there is enough interest and usage of the tool I will most likely expand it to include other things that can be searched using the D&D Insider Compendium API.  It is designed for use on the iPhone but it might look okay on other smartphones, and does work in Firefox and Safari on desktop computers as well. Here is a link to the tool.  Please check it out and let me know what you think, especially if you are an iPhone user. vsxp.com/iphonecomp/ I implemented this tool using the published API for the D&D Insider Compendium.  Some information about the API can be found at these links: gamingincode.com/?p=76 gamingincode.com/?p=108 (Note that this article basically points to another articles on the D&D Insider site which has been unavailable for over a week; they might have intentionally taken the article down or it might be an oversight - I'm not sure). www.encounteraday.com/2009/06/17/exclusi... This tool could definitely use some usability improvements, but it is functional, and I'm hoping to get some feedback on how useful it is, and what features would make it more useful.  Please post feedback / comments / questions here and I will respond. Thanks, ~ Justin
#2 P1NBACK Oct 08, 2009 16:35:56	I must say this is pretty awesome. The current Compendium website does kind of suck when using it on the iPhone. I'd say there is plenty of interest in this if you could code the rest of the stuff from the Compendium.
#3 Quintarius Oct 09, 2009 4:40:17	Works flawlessly on Android I would put the "Name Only" checkbox under the "Name" textbox (on my phone the checkbox is under name and the name only tag is besides the textbox) Put the other boxes in a table so they look nicer. The rest should stay as it is.
#4 aliothefool Oct 11, 2009 21:09:57	This worked on my BlackBerry Storm the other day, but right now I'm getting a 500 error saying "Requested value 'Solo' was not found." I searched for Solo under Main role, with the Group role set to Default. Keyword Aberrant. All Sources. Everything else blank. Switching the Group and Main roles gives results though. Very very cool app. I'd definitely put in a vote for all Compendium entries, but I'm not the one doing all the work. Maybe WotC would purchase it from you? This is just the kind of thing they should make available to all subscribers. Mobile is the way of the coming near-future.
#5 jkohlhepp Oct 11, 2009 21:37:18	Hmm I will look into that 500 crash.  Thanks for the info.  And yeah I waited for like 6 months to see if they would make their website compatible with iPhone.  But I got sick of waiting. :-)  If they want to purchase it they are more than welcome to contact me...
#6 jkohlhepp Oct 20, 2009 7:09:11	I have fixed that 500 error that you discovered, Alio.  Thanks for finding it.
#7 Phobos Oct 20, 2009 7:14:54	Looks good. In my iPhone I noticed one small visual issue. When I clicked on the monsters and their stat cards came up, the white text (on green top border) was shifted down.  I could see only 1 of 2 lines. Regardless, it looks great, tagging this thread to keep watch.
#8 jkohlhepp Oct 20, 2009 7:21:28	Thanks for the comments Phobos.  Unfortunately, when I link to the monster's stat cards, you are actually viewing a page on WotC's website; I have no control over it.  I have been working on a way to load the stat block into my own page but so far no luck.
#9 teknohippy Oct 22, 2009 2:11:10	I've started working on some code to do silimar stuff. Way back in march when I spotted the .asmx call in Fiddler.  Thinking perhpas I shouldn't be using the webservice I'd found. Not feeling I could go live with anything I never pursued it any further. I didn't know about those API articles at the time! I cracked getting hold of the actual item pages, but only by having to ask for a username and password, and then having my code make a web request, store the authentication cookie, and then usethat cookie in any further requests. Not something I can use live, WotC wouldn't be pleased with me having to ask for usernames and passwords, and rightly so. I couldn't also expect users to be happy to do so. Not as those usernames and passwords have to be used by my code. Fine if it was a new page or iframe
#10 jkohlhepp Oct 27, 2009 5:54:23	I have made some look & feel improvements to the tool, and I have completed the Items search. Also, the site URL has changed so if you have bookmarked please change them to the following: vsxp.com/scryer Thanks, ~ Justin
#11 aliothefool Oct 28, 2009 5:25:46	Interestingly, the app no longer works on my Blackberry. No matter what I put in the filters (or even if I leave them at their default values) I get no results. I even went to the DDi site on my phone and logged in (checking off "Remember Me") and still no results.
#12 jkohlhepp Oct 28, 2009 6:31:19	Yes, that was a small oversight on my part, where searches weren't working unless you entered something in the Name field.  It should be fixed now.  Give it another try on the Blackberry if you get a chance. Thanks, ~ Justin
#13 aliothefool Oct 29, 2009 5:43:48	Yup! All fixed. Great work.