Draftbit updates draftbit.com

We've added two new features to make your Draftbit publications better.

First, published apps now support offline installation with service workers! This additional PWA support provides a more integrated offline experience on iOS, Android, and desktop (via Chromium Browsers like Google Chrome, Microsoft Edge, and Brave).

As part of this update, we also added support for background updates. If you are using or developing the app in a browser or desktop installation, you will see a small notification when the new version of the app is ready to be installed:

On mobile, any new version will be downloaded in the background the next time you use the app, and installed and available once you close and reopen the app:

Second, when you view a published app on a non-mobile screen, your (usable) app will be wrapped in a phone frame, along with a name, description, and social links to help spread the word about what you've made!

Don't worry! You'll have the same experience as before when viewing the app on mobile screens.

When users double click on components in the builder, the data options for the selected component appear as a tooltip directly above the component (or below, depending on the component's location on the screen).

Using this tooltip users can now edit data properties directly in the screen preview without needing to go to the properties panel.

We've added the ability to set a custom border radius on components. You'll now see a third option called "Custom". Selecting that will show you an input slider that goes all the way up to 64.

If you're looking to use a complete circle, make sure to check out the "Circle" and "Circle Image" components.

Some APIs return data nested as the first item in an array. We've added the ability to map fields nested in arrays to components within Draftbit. Airtable is one API that uses this pattern. Now, "Link to another record" and "Lookup" Airtable fields work within Draftbit!

When using record linking in Airtable, the id of another table can now be used in a Fetch response. Those ids can be passed as navigation params, which then in turn can be used as variables into subsequent Fetch requests on other screens. This is an important step in creating apps with "list" screens that navigate to "detail" screens.

With Airtable lookup fields, data from linked records can be displayed and fetched in a single Airtable table and request, simplifying the Rest API setup required within Draftbit.

We've made it easier for you to edit both text and images. You'll now have different, context-specific dropdowns for static and data-driven fields.

Text components now have a large text area when applying static fields and a dropdown for when you have Fetch or Firebase data connected.

With Image, you'll now have the ability to set both local and remote url's, too!

If you're done building your app and are now ready to publish it in the App Store or Google Play — congratulations — we can help. Under the Publish button in then builder, you'll now see a link asking you if you're “Ready for the App Stores?”

This feature is still in beta. If you're okay being a beta tester, go ahead, click the link, answer a few questions, and we'll get back to you with next steps.

When screens and components are deleted in Draftbit, historically, those actions have been permanent. Losing work unintentionally can be very frustrating, so we sought a way to allow recovering deleted screens and components.

This feature introduces a few things. First, we now have a new section in the screens and components lists showing recently deleted items. The items can be restored with as little as a button click.

We also sought to streamline our users workflow further by introducing a variety of keyboard shortcuts. CTRL+Z is now a shortcut for undoing component deletion or any other component tree-related actions — component adds, deletes, and movements. Arrow keys can now be used to navigate around the tree, and components can be copied and pasted with CTRL+C and CTRL+V.

Finally, we tackled overall performance of the tree itself. Actions such as deleting components should now feel significantly faster, leading to a smoother overall experience.

Double click any screen or component to rename it inline!

A couple of weeks ago we announced Double Click to Edit a text component in the builder. We wanted you to stay in the flow and focus on your content. For the same reasons, we are releasing Double Click to Rename today. If you want to change the name of a screen or a component, just double click on it. No need to go all the way to the configs panel anymore.

We're introducing several new components that make building your screens easier and faster. They're meant to do one thing very well (and hopefully named this way!)

These new components come with a simplified properties panel that gets rid of any advanced settings and focuses on the most important part. Check out the full documentation here.

• Row: Places your content in a horizontal row and allows you to control how they're distributed along the x-axis.
• Stack: Places all your content vertically and allows you to set how they're distributed along the y-axis. The stack is only as tall as the content inside.
• Center: Places all your content in the absolute center, no matter what width and height you set.
• Square & Circle: These work just like Center, except they're fixed to always be a perfect square or round circle.

Here's a video that will explain how to use simple components 👇

Now you can double click on text components to edit the text quickly!

When you're creating an app visually, shortcuts are essential to preserving your momentum. At Draftbit, we always look for places where we can make your building experience faster. For example, you can now double click any Text component to edit it right away.