Finally viewed my app in the Eclipse simulator... My almost perfect looking app in xCode is now mutilated in Eclipse! Unfortunately every single screen has issues. -Splash page doesn't work -The set background image for every page is not being used instead the splash image is used -The home page is not viewable all that is seen is the splash image -The tabs do not have the custom color I set -The simple menu screen has horrible black background and turns an ugly bright orange when selected. I could go on and on!! I made a point of selecting plugins that were for both iOS and Android in hopes to minimize fixes between the two. The weirdest thing I'm noticing is that after going through all the folders in the project the only image/docs that I found that I used in designing my app is my project icon. Yet the splash image is showing up in the simulator but I can not find it anywhere in the project folders! I dont even see a plugin folder in the project folders. Suggestions anyone on the most efficient way to fix all this? I think I need to find some tutorials as well. It's so frustrating, I feel like I'm having to recreate the app all over again for Android :-(

Honestly, The best way is to do each separate. I only have one published that is the same it is as basic as you can get. The rest i do is separate.

I agree with @jvalley. I have a couple apps that I've managed to do both platforms from a single control panel, but I kept them pretty simple. It can be done, but because Android displays things differently than iOS, there's no way to make it look exactly the same. Images should go into the res > drawable folder. If you have images stored in File Manager for your app, they don't come with the source download. That's just a place to store stuff for your app. You'll need to copy them from your Xcode project into your Eclipse project. And make sure they follow the a_z0_9 naming convention (no spaces, caps, dashes, special characters) or Android will crash. Keep in mind that this is a difference in how Android and iOS display their GUI components. It's not a shortcoming of buzztouch, but a difference of platforms. Even though a plugin may work for both, it doesn't mean it'll look exactly the same on both. You may have to make control panel tweaks for one that you wouldn't have to in the other. Bummer for sure, but that's just the way it is when designing for competing operating systems. Mark

@GoNorthWest and @jvalley, I anticipated having to do some tweaks to make the android look good. What shocked me was not one single screen functioned correctly. After rebuilding it again (in hopes of getting something better, lol, I know it's silly) my home screen is now totally black and still nothing works properly. I thought what I'd done was pretty darn simple since it's my first app. Really no caps at all in the naming?? I've always done .... homeBtn.png or dinnerSpecials.png Also, where would I put jQuery .js and .css files? I added my images to the BT_docs folder so I'll move them to the res > drawable folder. I'm thinking though that it would be cleaner to just do two separate apps than to try and fix this mess. :( Thanks for your input, sxywebgirl

Really, no caps in the naming. It's in the documentation, and plays out in practice as well. I've taken to naming all my images/files/etc in this manner, so I can use them across platforms. The completely blank screen probably means you don't have the most recent config file loaded in your app. Try a refresh. There's a BT_Docs folder in assets. I think that's also where your .js and .css files would go. Mark

You should take the android learning path on BT U ... Its a different animal then ios and very frustrating at time. However publishing is easy

@jvalley, I'll definitely take some time and do as you suggest! It will probably help me not get so frustrated. I'm on a time crunch with my client but they will just have to understand and be patient about the delay.

Mark, I should have the most recent config file, I just published it and downloaded the project today. Thanks for your help

I can tell you that im only 3 months new into it and started with Android.. I struggled but the videos really helped out. The Emulator was my worse struggle of all. So i asked around and got some android phones that people have lying around and use those now. I just hook them up to wireless and the computer and use that as my emulator. Xcode is really alot more simple expect for the certificates. But i have mastered that now, I think. The product with iOS is leaps and bounds over android using BT. However i have made a few apps for some friends and tell them right away that both will look different but the content will be the same. I also let them know that with android there are 2000+ devices so it may look different on every device.

I have successfully built BT apps that work in Android and Apple - it can be done, but you do find a it compromises the design. To the things you mentioned, I have highlighted how I believe they should work in Android :- -Splash page - this should work, but the splash plugin has a reputation for being unreliable in Android in the forums. -The set background image for every page is not being used instead the splash image is used - this should work ok if the background image is correctly named and present. -The home page is not viewable all that is seen is the splash image - this should work if the background colour is defined, or the background image is correctly named and present. -The tabs do not have the custom color I set - don't think this will work. -The simple menu screen has horrible black background and turns an ugly bright orange when selected - this should work. Set the colours explicitly, don't assume the defaults vlaues that work for ios always work for Android, sometimes you need to put in values even if they are the defaults. Keep plugging away, you'll make it. Alan

@jvalley and @AlanMac Thanks for your helpful suport! I was so frustrated I went out and did a 4 mile, 15min a mile walk to let it all go and start with a fresh head. Although being insid all day at the computer, I hadn't realized it was 95 outside, lol. It felt good! I'm chugging water and going to watch some android videos :)

95. I wish 32 here now

Burrrr, that's too cold for this time of year!! I'll take 95 any day :-)

Hi @sxywebgirl, I agree with everything said/mentioned here. The only thing I would add is people try to compare IPhone and Android and in my opinion, you cannot compare. The same App may look better on IPhone than on Android. Also another App may look better on Android than IPhone. LA

I have two apps on both, Think Hopkins and Twin Cities Film Fest. You can have one project, but you have to plan differently. You also will want to include different images for iOS and Android. The first time you do it is harder because of the little problems, like naming all the image files in lower case. Another trick is to design backgrounds with transparent backgrounds, because of the wide variety of screen sizes in Android. I tell clients that if you have to make sacrifices, that you will favor the iPhone (especially in the US). But then do both projects at the same time, with Android leading the way. If you do the iOS first, then it is hard to retrofit to the Android. The benefit is that you then only have one set of content to maintain, and that is a gigantic benefit. Also, you can use self-hosting to give your client access, and clients will expect to make content changes once.

agreed. seperate apps for sure. The universal concept is great but the OS's and hardware buttons are very different. The BACK button on the Android can be used to your advantage. It's a few more pixes of real-estate vs iOS that always has to have some navigation on your screen. take that laptop outside and work!

@Susan Thinking about the project last night I came to the conclusion, that I should have done the Android version first because, now I'm having to rename images. Thanks for your suggestions. Are there a couple of popular Android devices you generally test on and create images for? There are so many out there!! I do plan on setting up self-hosting, although one of the many things I haven't had time to do :)

@ATRAIN53 It's beautiful out and taking my work outside sounds lovely except my MacbookPro is too old to run the current xCode so I'm doing everything on my iMac.

@AlanMac, @sxywebgirl - the tabs custom colour will work but the code is commented out in the BT_activity_root_tabs.java file. Un-comment it and it'll work fine. If you look in the file the commented section will be in green text on around line 157ish, just remove the opening and closing /* */ The apps in my profile use custom coloured tabs. Maybe it's commented out because the custom colour doesn't get applied until a tab is tapped?

Thanks @raveyd, I didn't know that. Also @Susan, I like the idea of developing for Android first. In my experience, there are less Android plugins which suggests anything you do design for Android is likely to work for Apple - my issues are mostly when I start the design with Apple in mind. I also fully agree that the managing of content for the client is big decision is the one app or two debate. Alan

Mark, I should have the most recent config file, I just published it and downloaded the project today. Thanks for your help