I need several testers to try out the new Skritter iOS app build that includes the example sentences (and a bunch of bugfixes). If you're game, I'll send you a link on TestFlight, you'll register your device for ad hoc distribution, and sometime after that I'll send you a new build of the app. When you get the app, run through all the features looking for bugs, especially the example sentences, and let me know what you find.

Please volunteer iff you have time in the next couple days to test it out and send feedback. I need testers for both Chinese and Japanese and to cover all device types, but I can't have too many, so post in this thread with your target language, device(s), and styles (simplified and/or traditional).

The benefit to you, of course, is that you get the example sentences in the app a couple weeks before they're released to the App Store.

Sounds great! I have plenty of time and would be happy to help with testing. I'm using the Japanese version of Skritter on an iPhone 3GS.

How exactly do the example sentences work?

I volunteer, if 1 hour a day is sufficient:
Chinese
iPad 3
Simplified

I want to help , yo quiero ayudar ;)
Japanese
Ipod touch 4g

I'll volunteer, finals just ended so I'll be spending a lot of time on Skritter anyway.

Chinese
Simplified
Iphone 4S

I am volunteer too.
French / Chinese
Simplified + Traditonnal
iPhone 5 + iPad 3

I am learning 40 minutes a day.

I'm well up for that. Can test on iPhone 4S and iPad mini.
Simplified Chinese.

I am eager to try the example sentences feature so I'd be glad to help!

German / Chinese
Simplified
iPhone 4S

Currently learning HSK3 list.

I'd like to volunteer.

English / Chinese
iPhone 5
Traditional

I would love to be involved
Chinese
iPhone 5, iPad 1, iPad 3,, iPad Mini
Simplified

I would like to have a go. iPhone 4, iOS 6.1.3, learning Chinese. Also iPad Mini.

Sounds great.

Chinese
iPhone4S / iPad2
Simplified

I have the Cosmonaut stylus and Targus full-length stylus.

I am interested.

Chinese both simplified and traditional.
iPhone 4 and iPad 3 with latest firmware

im interested too guys. Im interested to see how u implement it.

Count me in:
iPhone 4S
iPad 2
Simplified

If you still need more testers count me in:
English / Simplified Chinese
iPhone 5
iPad 3

I'll volunteer too:
English / Japanese
iPhone 4S
iPhone 3GS

Thanks guys. I've sent out TestFlight invites to some of you and will send a build out as soon as most of you have registered your devices. Had many extra simplified Chinese volunteers, so I didn't invite everyone--I'll keep you in mind if we need more testing, though.

It's great. Is there a way to edit the examples or add an example?

In the last version I couldn't post on the forum, this is fixed (if this message posts OK).

I can't see much to test around the example sentences other than reveal/hiding them.

I like the sentences, but I can't see a way to switch them off (someone will hate them and want to switch them off), or see more than one example.

One thing that really helps me to use the sentences is to switch off Auto Advance- then I can decide whether or not to take a moment longer to think about the sentence.

As for pie-in-the-sky features; I would like to be able to create and subscribe to lists of example sentences; I have created some lists of sentences that highlight all the multiple ways that many HSK 1-3 words can be used. Right now I import these into StickyStudy (the view that shows all flashcards with their level learned in that app is wonderful) and learn them separately but I'd love to be able to see them in Skritter.

We were trying to keep the experience of using the sentences in the app simple, so it just takes your top sentence from the site when prompting. You can create and select sentences on the web app, but we figured that doing so in the iOS app would be a bit frustrating (slow, not enough screen space)--plus a ton of extra development work.

Alan, would it be useful for you to create vocab lists filled with sentences in Skritter? You could study the sentences themselves this way (as opposed to having lists of sentences somehow be associated with their component words you'd studying).

The problem (with a single example sentence) is that with a really flexible word/character such as 得 or 过 a single example covers only a tiny fraction of the possible meanings. I think the biggest improvement would be if multiple example sentences could be viewed in the iOS app. As you said editing them etc. is probably a bit fiddly for the iOS app. Is there any way to edit the sentences for specific words in the web app though, i.e. without studying and waiting for that word to come up? I never study on the web, but would like to be able to go in and set the example sentences for a whole load of words.

Yes, I think it would be useful to be able to have a 'vocab list' of sentences - I don't think I would ever want to be prompted to write the whole thing out though, just recognise them.

If most iOS users are like me, they probably never use the web version, therefore changing sentences would be extremely frustrating. I would guess quite a few would need changing as well, as I have German sentences, really long complex sentences and sentences with other words I don't know coming up. You can access the menu through my words on the app but this is also fairly difficult especially if you have a lot of words, a link to this menu directly from the currently studied word would be hugely useful.

Something which I think is probably prohibitively difficult to implement would be looking up and/or adding other words from the example sentences to my words, or even just viewing in pleco.

Alan: you can get to the word popup for any word (like through the My Words search, or seeing it in a list, or wherever, really), and from there click the pencil next to the sentence in the word popup to see / select from the sentence list.

You can make the vocab lists full of sentences right now, and if you add the words while on beta (or on this iOS app build), it won't add the writing or tone parts. Why don't you give it a try and see how it works for you to study some sentences? To add sentences to a list, you can get to the sentence's word popup from a word containing it and then use the Quick Add to add it to some list you're making.

If there are sentences showing up which are German or really long, then that means we don't currently have any better sentences to show, so you would either have to choose to ignore this sentence or to make a new sentence. We could achieve the former for you by just not showing a sentence if the top sentence isn't good enough. What do you think?

We can show the sentences' details views and let you send those to Pleco; we probably won't be able to show you the details views for words or characters in those sentences unless you're already studying them, though, because otherwise you won't have downloaded their data.

Where would you expect to find the ability to look at the details views for the sentences?

I guess it's better to see the sentence even if it is not completely suitable (correct language/no English). It's just a little frustrating to want to see the meaning and not be able to. I would imagine the less you know the more frustrating this would be as if you know most of the characters you can work out the sentence. I guess this problem of unsuitble sentences would hopefully become less of a problem over time as more sentences are added.

Where are the sentences sourced from, is there any scrutiny of the sentences?

To edit or change sentences from the card is pretty important in my view, if there was like the small pencil to edit the meaning or mneumonics, could there not be a pencil next to the example sentence to change or add a new one.

Personally I think a convenient way of adding new vocab based on characters/words related to ones your studying or adding words from a sentence would be excellent. Ideally I guess being able to access any characters details view just by clicking on the character or word in the sentence would be ideal. I'm surprised that if you go into the details view for a character then you click on a character or word in the example sentence it will take you to the details view of that item, this makes me think it could be possible to do this directly by clicking on it on the initial card view. Accessing these menus would be so much better if they could be accessed directly from the card as opposed to going and searching through my words for the relevant character.

So where the option for star word, pleco, ban word e.t.c a link to the characters detailed information screen would be great, this would also give you access to the sentence if you wanted to add more words from that.

Hope that is understandable, it's a little tricky to explain.

An idea for a possible future feature would be to have an exercise where you have to arrange characters into the correct word order for a sentence.

I don't see the point of being able to see the example sentence in the advanced info menu, if its cant be broken down, or characters added. What is the idea regarding this feature?

I prefer waiting until the 'answer' phase to see the example sentence.

I agree with 夏普本, we're trying to use and critique it but maybe we don't really understand the point of this feature, could someone give a clarification?

For me, the point of example sentences is to see how a word is used in a sentence - a character like 得 or 过 has several different subtle uses that are very difficult to describe in English - much better to show a whole list of examples. Having a single example sentence that I would have to go into the web app to change adds a bit of utility but not very much.

I also think that the info screen should have a 'back' button (if a second info page had been selected). as well as 'close' (always). Right now the 'close' button really functions as a back button if you have drilled down a level or two. ‘Close’ could then always close the info screen in one click.

Hi Nick, I tried adding a few sample sentences, but I already have a tab-separated file with hanzi, pinyin, definition and adding each one to Skritter took quite a bit of copying and pasting - being able to import the pinyin and definitions in one step would be great.

Seeing the sentences before the answer is revealed is better for me. It gives me the same feeling as reading text with familiar but not-quite-get-it-yet words. The context give me a memory jerk and push the word further back into long term memory. Kinda like clues in cross word game and the mental reward it gives when I get the word right feel really good.

How about an option for the sentence reveal? I would prefer to see no sentences (as I don't want to rely on the 'clue' for recall) in all tests.

+1 for lechuan

Alan, how many sentences are there? If you have a lot, you can email it to me and I can see how easy it would be to import them in bulk.