Stake/Ward Central 2.17

The church released the LDS.org Calendar 2.0 on October 26th. With the calendar update, the interface used by Stake Central to download the calendar events changed and is no longer working in Stake/Ward Central 2.13 and earlier releases.

I released this weekend, Stake Central Version 2.15 to fix these problems. 2.15 is compatible with the updated church calendar and fixes several bugs.

Versions 2.16 and 2.17 have quickly followed to fix bugs in this latest version.

FAQ#7 - How can I install the Stake Central on my Kindle Fire or other device not supported by the Android Market?

Stake Central has been removed from the Android Play Store and is no longer available from my website. The church app, LDS Tools now provides most of the features that Stake Central provided.  

I have not chosen to publish the app in the Amazon Appstore. You can however download the app for free from my website and install it directly to your device. Here are the instructions.

1. Go to your device's home screen, press the menu button and click on Settings and then Application Settings. Enable the "Unknown Sources" option.  For the Amazon Kindle, click on the settings icon at the top of the screen (it looks like a gear cog). Click on More... and then on Device. Change the setting "Allow Installation of Applications from Unknown Sources" to On.
2. Open the browser on your device and browse http://stakecentral.com/Downloads/sc2download.php?key=kindlefire. This will download the app to your device.
3. From the browser's downloads page, click on the .apk link to install the app on your phone. On the Kindle Fire, access the downloads page by clicking on the menu icon at the bottom of the screen (it looks like the top of a box with three horizontal lines) and click Downloads.

FAQ#1 I am getting incomplete downloads, no membership or calendar data

Your app is likely configured to use the classic lds.org membership and calendar data. The app uses csv files on the church's classic site to provide membership and calendar data. The csv downloads have either been disabled recently or there is a problem on the classic site that is preventing everyone from downloading using the old website. There is nothing I can do about this unfortunately.

You can verify this yourself from your PC by going to the classic site, https://secure.lds.org/units/login/0,8029,779-1,00.html, and logging in. Click on Membership Directory or Ward Calendar and then the "csv" link in the upper right corner of the window. I suspect that you will see the following error: You must be a member of this ward or stake to view this page

Your only option to get the app functioning, unless the church re-enables csv downloads, is to change your app settings and enable "New LDS.org directory? and "New LDS.org calendar". Click menu, settings and check the boxes next to those options. Then try downloading again.  If you do not see these options, then you need to download the latest app from the Android Market.

FAQ#2: Why can't I download the app from the Android Market?

Stake Central has been removed from the Android Play Store and is no longer available from my website. The church app, LDS Tools now provides most of the features that Stake Central provides. 

I purchased Stake Central but it will not download from the Android Market.

Answer: Let me start by saying this is a very frustrating problem that all Android developers face. The purchase and downloading of apps is beyond my control. However, here are some suggestions that have worked for others.

First, have you set up your Google Checkout Account? Login to http://checkout.google.com with the Google Account you used to set up your phone. Be sure that a valid credit card is on file, that it has not expired and that it does not have internet restrictions.

Second, did you receive an order confirmation email from Google? This will be sent to the email address associated with your Google Account used to set up your phone. If not, double check that your Google Checkout account is setup properly (see above).

Third, be sure you have good 3G or WiFi coverage when you try it. If you tried with Wifi enabled, try disabling it.

Fourth, try canceling the order and purchasing again. (Let me know if you get charged twice and I will refund it).

Finally, and, this is a bizzare suggestion but I see it repeatedly in the Android support forums. Try opening the Google Talk app, sign in and then try downloading the app again.

http://www.google.com/support/forum/p/Android+Market/thread?tid=2c0fe2bff2d6c352&hl=en 
http://www.droidforums.net/forum/droid-x-tech-issues/71615-markets-issues.html

I believe that everyone who experiences this does eventually get it to work. Sometimes it just takes time. If you are fed up and just want it now, send me an email (click the link below) including your order number and I will send you a link to download the app from my website.

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FAQ#3: The app is unable to login to retrieve lds.org data. What is wrong?

The following steps have helped everyone who has had trouble logging in to successfully retrieve their stake/ward information.

1. From your phone's internet browser, navigate to lds.org and click on the Tools Menu and then Classic LDS.org Stake and Ward Websites (shortcut - click this link). It is important that you do this from your phone (not your PC) and that you use the Classic site (not the Directory menu item).
2. After successfully logging in, log out and then restart the app. 
3. Click the phone's menu button and then Delete all Data. Then menu again and Retrieve lds.org data. 
4. Fill in your user and password you used to login via the browser and then retry the download.

If you still have trouble, please email me (click the link below).

FAQ#4: Why is the leadership or other information not current?

First, be sure you have updated your information recently. Start Stake/Ward Central, click on your phone's menu button and then Retrieve lds.org data. Press the Download button and wait for the information to download to your phone.

If, after updating the data, the leadership is still not current, remember that the Stake and Ward Central apps download your membership including leadership information from the lds.org Stake and Ward Websites. The Stake and Ward Websites do not automatically get updated when your MLS (ward computer) is updated. The organization information must be edited on the ward website by your ward clerk or someone assigned as the website administrator. You can validate this by going to lds.org and logging into the Stake and Ward Websites using your LDS account and navigating to the leadership page.

FAQ#5: Why is my calendar empty? There are no events.

In Stake Central and Ward Central version 2.10 and later the apps default to use the calendar on the new LDS.org website. It may be that your ward and/or stake has not yet adopted and transferred your calendar events to the new site. Check the LDS.org calendar (not the classic site) to see if you have events. If not, Open the app, click the menu button and then settings. Uncheck the "Use New LDS.org for Calendar". Then back out to the main menu and download your data again.

If you have trouble downloading events from the classic site (the setting above is not enabled), try this: Open the internet browser on your phone and browse to the LDS.org site. Click on Tools and then Classic LDS.org Stake/Ward Websites. Login to the classic site, using your LDS account. Again, this process must be done from your phone.  Then logout and try the data download again.

FAQ#6: Where is my phone's menu button?

The menu button is usually a physical button on your phone. Android generally supports four physical buttons: Home, Menu, Back and Search. On the Droid/X the menu button is the one on the far left. On the Droid it is second from the left. Press this button while the app is running and you will see the Stake/Ward Central menu.

Stake/Ward Central 2.13

Version 2.13
- Fixes problem with 'Today' when using the classic calendar.

Version 2.12
- Fixes problems with all day events in the calendar being displayed on the wrong day. This fix requires you to re-download your calendar data.
- Adds more help for when no data is available in the calendar.
- Better handling for switching between old and new calendar.
- Fixes a problem displaying an individual whose name ends in a quote character.

Version 2.11
- Fix force close when calendar is empty
- Fix 'Today' in calendar view

Version 2.10
New LDS.org Calendar is now enabled.