This is the second time I tried to post this note. It misnumbered my suggestions and it won't allow me to edit to correct those numbers! They should be numbered 1-4 in the order they appear.
I noticed that the following suggestions are not already listed here, but since I discussed most of these with you long ago, I'll put them in now, simply to document them.
- The name of your app is "Budget with Envelopes", but the "envelopes" within your app are actually called "virtual accounts". In keeping with the app name and to keep it simple for future "Budget with Envelopes" users, I suggest that you seriously consider changing the terminology within the app from "Virtual accounts" to "Envelopes". Please bare with me on this terminology from now on in this message since this distinction will make it much easier to describe the following suggestions.)
- If you choose "Show real accounts" from the main menu and you have more than one account set up, the various envelopes will be divided up into accounts headed with the yellow labeled account name. Using this selection is absolutely necessary for those users who have multiple accounts because some envelopes in different accounts may have the same name. Either way, without the headers in yellow, it would be very easy to mix up which envelope belongs to which account.
Those with only one account could use either the "Show virtual accounts" selection or "Show real accounts" selection from the main menu equally well, but even so, the "Show real accounts" selection also shows the user's account name. So the one account user doesn't really need the "Show virtual accounts" selection either.
Due to this, I suggest taking the "Show virtual accounts" selection out of the main menu and renaming the "Show real accounts" selection to something like "Show accounts and envelopes".
- When a user attempts to do a deposit or withdrawal from the "Show real accounts" selection of the main menu, or uses the "Transfer" selection of the main menu, the drop down list of envelopes those functions offer do not have a yellow header showing which envelopes belong to which account.
So again, it is too easy for one who has multiple accounts to mix up which envelope belongs to which account. I suggest adding the yellow headers to those drop down lists, as well. Those yellow headers would not be selectable, but they would make Budget with Envelopes much easier to use for those who have multiple accounts.
Since my other suggestion to add the available amounts to each envelope in those drop down lists is already listed as a suggestion, I won't repeat it.
- I have one "heads up" to note about Android 4.4. Apps running in Android 4.4 with the Permission name "Write_To_SdCard" (not sure of correct name right now) can now write only to a specific directory on the sd card. Due to this, Android 4.4 could have easily broken Budget with Envelopes's back up and restore feature.
Also, some users have phones with an external sd card, as well. (Such as the Samsung Galaxy S3)
Android 4.4 has the same limitation on that external SD card, as well. Budget with Envelopes should be able to read and write to a user's external sd card, too... if it can't now.
It seems that the directory that an app is limited to writing to is named after the app developer and the app itself. For example, the specific path to the only directory on my external sd card where DOSBox Turbo is now able to write to is /storage/extSdCard/Android/Data/com.fishstix.dosbox/dosbox/
I had to manually add this particular path to my external sd card and transfer all of the DOSBox Turbo app's data files to that path before the app could again access and write to those data files again.
By implementing these minor changes to "Budget with Envelopes", your app will be greatly simplified in both operation and understandability for those with only one account and also for those with multiple accounts. :-)
Just think about it. "Budget with Envelopes" stands apart from all other stand alone Envelope Budget apps on Google Play due to its built in Task List that will automatically include a reminder for the user to move actual funds from one real account to another if (s)he moves funds virtually from one real account to another within the app. That feature is what really sets "Budget with Envelopes" apart from all of the other "stand alone" Envelope Budget apps in Google Play, for those with multiple accounts. Budget with Envelopes is the only app that actually gets it right for those with multiple accounts and still keeps it incredibly simple for anyone to use!
Budget with Envelopes' ability to back up it's data to an sd card is an incredible feature, as well!
Well done on an excellent app!
Please don't hesitate to let me know if I can help to further clarify any points. :-)
Sincerely,
John Vander Stel