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Hey guys,
I have been using Evernote for some time but find that the PC application is quite slow and cumbersome and the mobile implementation though good lacks on something that I can't put my finger down on.
I heard dropbox is very good but I was wondering what ideas people had for storing notes on it or what else I could use the functionality for besides storing some of my apks.
Dropbox is great. Official app just came out, testing it now. My problem with Evernote was the inability to have notes offline for storage on your phone.
Dropbox allows you to store things offline and upload when connected? Sounds interest, how about mirroring folders on your PC?
I don't know whether you can queue things up for Dropbox yet - haven't tested that. As for retrieving things, you'll definitely need to be connected. I found that incredibly silly for a notes application like Evernote, though. Seriously, Evernote? You need a network connection so I can write down that I need to buy milk?
As for mirroring folders, I doubt it. When you install Dropbox on a computer, it sets aside a specific Dropbox folder. Anything you put inside it is synced to the cloud, and automatically put on any other computers you have Dropbox on. You put a file in your laptop's dropbox and your desktop can get it. Your phone can go get it now as well, so it's a cheap wireless file transfer method, if nothing else. As I understand the Android Dropbox implementation, there won't be a folder with your entire Dropbox stored on it like there is for a PC, you'll just retrieve stuff from the cloud.
If I can't add files it just seems a bit pointless ...
Yeah having offline access is a bonus, not going to break much but I may want to make notes on the train, etc.
Thanks for the comprehensive post, looks like more research is needed .
Right now the ONLY files you can send from Dropbox for Android are media files, so only photos, videos and audio files. No text files or documents, so it's pretty useless in terms of notes.
I use Gdocs Notepad, freeware, that syncs with Google Documents.
I've solved in this way.
Sugar sync is pretty good - can sync any files, you get 2gb free, free android client.
Hey,
Is there an epub reader for free?
I have emailed an epub file to myself, and I also have a direct link (through FileDen.com).
I also downloaded the epub file of my comûter using HomePipe.
Is there an app that can open the epub file?
freda is a free ereader:
http://www.turnipsoft.co.uk/jim/freda/index.htm
I have it, but it can't open links.
It has presets of Project Gutenberg etc.
I don't think there's a way to enter your own URL
badboy70 said:
I have it, but it can't open links.
It has presets of Project Gutenberg etc.
I don't think there's a way to enter your own URL
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Instructions here: http://www.turnip.demon.co.uk/jim/freda/calibre-how-to.htm
yeah, unfortunately you have to set up a calibre acct.
nrfitchett4 said:
yeah, unfortunately you have to set up a calibre acct.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This will be improved in the next release (a week or two, if I can deal with some performance issues) - there will be a general purpose "download from any website" feature, so you won't have to put your books into an OPDS catalog before you can get them onto your phone.
You will have to publish them onto a web site though. But that could be something you do only temporarily, while transferring them onto the phone. And of course you can do it just within your own home network, and using a simple web server installed on your PC to do it. When I publish the Freda update, I will also publish a link to a suitable web server program.
I seriously hope this feature is there soon.
Because I really need that ereader for school.
On 17/12 I have a dutch exam and I need to be able to read my book on my phone because the original copy is rented by someone else.
So I have the epub file of it but no ereader.
I was browsing the marketplace recently and there's a reader for epub/html/plaintext that syncs files with Dropbox. Don't remember what it was called though.
Thats ezReader, but it isn't free
Jim Chapman said:
When I publish the Freda update, I will also publish a link to a suitable web server program.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
There's Skydrive and Dropbox that have web interfaces.
vangrieg said:
There's Skydrive and Dropbox that have web interfaces.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes, if you want to put your books on SkyDrive or DropBox, the forthcoming new release of Freda will be able to download them from the web interface (but only if you put them in the 'public' area, because Windows Phone 7 has some hard-to-fix issues around website authentication, passwords, cookies, etc.).
The Freda version that's on Marketplace at the moment is only able to get your books from Skydrive or DropBox if you construct an OPDS catalog containing links to the books (for DropBox, you can use the calibre2opds program to do that).
The 'web server' solution I mention would be for the case where you have your books stored on your PC and don't want to upload them onto a 'cloud' solution on the internet. In that case, you'd want to run a webserver program on your PC, which would allow Freda to see the books on your PC's disk, via your local WiFi network. Actually, if you're prepared to run Calibre (and the Calibre content server) on your PC, that solution already works just fine. So the 'web server' approach is only for people who, for whatever reason, do not want to run Calibre on their PC.
nrfitchett4 said:
yeah, unfortunately you have to set up a calibre acct.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You don't need an account to run Calibre. You just have to download and install the program.
I can't open a .epub which contains pictures. My epub file amounts to 88mb I tried to open it in my pc and it works. I had it downloaded to my freda (free edition) after I uploaded the ebook on a hosting server.
Is there another ebook reader that can read large file? Thanks!
I use Freda and Skydrive and it works great; it's slow at first but after it syncs it works okay. You have to tell skydrive to make it public or it will not show up.
MrLeche said:
I can't open a .epub which contains pictures. My epub file amounts to 88mb I tried to open it in my pc and it works. I had it downloaded to my freda (free edition) after I uploaded the ebook on a hosting server.
Is there another ebook reader that can read large file? Thanks!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
88mb is going to be a bit of a stretch for any program on Windows Phone 7, since:
The file is compressed; uncompressed it will be larger
Programs on WP7 are prevented from using more than 100MB of memory
Freda doesn't actually need to hold all the images in memory at once, so that isn't a hard limit ... but it does suggest that memory usage might be the problem.
If you'd like to send me a link to the book (to [email protected]) I can run some tests and see if I can come up with any suggestions.
I am aware it's an old thread, but I am reviving it to let everyone know there is a way to get your books onto your WP7.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1491879
The desktop counterpart integrates with explorer and allows you to right click on any file ex docs and pictures and send it to your windows phone! I am not sure how secure the cloud storage is at the moment but this is some nice innovation for a free app.
Read more here: http://wpcentral.com/send-wp7-hits-back-desktop-app
You can compose texts, emails and notes on the desktop and send it to the phone as well. The application utilizes windows 7 jumplists and works almost instantaneously.
I'm impressed.
Cloud is the future. Resistance is futile.
Well, well, well...I guess if Microsoft wasn't going to step in and make SkyDrive play nice on WP7 (access through browser doesn't count if you cannot sync), then someone had to. I like where Send To WP7 is going. It is quite impressive indeed.
It's just a shame that Microsoft, who probably has more data centres than 98% of all corporations in the world, and is in the best position to promote cloud services ( like Windows Live ) is still lagging behind.
I'm the author of Send to WP7, if you have any other suggestions for ways you can send stuff to your phone, do let me know. I'm open to pretty much anything that's technically possibly without costing me an arm and a leg in infrastructure.
The main complaint in the current implementation is that it uploads to a public hosting site. Live Mesh and SkyDrive don't have suitable APIs for doing this, as I would very much like to tie everything into Windows Live. In order to be useful, the files need to be accessible via an HTTP URL, without requiring a cookie or authentication (HTTP auth may be acceptable, but it needs to be opened in the browser to have access to docs and PDFs.
Also do note that this is a preview quality build, I just figured some people may already want to start using it.
If only you could make a "Send From WP7" app...
The ability to send to other Windows Phones would be nice.
kapanak said:
If only you could make a "Send From WP7" app...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No APIs to let me do this, unfortunately.
karelj said:
The ability to send to other Windows Phones would be nice.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm not so sure this is practical, you may as well just email a link, right? if you're talking about from the browser, using the bookmarklet for alternate phones is supported in all desktop browsers.
davux, i'm not sure if it's possible as you don't have socket support, but a possible way to get skydrive access to work is to pass windows phone through fiddler and work out what it does when it syncs a onenote note to skydrive. i'm pretty sure this would be socket base meaning you'd be stuck, but if it isn't, you may just have the information required to directly upload to skydrive, with proper credentials and all.
it's just an idea, but this is what i'd try as a developer (yes i am one, but no where near experienced enough at this stage).
The Gate Keeper said:
davux, i'm not sure if it's possible as you don't have socket support, but a possible way to get skydrive access to work is to pass windows phone through fiddler and work out what it does when it syncs a onenote note to skydrive. i'm pretty sure this would be socket base meaning you'd be stuck, but if it isn't, you may just have the information required to directly upload to skydrive, with proper credentials and all.
it's just an idea, but this is what i'd try as a developer (yes i am one, but no where near experienced enough at this stage).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I can actually access SkyDrive via WebDAV already, which is an HTTP protocol. I suspect OneNote sync does something similar, but I haven't checked it out. The primary issue with this approach is that it won't be all that useful. Images and text would transfer well like this, but if you wanted to send a PDF, or Office doc, there would be no way to open it. The only way to open these types of docs is through the browser. I figured a really important use-case is documents, so I decided to take another approach.
BTW - the current build of the desktop app now supports uploading to localhostr.com, serving up files via a local HTTP server, and using your Dropbox account.
davux said:
I can actually access SkyDrive via WebDAV already, which is an HTTP protocol. I suspect OneNote sync does something similar, but I haven't checked it out. The primary issue with this approach is that it won't be all that useful. Images and text would transfer well like this, but if you wanted to send a PDF, or Office doc, there would be no way to open it. The only way to open these types of docs is through the browser. I figured a really important use-case is documents, so I decided to take another approach.
BTW - the current build of the desktop app now supports uploading to localhostr.com, serving up files via a local HTTP server, and using your Dropbox account.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thank you for directly conversing with us Dave. I agree getting documents to the phone is the ideal usage of this application. Keep up the good work!
sayonical said:
The desktop counterpart integrates with explorer and allows you to right click on any file ex docs and pictures and send it to your windows phone! I am not sure how secure the cloud storage is at the moment but this is some nice innovation for a free app.
Read more here: http://wpcentral.com/send-wp7-hits-back-desktop-app
You can compose texts, emails and notes on the desktop and send it to the phone as well. The application utilizes windows 7 jumplists and works almost instantaneously.
I'm impressed.
Cloud is the future. Resistance is futile.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
just set it up. The push notifications are instant!!!
davux said:
I'm the author of Send to WP7, if you have any other suggestions for ways you can send stuff to your phone, do let me know. I'm open to pretty much anything that's technically possibly without costing me an arm and a leg in infrastructure.
The main complaint in the current implementation is that it uploads to a public hosting site. Live Mesh and SkyDrive don't have suitable APIs for doing this, as I would very much like to tie everything into Windows Live. In order to be useful, the files need to be accessible via an HTTP URL, without requiring a cookie or authentication (HTTP auth may be acceptable, but it needs to be opened in the browser to have access to docs and PDFs.
Also do note that this is a preview quality build, I just figured some people may already want to start using it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Interesting stuff indeed. I for one, appreciate the work you are doing.
Wait a minute, you can use the Desktop app and upload to phone using your own local network? That is significantly easier to trust than a free cloud service.
kapanak said:
Wait a minute, you can use the Desktop app and upload to phone using your own local network? That is significantly easier to trust than a free cloud service.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes. Unfortunately I can't make it an SSL connection, I'm not willing to pay for a cert. I will see if a test-signed certificate will work, but that is not actually as secure.
davux said:
Yes. Unfortunately I can't make it an SSL connection, I'm not willing to pay for a cert. I will see if a test-signed certificate will work, but that is not actually as secure.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I've been trying out the desktop app with the local Wi-Fi method, and this seems to me the best way to get stuff to the phone. It's very quick too.
The dropbox integration isworking, and quite well. I'm wondering is there a way in future to upload to a private dropbox share?
Even though it's only an early preview, the dekstop app is great. I like the integration with Windows 7; I have it pinned to my taskbar. Might be useful to have a "Start with Windows" option in there. I'm sure you're aware of some of the bugs like the lack of proper icons in the jumplist Tasks and the filenaming issue that causes PDFs to be unreadable from WP7. To be expected with a preview.
From a UI point of view, I think the "Set Transfer Destination" option should not be in the jumplist and should be in the main config window instead. It's not a menu item you would need ever access to again after you've set your dropbox settings.
The WP7 app itself is also coming along great. I'm wondering if you will split the file list into categories, eg Notes, Links, Images, Files etc. Or failing that, have just "New" and "All" categories? Perhaps, for things like notes, you can Archive them into an Archive category... just an idea. Oh, and when a file is sent via the desktop app at the moment, for example a photo, instead of displaying just as "File", perhaps it could display as "File - {name}"?
Great stuff, getting great use out of this app so far, and its usefulness will explode when copy and paste arrives to WP7 devices. Thanks!
A big thanks to Dave for this excellent tool, it is also nice to see a thread wherevpeoplevare pushing the boundaries of what can be done with wp7 rather than just slanting it off.
wheresmybeaver said:
The dropbox integration isworking, and quite well. I'm wondering is there a way in future to upload to a private dropbox share?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Not likely, as I've been saying, the phone needs to be able to access a share via the web browser. As far as I know, Dropbox private folders won't do this. That's why I've included an option to mutate the name a bit, so someone can't just guess filenames in your public folder.
The WP7 app itself is also coming along great. I'm wondering if you will split the file list into categories, eg Notes, Links, Images, Files etc. Or failing that, have just "New" and "All" categories? Perhaps, for things like notes, you can Archive them into an Archive category... just an idea. Oh, and when a file is sent via the desktop app at the moment, for example a photo, instead of displaying just as "File", perhaps it could display as "File - {name}"?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Note that the phone app has absolutely no support for the desktop app at this time, I will bring support for it in an update. Views are likely, I haven't decided what to do yet. I wouldn't expect that update for a couple of weeks though.
adesonic said:
A big thanks to Dave for this excellent tool, it is also nice to see a thread wherevpeoplevare pushing the boundaries of what can be done with wp7 rather than just slanting it off.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks.
Send to WP7 Desktop
Dave, thanks for this app. It works well so far & I'm sure I'll get a lot of use out of this. One problem though I'm not getting notifications & when I open the app on the phone I get a push notification error. 'Failed to open channel'. Great work mate. Keep it up. Will send a donation when I get a chance.
davux said:
I'm the author of Send to WP7, if you have any other suggestions for ways you can send stuff to your phone, do let me know. I'm open to pretty much anything that's technically possibly without costing me an arm and a leg in infrastructure.
The main complaint in the current implementation is that it uploads to a public hosting site. Live Mesh and SkyDrive don't have suitable APIs for doing this, as I would very much like to tie everything into Windows Live. In order to be useful, the files need to be accessible via an HTTP URL, without requiring a cookie or authentication (HTTP auth may be acceptable, but it needs to be opened in the browser to have access to docs and PDFs.
Also do note that this is a preview quality build, I just figured some people may already want to start using it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I can not download it in Germany
weepatc said:
Dave, thanks for this app. It works well so far & I'm sure I'll get a lot of use out of this. One problem though I'm not getting notifications & when I open the app on the phone I get a push notification error. 'Failed to open channel'. Great work mate. Keep it up. Will send a donation when I get a chance.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I actually have this same problem on my device. I opened the same-named notification channel on a dev build, then I uninstalled that build while it had the channel open - now neither the marketplace build nor new dev builds will open the channel.
I don't know how you got into this situation, but my point is that I don't really know what I can do to help--I'm under the assumption that all I can do to fix my device is to do a master reset (so I'm waiting for the NoDo update). I'm hoping that this bug is fixed in the next update, but I don't know if it's even officially reported.
ceesheim said:
I can not download it in Germany
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I've selected all possible countries, which I think includes Germany. I don't think there is anything else I can do for you--maybe I could post a link to the XAP and you could sideload it? My only issue with this is that I'll then have to maintain a secondary distribution channel, and will need to build some kind of updater.
you should be able to post a zune link and it should allow him to access it that way. no need to sideload.
The Zune:// link has always been on my product page.
http://www.daveamenta.com/products/chrome-to-wp7/
My problem was to copy a pdf-file to my phone and after some research, I figured out that the only way to do this, is to email me this file. I think this is pretty awkward and I found an easier way to do this.
If you have a dropbox-account just move the file to your dropbox-folder on your pc, then install a dropbox-client on your phone. now you can access every file that's in the dropbox-folder from your phone... problem solved
If you're new to dropbox, I would appreciate it if you use my refferal-link so that both of us get 250MB extra free space.
Here's my referral-link: http://db.tt/OV3ERGB
Why not just use your free Skydrive? That's what I do, then navigate to your Skydrive on your phone (pin the link to your start screen for ease) and click the file's icon and it will download to your phone.
No need to use dropbox at all.
Jim Coleman said:
Why not just use your free Skydrive? That's what I do, then navigate to your Skydrive on your phone (pin the link to your start screen for ease) and click the file's icon and it will download to your phone.
No need to use dropbox at all.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I use dropbox too.
I think it easier because it has a Dropbox client for PC and WP7 (with app "Boxfiles for dropbox"), no need to create internet shortcut on my phone.
Why not Skydrive? Because it doesn't work half as well with either Windows or Windows Phone.
Unlike Dropbox, I can't just map my cloud storage to a folder easily on my PC.
And on my phone it doesn't let me download some files (funnily, Microsoft Office files). It shows presentations as web docs and there's no download link in default mobile view. I need to switch to desktop view which is unbearably slow.
This is plain ridiculous.
vangrieg said:
Why not Skydrive? Because it doesn't work half as well with either Windows or Windows Phone.
Unlike Dropbox, I can't just map my cloud storage to a folder easily on my PC.
And on my phone it doesn't let me download some files (funnily, Microsoft Office files). It shows presentations as web docs and there's no download link in default mobile view. I need to switch to desktop view which is unbearably slow.
This is plain ridiculous.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
how does dropbox work with mp3s can u copy those over to device memory and add them to ur llibrary without syncing via zune?
vangrieg said:
Why not Skydrive? Because it doesn't work half as well with either Windows or Windows Phone.
Unlike Dropbox, I can't just map my cloud storage to a folder easily on my PC.
And on my phone it doesn't let me download some files (funnily, Microsoft Office files). It shows presentations as web docs and there's no download link in default mobile view. I need to switch to desktop view which is unbearably slow.
This is plain ridiculous.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
this is being fixed in the mango update.
I don't transfer many files to my phone so its not an issue for me but I can see the frustration for some.
vangrieg said:
Unlike Dropbox, I can't just map my cloud storage to a folder easily on my PC.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
http://mynetx.net/#!/2352/how-to-connect-your-skydrive-in-windows-explorer
or
http://www.tech-recipes.com/rx/7385/windows-7-how-to-map-skydrive-folders-as-network-drives/
or even
http://www.groovypost.com/howto/microsoft/windows-7-map-drive-skydrive-using-url-address-network/
There ya go, have fun.
I have videos on my dropbox, and BEFORE NoDo they worked, now they don't work.. tells me invalid format or times out (These would be WMV and 3GP) is it just me?
Where is the skydrive app or link on the phone.. cant find on my DVP.
At least things will get better with time. More premium apps are showing up in marketplace.
There's already a sticky thread for OS comparisons. Take this bickering, flaming, trolling there please
Sent from my Focus using XDA Windows Phone 7 App
Back on topic please!
I have been trying to find out if windows 7 mobile is able to support my excel spreadsheet. Some retailers say yes no problem, others say my formulas are to complex, no one has been able to try it for me. How can I find out if my spreadsheet can be read, edited and it calculates properly before I buy?
Does the handset make any differance or is the win 7 the same on all? I haven't purchased a handset as of yet as I am still trying to find out what apps I can use on them. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. I very much want excel and word support, pdf reader is a must - creator would be a real plus. Gps would be real nice too.
Thus far I am leaning towards the htc surround, it seems to be one of the better options in my limited market.
before you buy the device,I have to let you know that,unless you are using microsoft sharepoint,if not the office application is kind of useless.
me as a student,I can't even transfer my lecture note to the device and revise it anywhere.
so,think twice before you buy a device
onenote is the only thing that you can sync to skydrive. so you can edit them on the web as well.
excel and word on the hand has to be emailed back and forth if you don't have sharepoint.
MS did demo a skydrive client at CES, which will be part of mango update, released in fall 2011, so that will be the resolve, but till then email is the only way to do it.
Thanks for the tips, I can see more research is in order.
You don't have to email word and excel documents in order to make them usable on a WP7 device. You can also choose to sync these items with either dropbox - which has several clients for WP7 - or software solutions like homepipe. Both work fine, either way.
But it's truely just a workaround until MS will provide full skydrive support. Which should have been part of WP7 from day one in the first place.
Transfering isn't a big deal, I would like to put the spreadsheet template on the handset, add in the data as needed and have excel do the calculations. Perhaps a quarterly backup to the computer would be fine. Will the handset excel sync with the desktop app, filling in the fields or would that have to be done manually?
Attila7 said:
Transfering isn't a big deal, I would like to put the spreadsheet template on the handset, add in the data as needed and have excel do the calculations. Perhaps a quarterly backup to the computer would be fine. Will the handset excel sync with the desktop app, filling in the fields or would that have to be done manually?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I never really tried that, because I hardly use excel. But the way I described works with word, so why should it be any different with excel? Just save the file created on your desktop PC to your dropbox folder (or any other folder you can sync with your handset), then download and open it from the client app on your device.
Attila7 said:
Transfering isn't a big deal, I would like to put the spreadsheet template on the handset, add in the data as needed and have excel do the calculations. Perhaps a quarterly backup to the computer would be fine. Will the handset excel sync with the desktop app, filling in the fields or would that have to be done manually?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well, I just looked into my zune & LG Quantum transfer options, and I could not find any options regarding transferring any type of files that are not music, video or podcasts. EDIT: NM, miss understood your question. I don't believe the spreadsheets will sync. But using dropbox, this wouldn't be an issue, as you would always be opening the dropbox copy of the spreadsheet.
RE: seeing whether or not your excel spreadsheet will run properly, I am not sure how private/personal your spreadsheet is, but you could email it to a user here to test it and report back to you if it works.
Would the dropbox copy be the same as the computer copy? Would someone be willing to try the template for me to see if it will run and calculate properly? That is a great idea! The template is about 1.5 mb. If anyone is willing to try this for me please PM me, thanks.
i use Excel a lot on my windows phone by using a budget spreadsheet I whipped up on my computer. I know there are multitudes of budgets apps but why do that when you can auto calculate averages, sums, and present them graphically with a simple spread sheet?
Now at the moment, the only way to get Office docs (Word or Excel) on the phone is via emailing your self or as others suggested dropbox or file server. The downside is changes made on the phone isn't synced back to the source. You have to email the changes to yourself.
Microsoft has demoed Skydrive integration coming in the Fall update. Changes made then will be automatically synced like One note is now.
As for formulas, my formulas and graphs work and show up on the phone just fine! However I am not sure if more complicated ones work as I was unable to edit an excel timesheet from my job on my phone (says unable to open this file created from earlier office version). I am willing to test this template for you.
Feel free to PM it to me.
Also one way to get office documents on the phone iis utilizing skydrive instead of dropbox
1, I mapped my skydrive "My Documents" folder as a network drive on my Windows 7 PC
2. I save all my office documents there. I can edit them, delete them, rename them just as any other folder.
3. One the phone you can access skydrive via the browser and download your files without needing drop box or 3rd party solutions. The downside is being unable to upload them back!
4. Do maintenance, email your changed document and replace it on the desktop yourself.
Hope this helps.
sayonical said:
1, I mapped my skydrive "My Documents" folder as a network drive on my Windows 7 PC
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
how did you do this? i would like to know as i've always wanted to do this as well. Windows Live Mesh doesn't seem to do it the way i want.
The Gate Keeper said:
how did you do this? i would like to know as i've always wanted to do this as well. Windows Live Mesh doesn't seem to do it the way i want.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If you have Office2010 follow this easy guide
http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2010/04/25/use-office-2010-to-map-a-local-drive-letter-to-your-free-25gb-live-skydrive/
awesome! i'll give this a try when i get home.