Plausible’s VoodooPad for iOS is out! Or: how to migrate.

December 23, 2013, by Mike Ash

A new version of VoodooPad for iOS is out, the first one from Plausible Labs. Version 2.0.7 brings very few changes over 2.0.6: a couple of bug fixes and an updated Dropbox SDK. The big change is that it’s now our build, and with our build comes a new app on the App Store that customers need to grab.

Background

The App Store originally had no way to transfer apps from one developer to another. If an app was ever purchased by a new company, as we’ve done with VoodooPad, there were only two choices:

1. Give the selling company’s entire iTunes Connect account to the new company.
2. Take the app down from the selling company’s account, then post it as a new app under the new company’s account, and somehow migrate all the users.

Neither option was great, but they were the only choices. The first one only works if it’s the seller’s only product, and the second one is tough on users.

This year, Apple added the ability to transfer individual apps between developers. Hooray! We used this with the Mac version of VoodooPad and it worked great.

Unfortunately, this functionality comes with a huge gotcha: if an app has ever so much as gazed upon iCloud, it cannot be transferred. I’m not clear on exactly why this is, but there is apparently some inherent technical limitation in Apple’s backend code that makes this impossible. Presumably it’s the same sort of technical limitation which prevented app transfers altogether for so many years.

While VoodooPad for iOS has never used iCloud, it did have iCloud enabled as part of an experiment, and that was enough to make it ineligible for transfer. That means we’re stuck with the two bad choices above. The first is out of the question, as Flying Meat also has Acorn on the App Store and so can’t just give us the entire account. That leaves us with the second choice: take down Flying Meat’s VoodooPad for iOS, and post our own.

What To Do

Flying Meat has posted 2.0.7 on their account, but that will be the last version there. For future updates, you must switch to our version. Since it’s considered a separate app in the App Store, you need to obtain it manually. You can do so here:

https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/voodoopad/id777792045?ls=1&mt=8

If you’re like me, you may be thinking, “But wait, won’t I have to buy it again?” Normally that would be the case, since Apple doesn’t see the two apps as being related in any way, and so your previous purchase doesn’t count for the new version. To mitigate this, we’ve made the new version free through January 21st, to give everyone time to move over to the new version. Please make sure you grab the new version now, while it’s free. Once you do this, you’ll need to transfer your documents across, since it acts like a completely new app and doesn’t share any data with the old one.

Document Transfer

If you’re syncing with Dropbox then the transfer process is extremely easy. Just set up Dropbox in the new copy of VoodooPad and all of your documents will automatically sync to it.

If you’re not syncing with Dropbox, then I definitely recommend setting it up. It’s free, it’s easy to use, and it works great. You’ll need to set up both the old and new copies of VoodooPad with Dropbox, and then the new copy will sync the documents from the old copy.

If you’re not syncing with Dropbox and don’t want to, then you can either use WiFi sync with a Mac to transfer your documents, or you can use iTunes. Check out the documentation on syncing and transferring for more information:

https://plausible.coop/voodoopad/docs-5/syncing%20and%20transferring.html

However you transfer the documents across, double-check to make sure that the new copy of the app has everything, and then you can go ahead and delete the old copy from your device.

Summary

The Plausible Labs version of VoodooPad for iOS is now on the App Store, but as a separate app. It’s free through the middle of next month so that existing users can move over at no cost. Existing users need to:

1. Download a copy of the new app from the App Store.
2. Transfer their existing data into the new app, either through Dropbox, WiFi sync, or iTunes.

It’s also a great time for new users to check out VoodooPad for iOS, since you can also grab it for no cost during this migration period.

This is the final piece we had to take care of in moving VoodooPad from Flying Meat to Plausible Labs. We’re looking forward to being able to fully concentrate on improvements to both the Mac and iOS versions of the app now that we’ve tamed the App Store beast.

Thanks for your patience with all of this, and please don’t hesitate to contact us if you have any questions or problems with the iOS migration.