For users who would like access to the latest bits and would like to help improving the app, we created the Insider Program. An insider version of iXplain is a version which is not released to the Windows Store and therefore not publicly available, but contain all the new features of the next version of iXplain.

We, the developers of the app, develop and test the app the best we can imagine, but users still use the app in ways we didn’t think of. By getting valuable feedback from users in the Insider Program, we can still improve the app before it is released to the Windows Store. Using an insider version might also lead to valuable crash reports, which help us to stabilize the app. However our policy is that we distribute only versions of the app, which do not contain bugs known to us, unless noted as ‘Known Issues’ in the release notes. In other words, if we release an insider version of iXplain, we think the app is stable and users don’t loose valuable time using an insider version.

How to join the Insider Program

The list below describe the steps involved, to join the Insider Program and what needs to be done to install an insider version.

1. Notify us

  • Simply send us an email through the feedback button in the app or a DM to @iXplainApp (our twitter account), stating that you would like to join the insider program.

2. Create HockeyApp account

  • We will send you an invitation by email from the HokeyApp website. This website is part of Microsoft and takes care of distributing the insider versions of our app.
  • Most probably you don't have an account at HockeyApp. In case you already have an account, skip the following steps, and continue with "3. Configure your device".
  • Create an account by using one of the log-in options.
  • Click the register option in the "Complete Your Profile" page.
  • Click "skip this step" in the "Testing Android and iOS apps".

3. Configure your device to be able to sideload the iXplain app

  • Open the Settings app and go to "Update & Security" and select the "For developers" menu option
  • In the page select the "Developer Mode" option

4. Sideload the iXplain app from the HockeyApp website

  • When a new version is available, you get an email in order to download the new version.
  • The "Download" button will open the HockeyApp website where the iXplain app is listed.
  • Select iXplain, click the download button, save the zip file, and unzip it to your preferred location.
  • Right click the "Add-AppDevPackage.ps1" file, and choose the option "Run with Powershell".
  • When running the script the first time, several questions are asked in order to allow the script to be executed.
  • When these questions are confirmed, the script will be executed in order to install iXplain.
  • The iXplain is now listed in the start menu.
  • To check if the correct version is installed, compare the version listed in the HockeyApp website, and the version in the Settings->About page in the iXplain app

5. Use the app

  • Simply start the app and use it.
  • Comments and/or remarks can be given in the HockeyApp website with the feedback option, or through the Feedback option in the Settings page of iXplain.
  • In case the app crashes, the details why the app crashed are important for us to fix the app. These crash details are not send immediatelly to the HockeyApp website. These details will be send the next time the app is started. So in case the app crashes, please restart the app iXplain.

6. Stop using the Insider Program

  • If you (temporarily) want to stop the Insider Version, uninstall the iXplain app.
  • Go to the Windows Store, search for the iXplain and install the version available in the store.
  • If you don't want to receive emails from HockeyApp when a new version is available and want to stop the Insider Program, just send us an email through the feedback button in the app, and we will remove you from the list.

Disclaimer:

Please consider that users which still are using the current release downloaded from the Windows Store, will likely not be able to open iXplain files created with an insider version of iXplain.

Due to changes in the app because of bugs or necessary feature changes as a result of feedback or crash reports, the file format of recordings stored in iXplain files might change. This means that an iXplain file created with an insider version might not be opened with the next insider version or the final version released to the Windows Store. However this is not likely to happen, because our intention is to create an insider version, when we think the version is stable.

If you need to create a recording which you need distribute to users who are not in the insider program, execute the steps described in point 6.