PicApport Android App Guide
The PicApport Android app is a comfortable and optional front-end to a PicApport server.
It will turn your Android tablet / smartphone into a dynamic electronic picture frame.
Advantages of the app:
- The app offers a screen saver mode, so you can use any of your Android devices as a digital picture frame
- It allows you to easily manage multiple servers
- Store your logon credentials for each managed server in the app
Requirements
Server
To use the PicApport app, you need a PicApport server that is accessible on the network. This can, for example, be in your home network.
For more information to setup a PicApport server see: PicApport Installation Guide
App
The app supports all Android versions from 4.1 (Ice Cream Sandwich) and higher. A complete list of all versions is available here:: https://source.android.com/source/build-numbers.html
In order to download and install the APK-File, about 4MB of memory is needed, but we recommend at least 30MB of free space to allow enough space for caching images.
Installation
Download the PicApport app from Googles PlayStore and follow the instructions.
Required permissions
PicApport requires some permissions that you grant through the installation, as described below.
INTERNET, NETWORK_STATE, WIFI_STATE
These permissions are required to communicate with the PicApport server. The network and Wifi status of your system are used to optimize the queries.
READ_STORAGE, WRITE_STORAGE
You can upload images directly from your smartphone to the server. For this, the read and write permission is required
WAKE_LOCK, RECEIVE_BOOT_COMPLETED
Sessions are automatically built in the background to save the user from annoying logon routines. These are executed when the system is started to inform you of new photos, etc. without having to start the app.
Functions
Enter server location
The PicApport Android app is designed to interact with multiple PicApport servers. To add a new server click on „Manage servers“ and then click on the „plus“ button. In the following dialog, enter a meaningful name and the address to the desired server.
Change user
Select a server instance from the side menu. The PicApport user interface is loading. If you do not see a registration form, click on the button on the right-hand side of the screen and select „Logoff“. Now log on with another user id. After a successful logon you should see the username in the upper right corner.
Upload pictures
Upload photos directly from your smartphone to the server. To do so, open the „Upload photos“ window and click on „Add“. Android now asks where to take the photos from. You can either take pictures directly with the camera or select existing images. After you have taken an image or selected it, it will appear under the option „Upload photos“. Start the upload with the „Start“ button.
App-Settings
On the side menu, click on Settings to configure the app to your preference.
- Keep Screen sctive in slideshow: If set, your screen remains on as long as you are in a slideshow.
- Screen orientation: Specify whether your screen should rotate automatically or a specific orientation is desired
- Fullscreen: If „default“ is selected the app will attempt to switch to full-screen mode automatically in Slideshows . This means that all the system’s own GUI elements, such as the status bar and the navigation buttons will be hidden.
- Override system font size: If set the system font size setting is ignored
Screensaver configuration
The PicApport Android App offers a Screensaver function (under Android sometimes called Daydream).
You can access this via Settings -> Display & lights -> Screensaver / Daydream. Select PicApport and then click on the gear icon to switch to the settings.
Screensaver/Daydream -Settings
General information about screen saver under Android can be found here: https://support.google.com/nexus/answer/2818748
In the PicApport Screensaver settings you can define which slideshow should be displayed.
- My servers: wählen Sie einen Ihrer Server
- Sorting: bestimmen sie nach was die sortiert werden sollen
- Query: die Abfrage bestimmt welche Bilder angezeigt werden sollen
- Custom:
- rated by min N stars: Show all photos with a certain rating and above
- Photos after: Photos should have been taken after
- Photos before: Photos should have been taken before this year
- Advanced:
- Define a more precise query. for more information see: Full text search of photos – Supported metadata
- Custom:
After you have finished the configuration, a slideshow is presented to you when the device is docked or when loading.
Version history
See: Version history