Xojo Documentation Xojo Documentation

Reporting Bugs and Making Feature Requests

If you think you have found a bug in Xojo or have a feature request, please let us know about it. The way to report bugs or make feature requests is with the Feedback application. Feedback is designed to gather all the necessary information that helps us track down bugs and implement feature requests.

For each bug or feature request reported (called a case), you will receive a confirmation message via email with the case number. When cases are updated, you get an email telling you about the change.

You can launch the Feedback application directly from within Xojo. Just choose Help ↠ Xojo Feedback or click the Feedback button on the toolbar. If you have already installed Feedback this will open the Feedback application. If you have not yet installed Feedback, your default web browser will open the Xojo download page where you can download Feedback for your OS.

If you have having trouble connecting to Feedback, be sure that you are using the latest version from the Xojo download page.

Using the Feedback App

The Feedback app has three main areas: the search field, the sidebar and the case area.

Searching and Creating New Cases

You have to search before you can create a new case.

The search field is where you search for cases. You have to search for cases before you can create a new case. This is to help people perhaps find an existing case on the same topic and help prevent duplicates. If you want to create a new case, just enter the title for the case as the search criteria to see a list of similar cases.

After you search, you will have the ability to save your search (into the sidebar Folders section) or to create a new case. You can also just double-click any case in the search results to view the case.

Search Tips

• When searching, "AND" is always implied between keywords
• You can use the "-" character to exclude specific words from the search: toolbar -linux
• The "|" is used to mean "OR": Str | StrB
• You can use parenthesis to group items: listbox -(hierarchical | checkbox)
• Use quotes to search for phrases: "windows build"
• The index skips common words and abbreviates common suffixes

Case Details

When you are creating a new case, there are several fields that require information:

• Summary: Include a descriptive summary. You will not be able to save the case unless a sufficiently descriptive summary is entered.
• Product: Select the project for which this applies, usually you'll just choose "Xojo".
• Case Type: This can be a Bug, Beta Bug or Feature Request.
• OS: Choose the OS you are using when you noticed the issue.
• Xojo Version: Choose the version of Xojo you are using.
• Steps to Reproduce: Include details steps on how to reproduce the issue. Cases with reproducible steps are far more likely to be fixed. See below for formatting tips.
• Expected Result: The result you expected to get.
• Actual Result: The actual result you got.
• Workarounds: Any workarounds for your issue that you have found.
• Attachments: To include attachments, first create your case then use Add Information shown below.
• Visible To: Choose who can see your Feedback case. The default is typically "Everyone", but if you have private information in the case you can choose "Only me and Xojo". For Beta cases, choose the appropriate Beta visibility.

Add Information

You can add additional information to any case, even ones you did not create. To do so, click the "pencil" icon on the bottom toolbar to open a new Case Detail area where you can enter additional text, attachments and specify the visibility.

To add private information to a case (including a private project), create the case normally and then choose the "pencil" icon to add additional information to the case while setting the visibility to "Only me and Xojo".

Sidebar

My Feedback

The My Feedback section of the navigator gives you a quick overview of cases that are relevant to you.

• Dashboard: The Dashboard gives you an overview of your cases and their ranks.
• My Top Cases: Use this screen to rank cases. Licensed users of Xojo have their cases ranked more heavily. Drag open cases from the sidebar into the appropriate position to rank a case.
• My Favorites: These are cases that you have created or cases that you have marked as a favorite by clicking the "star" button on the case action bar.
• My Cases: These are the cases you created.
• Participating In: These are the cases you created and any cases that you have commented on.

Shared Feedback

• Search Results: The results from the most recent search.
• User Favorites: These are cases as ranked by users in Feedback.
• Newest: These are cases that have been recently filed.
• Recently Active: These are cases with recent public notes or attachments.

Folders

You can create your own folders and then add cases to them, which might be useful for tracking. Use the action bar below the sidebar to add a folder. You can drag open cases from the sidebar to a folder for quick access.

Folders can be local or shared. If you create a shared folder, you have the option of providing a password. Right-click on a shared folder to get its "sharing link" to send to others that you want to be able to view the folder.

Any search results that you choose to save also appear in the Folders section.

Case Area

The case area can show information about a case or cases. You can also click on the Dashboard in the sidebar to show an overview of cases you have created or ranked.

When a list of cases is displayed, such as for search results, you can customize the visible columns by using View ↠ Customize List Columns feature. You can click on any of the headers to sort the list. If you want an avatar to appear next to your name on your cases and comments, create a Gravatar account and associate it with the email used by your Xojo account.

When viewing a case, you can see its original title and description along with notes added to the case. You will also be able to see the overall status of the case.

Formatting

In the case description, you can format code snippets by using the [code] tag:

[code]
Dim i As Integer
i = 10
[/code]

Case Status

As cases progress through the system, their status changes. Here is a list of statuses and what they mean.

• Needs Review: The case is in queue to be reviewed.
• Reviewed: The requested bug/feature is has been reviewed and is pending judgement.
• Verified: The case has been verified and has been assigned to an engineer.
• Scheduled: The case has been scheduled for development.
• Fixed: A fix for this case has been checked in and is pending verification.
• Fixed and Verified: The fix for this case has been verified and is available in the noted IDE version.
• Implemented: The feature has been completed, checked in and is pending verification.
• Implemented and Verified: The feature has been verified and is available in the noted IDE version.
• Closed: The case has been closed for the specified reason.
• Information Required: The case is waiting for additional information from the author.

Ranking Your Cases

Use the My Top Cases selection in the Sidebar to rank cases. Drag open cases from the sidebar onto one of the rank areas to rank the case. You can rank your top 5 cases. The ranking works as follows:

• Each active license you have for Xojo counts as 1 point
• A Xojo Pro license counts for 12 points total (4 points for each license multiplied by 3)
• Assigning a case to a higher ranking multiplies your points. If you have a single license, then a 5th place rank for a case gives it 1 point. A 1st place rank for a case gives it 5 points.

Under each ranking position, you will see how many points are applied to cases.

Creating Good Feedback Cases

It is easy to create Feedback cases, but it is not so easy to create good cases. These are the types of cases you can create: Beta Bug, Bug, and Feature Request.

• Beta Bug: A bug that was found in a current Xojo beta.
• Bug: A bug that was found in the currently shipping version of Xojo.
• Feature Request: A change or suggestion for new functionality.

What makes a good case? A good case is a case that is well defined, with reproducible steps and usually an associated project that demonstrates the issue.

It starts with a good summary. Feedback uses intelligent phonetic searching on the summary of each case. It does not search the details of the cases. A good case summary should be a few words which best describe the nature of the case.

An example of a good case summary is "HTMLViewer should use WebKit on all platforms". Summaries like "HTMLViewer doesn't work" or "WebKit" are not actionable, too short and not specific, making them difficult to find when searching.

For bugs, the details should describe the issue more clearly and then include steps to reproduce the it. Ideally you will want to also attach a sample project that demonstrates the issue. Our statistics show that cases with sample projects are fixed faster than cases without sample projects. If a case is created that cannot be reproduced it's status may be changed to "Closed" or "Information Required". In both those situation, you will want to provide additional information if you want the case to remain open.

For feature requests, the details should describe the problem you need to solve. Try to limit specific implementation suggestions.

Posting Feedback Links in Forum

Sometimes it is helpful to post links to your Feedback cases for others to see so that they can mark it as a favorite or add more information. To do, so click the "gear" icon at the bottom of the Feedback case screen and choose "Copy Sharing Link" from the menu. You can then paste this link to your forum post (do not use an additional formatting with it) and it will automatically appear in your post as a link that will open Feedback and display the case.

Troubleshooting

If you are having trouble accessing Feedback, here are some things to check:

• Download and install the latest version version.
• Verify you have correctly entered your Xojo account information.
• If you are using a Proxy, ensure the proxy information has been entered.