[clarencemartin]

So far I have noticed that when I create an Appli App, and when I run an app on an iPad versus Android Device, there are subtle differences between the two platforms. The positions and dimensions and layouts are enough so, I now design my apps on the Apple device to make sure they fit. Any suggestions would be helpful.

[marktalluto]

We designed most elements in Appli to look the same across all platforms, including (Mac, Win, iOS, and Android). The differences between the visuals will come from any native features we support between platforms. One example would be the input element.

Each OS has subtle differences between them. You will notice that copy/paste has differences between the two mobile platforms.

The more significant issue is the aspect ratio between devices, no matter the platform. For example, an iPad and an android phone will significantly differ in their aspect ratios. Appli will solve most of this for you. But, it is making decisions that may not align with your expectations.

You can control the responsive design per element if this is the case. Also, if you find that your UI requires a lot of vertical space, you may consider dropping your UI into a layout element. This feature will allow you to maintain the look and feel more authentically and have the UI draw across more space vertically. Set the height of your layout element to the necessary space to support your element count. Place your elements in the layout and then size the layout element down to fit within the playground. Set the scrollbar of the layout element to true. Appli will do the rest.

Your users will be able to scroll the screen vertically to see more complex UI and more elements you want to be on a single screen.

Images have the added consideration of maintaining the aspect ratio, or the image may look squished or stretched in undesirable ways. You can solve this by setting the Boxing/Cropping to Cropping. This feature will show as much of the image as possible while keeping the same width and height values set by the developer.

There may be times when locking the aspect ratio may be more beneficial. You will want to experiment on two or more devices with different aspect ratios to verify things look as expected.

These suggestions are a start to dealing with aspect ratio and look and feel between not only different operating systems but between devices of different sizes and capabilities.

-Mark