asLJ: LiveJournal Client for Mac OS X 10.5+'s Journal

Current users can use the "Check for Updates..." menu item under the "asLJ" menu to get this update.

DOWNLOAD (this is alpha software and probably has bugs. it is provided as-is—be careful and use it at your own risk.)

NEW:

Added formatting commands in the Format menu--Bold, Italic, Underline, Strikethrough, Blockquote, Link, Image, Username, and Community. All commands insert appropriate HTML into the entry, attempting to surround selected text. A Format Toolbar, which can be hidden/shown from the Format menu, provides buttons for the formatting commands.
The userpics as shown in the toolbar popup menu are now sized consistently.
Added support for the sites Asks, BootieJournal, Ivanovo, OpenWeblog, and Kraslan.

What does asLJ need?
I'm preparing a 0.5.2-alpha release that fixes the issue where userpics don't appear at the proper size in the userpic menu and adds support for four additional LJ-type sites (Asks, BootieJournal, Ivanovo, and OpenWeblog). Are there any other issues that should be fixed in this maintenance release?

After 0.5.2, I'm going to start working on 0.6-beta, the first beta release. Are there any features that you'd like to see in 0.6?

notes for 0.5.1-alpha

Current users can use the "Check for Updates..." menu item under the "asLJ" menu to get this update.

DOWNLOAD (this is alpha software and probably has bugs. it is provided as-is—be careful and use it at your own risk.)

NEW:

resolved issue with numeric tags preventing the tag drop-down and the userpic menu from being created properly in the new entry window.

notes for 0.5.0-alpha

Current users can use the "Check for Updates..." menu item under the "asLJ" menu to get this update.

DOWNLOAD (this is alpha software and probably has bugs. it is provided as-is—be careful and use it at your own risk.)

NEW:

Rewritten from the ground up--faster and with a cleaner interface
document-based interface
collapsable sections in the entry properties drawer
account, journal/community, and userpic selection in the toolbar
rewritten preferences window with more options
asynchronous loading and caching of userpics
past entries now works for other journals to which your account has access (e.g. communities)
multiple tags (comma-separated) can be entered in the tags entry field
added location field
added comment settings
added preformatted option
preview past entries from the calendar list (uses WebKit, so viewing non-public entries is tied to logging in with Safari)
customizable format for iTunes music detection
saving and loading of drafts
simplified cross-posting with crosspost button and account checklist
reduced application size

next release
I've been chipping away at some things in asLJ as time permits, but my day job hasn't left much time lately. I haven't made any real changes in the 0.4a line, but rather have been working on a heavily-redesigned 0.5a, which will likely include:

some major interface cleanup (inside the drawer, there are sections that can be collapsed to save space; new preferences window)
moving to the "document-based" model to allow multiple windows simultaneously as well as leaving the app open with no windows
draft-saving (and possibly saving of past entries one-at-a-time)
one-click cross-posting
entry preview
more settings (location, comment settings, etc.)
some under-the-hood rewriting that will hopefully yield better performance

If you've got something specific you'd like to see, if you want to encourage me to make sure something on the list above definitely makes it into 0.5a, or if you just generally want to encourage me to keep working on asLJ, please comment.

download issue
It looks like there was some lag in a DNS changeover for the server that hosts the download of asLJ, so that some users were seeing an old version of the web site (on a no-longer-used server) that didn't have version 0.4a. If you attempted to get 0.4a and couldn't or if you're running an earlier version and haven't been notified of the update, the issue should now be resolved.

With which sites does asLJ work?
Please fill out the poll here and let me know with which sites you've found asLJ to work.

Thanks!

notes for 0.4a alpha
Current users can use the "Check for Updates..." menu item under the "asLJ" menu to get this update.

DOWNLOAD (this is alpha software and probably has bugs. it is provided as-is—be careful and use it at your own risk.)

NEW:

Full Unicode support (LJ protocol version 1)
completely-rewritten server-communication code, noticeably faster on average
mood and tag combo boxes are longer (show more items)

KNOWN LIMITATIONS:

requires OS X 10.5
passwords must be saved into the keychain (no way to require password to be entered every time)
there's no means of saving/loading drafts or entries
userpics (the actual images) don't load consistently in the past entry editing window

notes for 0.3a.6 alpha
Current users can use the "Check for Updates..." menu item under the "asLJ" menu to get this update.

[Note that there was never a version 0.3a.5 released.]

DOWNLOAD (this is alpha software and probably has bugs. it is provided as-is—be careful and use it at your own risk.)

NEW:

Added Dreamwidth to the list of possible servers (asLJ is only regularly tested with LiveJournal and InsaneJournal; other servers may not work—please let me know if you try another server, whether you were successful, and if there was an error message)
changed the way the popup list of servers is constructed so that adventurous power users might be able to add servers themselves, should any more new servers appear.
replaced "About" dialog box with proper Cocoa About box

KNOWN LIMITATIONS:

requires OS X 10.5
passwords must be saved into the keychain (no way to require password to be entered every time)
there's no means of saving/loading drafts or entries
userpics (the actual images) don't load consistently in the past entry editing window
Unicode support is incomplete—it is likely that you can post entries with special Unicode characters to your own journal, but not communities, and you can't edit entries containing special Unicode characters.

notes for 0.3a.4 alpha
Current users can use the "Check for Updates..." menu item under the "asLJ" menu to get this update.

DOWNLOAD (this is alpha software and probably has bugs. it is provided as-is--be careful and use it at your own risk.)

NEW:

enabled various additional servers (only regularly tested with LiveJournal and InsaneJournal; other servers may not work--please let me know if you try another server, whether you were successful, and if there was an error message)
new setting in preferences: "Default Account" allows selection of an account to log into by default when asLJ is started (can be set to and defaults to "None")
new setting in preferences allows you to replace the full server names (e.g. "www.livejournal.com") with more readable names (e.g. "LiveJournal") or even shorter names (e.g. "LJ") in the account list
window opens in correct size/position instead of opening, then resizing/moving
fixed verbose logging so it actually logs something when set
rearranged the entry security setting controls

KNOWN LIMITATIONS:

requires OS X 10.5
passwords must be saved into the keychain (no way to require password to be entered every time)
there's no means of saving/loading drafts or entries
userpics (the actual images) don't load consistently in the past entry editing window

notes for 0.3a.3 alpha
If you already have 0.1a.3 or newer, you can use the "Check for Updates..." menu item under the "asLJ" menu to get this update.

DOWNLOAD (this is alpha software and probably has bugs. it is provided as-is--be careful and use it at your own risk.)

NEW:

fixes bug that broke past entry viewing/editing

NEW (from 0.3a.2):

support for posting "music" field and getting currently playing song from iTunes
undo now works in the entry text field
confirmation dialog when clearing an entry that hasn't been posted
apple+return will post and so "Post" button is glowing-blue
position and size of window and drawer state (open/closed) are remembered

KNOWN LIMITATIONS:

requires OS X 10.5
only supports LiveJournal, GreatestJournal, DeadJournal, and InsaneJournal; only tested with LiveJournal, GreatestJournal, and InsaneJournal so far (please let me know if you want it to work on others and/or if you try it on DeadJournal)
passwords must be saved into the keychain (no way to require password to be entered every time)
there's no means of saving/loading drafts or entries
userpics (the actual images) don't load consistently in the past entry editing window

Community for Discussion
The community

aslj_users is for discussion about asLJ.

notes for 0.3a.2 alpha
If you already have 0.1a.3 or newer, you can use the "Check for Updates..." menu item under the "asLJ" menu to get this update.

DOWNLOAD (this is alpha software and probably has bugs. it is provided as-is--be careful and use it at your own risk.)

NEW:

support for posting "music" field and getting currently playing song from iTunes
undo now works in the entry text field
confirmation dialog when clearing an entry that hasn't been posted
apple+return will post and so "Post" button is glowing-blue
position and size of window and drawer state (open/closed) are remembered

KNOWN LIMITATIONS:

requires OS X 10.5
only supports LiveJournal, GreatestJournal, DeadJournal, and InsaneJournal; only tested with LiveJournal, GreatestJournal, and InsaneJournal so far (please let me know if you want it to work on others and/or if you try it on DeadJournal)
passwords must be saved into the keychain (no way to require password to be entered every time)
there's no means of saving/loading drafts or entries
userpics (the actual images) don't load consistently in the past entry editing window

notes for 0.3a.1 alpha
If you already have 0.1a.3 or newer, you can use the "Check for Updates..." menu item under the "asLJ" menu to get this update.

DOWNLOAD (this is alpha software and probably has bugs. it is provided as-is--be careful and use it at your own risk.)

NEW:

fixed error(s) that came up when adding a new account
disabled Blurty, as their XML-RPC seems to be broken
tested logging in and posting on GJ; past entries may not work (expect GJ to be removed when they finally go down for good)

KNOWN LIMITATIONS:

requires OS X 10.5
only supports LiveJournal, GreatestJournal, DeadJournal, and InsaneJournal; only tested with LiveJournal, GreatestJournal, and InsaneJournal so far (please let me know if you want it to work on others and/or if you try it on DeadJournal)
passwords must be saved into the keychain (no way to require password to be entered every time)
there's no means of saving/loading drafts or entries
userpics (the actual images) don't load consistently in the past entry editing window

notes for 0.3a alpha
If you already have 0.1a.3 or newer, you can use the "Check for Updates..." menu item under the "asLJ" menu to get this update.

DOWNLOAD (this is alpha software and probably has bugs. it is provided as-is--be careful and use it at your own risk.)

NEW:

can view, edit, and delete past entries
can post to communities, etc.
preferences panel, including auto-update settings
moods and previously-used tags are now sorted alphabetically
moods are now cached, so a little less traffic with the server
userpics are now loaded directly from the server rather than being temporarily downloaded to disk
the interface is a bit more responsive and cleaned up a bit

KNOWN LIMITATIONS:

requires OS X 10.5
only supports LiveJournal, GreatestJournal, Blurty, DeadJournal, and InsaneJournal; only tested with LiveJournal and InsaneJournal so far (please let me know if you want it to work on others and/or if you try it on GJ, Blurty, or DJ)
passwords must be saved into the keychain (no way to require password to be entered every time)
there's no means of saving/loading drafts or entries
userpics (the actual images) don't load consistently in the past entry editing window

big new improvements coming soon-ish, i hope
* the interface is a bit more responsive and cleaned up a bit
* can now post to communities, etc.
* moods and tags are now sorted alphabetically
* moods are now cached, so a little less traffic with the server
* userpics are now loaded directly from the server rather than being downloaded to disk, loaded, then deleted
* it is now possible to view, edit, and delete your past entries

expect a new release ~~tonight or tomorrow~~wednesday night or thursday or so.

notes for 0.2a pre-release alpha
If you already have 0.1a.3 or newer, you can use the "Check for Updates..." menu item under the "asLJ" menu to get this update.

DOWNLOAD (this is pre-release alpha software and probably has bugs. it is provided as-is--be careful and use it at your own risk.)

NEW:

completely-rewritten keychain bits (this should mean fewer annoying keychain allow/deny boxes; also, account editing and deleting should now work)
slightly faster logging-in upon selection of an account

KNOWN LIMITATIONS:

requires OS X 10.5
only supports LiveJournal, GreatestJournal, Blurty, DeadJournal, and InsaneJournal; only tested with LiveJournal and InsaneJournal so far (please let me know if you want it to work on others and/or if you try it on GJ, Blurty, or DJ)
passwords must be saved into the keychain (no way to require password to be entered every time)
error messages are strange or nonexistent.
it's kinda slow
it doesn't cache your userpics or the moods, so it does a lot of communicating with the server
mood list and previously-used tags lists are unsorted
there's no means of saving/loading drafts or entries
can only post to primary journal

notes for 0.1a.4 pre-release alpha
DOWNLOAD (this is pre-release alpha software and probably has bugs. it is provided as-is--be careful and use it at your own risk.)

NEW:

fixes error when attempting to post an entry with no tags

reformatted client version string sent to the LJ server

KNOWN LIMITATIONS:

requires OS X 10.5

only supports LiveJournal, GreatestJournal, Blurty, DeadJournal, and InsaneJournal; only tested with LiveJournal and InsaneJournal so far (please let me know if you want it to work on others and/or if you try it on GJ, Blurty, or DJ)
passwords must be saved into the keychain (no way to require password to be entered every time); there are probably lots of keychain scripting warning allow/deny dialogs that show up

"edit" button for editing accounts may not work properly

"delete" button for deleting accounts may not work properly [accounts can be deleted from your keychain using the "Keychain Access" application and looking for keys that contain "asLJ"]

error messages are strange or nonexistent.

it's kinda slow

it doesn't cache your userpics or the moods, so it does a lot of communicating with the server

mood list and previously-used tags lists are unsorted

there's no means of saving/loading drafts or entries

notes for 0.1a.3 pre-release alpha
DOWNLOAD (this is pre-release alpha software and probably has bugs. it is provided as-is--be careful and use it at your own risk.)

NEW:

automatic checking for updates with download/install (Sparkle framework, like lots of other good mac apps)

button to clear the post (draft?) now, checkbox to clear after posting

tags work

KNOWN LIMITATIONS:

requires OS X 10.5

only supports LiveJournal, GreatestJournal, Blurty, DeadJournal, and InsaneJournal; only tested with LiveJournal and InsaneJournal so far (please let me know if you want it to work on others and/or if you try it on GJ, Blurty, or DJ)
passwords must be saved into the keychain (no way to require password to be entered every time); there are probably lots of keychain scripting warning allow/deny dialogs that show up

"edit" button for editing accounts may not work properly

"delete" button for deleting accounts may not work properly [accounts can be deleted from your keychain using the "Keychain Access" application and looking for keys that contain "asLJ"]

error messages are strange or nonexistent.

it's kinda slow

it doesn't cache your userpics or the moods, so it does a lot of communicating with the server

mood list and previously-used tags lists are unsorted

there's no means of saving/loading drafts or entries

asLJ will have auto-updating functionality soon
I'm using this entry to test the "release notes" box that shows when updates are available.

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