This interview with developer Shivkanwer Singh is part of a series featuring developers who use Syncfusion controls. If you’d like us to feature your app, email marketingteam@syncfusion.com.
Why did you choose Syncfusion Essential Studio?
For me, these are the main features I would look for in any third party solution:
• Solution should allow me to achieve the required functionality
• Time and learning curve required for the solution to be useful should be short
• Quality of support provided by the vendor should be high
• The solution should be affordable
Syncfusion Essential Studio satisfies all of the above points. With a wide range of controls and libraries provided by Essential Studio, it not only allows me to achieve the required functionality, but also makes it better. Backed by good documentation and excellent support, I was up and running in no time.
Did you look at competitive solutions?
Yes, I did check out solutions offered by other vendors, including Actipro, ComponentOne Studio, and Telerik, but none of those vendors had as wide a range of controls as Syncfusion. Even while using the trial version of controls the support team was extremely responsive to the queries and issues raised by me, which drew me more towards using Syncfusion Essential Studio.
What were the benefits of using Syncfusion’s tools?
When I launched the first version of my app Bloom Diary (Windows 8.1 App), many users asked me to include the functionality of saving their journal entries in HTML format. Syncfusion’s DocIO library made that possible with very little code and effort, and I was able to roll-out the new feature in no time. This is just one instance where Syncfusion Controls made my life easier. Controls like Hub Tile, Carousel, Tab, and more make Bloom Diary stand out. Using Syncfusion controls saved me time by allowing me to focus on the core functionality of the app. This also sped up my product’s release.
Essential DocIO provides support for setting the font name, font size, font color, font style, text alignment, spacing, indents, etc. in Word documents.
What were your favorite features or functionality?
I have worked extensively with Essential Studio for WinRT. Although I have used several controls in Bloom Diary, my favorites are RichTextBox, Tab, Hub Tile, and DocIO.
Entries are presented in the form of tiles for easier navigation.
What problem or issue were you trying to solve?
There are a lot of journaling apps available, but none seem to provide users with a rich writing experience. I wanted to make Bloom Diary writing-oriented, so it was critical for me to have a RichTextBox. The RichTextBox I was using lacked the functionality I was searching for; capabilities such as tracking changes and saving documents as .doc files were unavailable. I also wanted to provide the functionality of saving the journal entries in different formats like word, HTML, etc.
I turned to Syncfusion to achieve the desired functionality. I used Essential Studio for WinRT and incorporated several controls, including the RichTextBox, Accordion, Tab, Carousel, Hub Tile, and Color Picker controls, which not only allowed me to achieve the desired functionality, but also to create a visually appealing, high-quality product for my users. The DocIO library was also of great use to me, as I was able to create Microsoft Word documents in the app.
Who is your target audience?
Bloom Diary is a journaling app that enables users to record experiences, thoughts, activities and ideas. So anyone who is looking for such an app is the target audience.
Application Home Page showing random journal entries from past.
About Shivkanwer Singh
I work as a Senior Software Developer at Infosys Ltd.I spend my whole day, practically everyday working with SharePoint, HTML, JavaScript and CSS. I am curious, and I enjoy work that challenges me to learn something new and stretch in a different direction. I have good experience in developing enterprise grade applications for various clients.
Recently I started developing apps for mobile platforms – Bloom Diary is my first app for Windows Store which enables users to record experiences, thoughts,activities, and ideas.
My wish is to build software that delight and inform. I love music, art, dance – basically anything creative. Feel free to contact me on LinkedIn.
