Terminate PC Tool and Switch to Web Tool is a bad Idea! PC Tool is much faster

Hello,

as i read last year at the Samsung Theme Magazin Page, it says the PC Tool will terminate in End of February.

The most common reason is that Issues can be fix faster. However, this is completely wrong! Because there is a different and faster way. Also more climate conscious.

Some reasons even speak completely against the web tool.

  1. Permanent internet connection is necessary
  2. The UI and Menu from Web Tool loads sometimes very very slow and no it isn’t fix yet! But so often report it! And always they ask for the STP File… like a joke
  3. Really often the UI doesn’t load and it is dark grey Window!
  4. It depends on the browser (Chrome)
  5. The Way to test a Theme is difficult and time consuming
  6. Sometimes it need to load the libary again, this cost time
  7. Multiple themes at once update is no longer possible
  8. Visibility Check is useless, because it’s doenst check the Files on Real Device, it need to Check on same Devices, like the Validation Team
  9. About Speed for Theme creation, ex. it need for me on my PC around 5-7 Seconds to create a Theme, but on Web Tool i must wait around 40-60sec.

But now we come to the actual topic of how to implement the web tool in the PC tool

  1. Why not add the option that the tool checks the ThemeMeta data for updates at the same time as the login, while asking whether you are authorized to use the tool and if there is an update, it is imported in the background? I though the Option was implement in the first Tool for Android M?

  2. That the Tool is recompiled again and again for some minor ThemeMetaData updates too cumbersome. For Example: Android Q is published, so will only release a New Tool, ex. Galaxy Themes Studio 9 (Android P & Android Q support), but future Updates about ThemeMetaData will be update at same Time when you start the Program and Login., if there a ThemeMetaData Update available. And yes i know, that is possible!

  3. So the Theme Tool team would only have to update the ThemeMetaDataFile to a Samsung server.

  4. A permanent internet connection would therefore not be necessary, just as is currently as the program start for login.

  5. Themes can still be created faster and thus save a time cost factor

  6. Therefore about faster Theme Updates in Future, see the other Thread :wink:

Regards Alex

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As I tried. I prefer pc version because of fastness to create theme . The bug i not mention because both kind included. Why need to use only web version that i never find it faster or smoother than pc version.

The correct color display in the editor is very important for me, but in the browser this is basically not possible …
Cons of the web version for me;

  1. It is necessary to additionally select and conduct color scheme tests in Photoshop.
  2. When the Internet speed is 100 megabits, I constantly get errors when saving, creating theme files.

I contacted the support team and asked about the stability of the version, the correction of numerous errors in the web version, but as always I received the same answer- “send the STP file, APK file, describe in detail what you are doing.” How are my questions related to what buttons do I click in the editor?

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I used to agree that the web tool was not a good idea, but having switched over to the web editor full-time for exporting, and knowing what Samsung intends for the tool, I am no longer in the same position as you. The February update is supposed to add a lot of new features, including more offline functionality, and a lot of my post here will be based on what I have heard is planned for the tool.

Currently we have about 500 themes listed in the store with Q OS that were all exported with the Web editor. We had a lot of random Export Errors for various themes along the way, but through 1:1 PSS we were eventually able to work with Samsung to resolve them. They tend to fix reported export errors within 1-3 days of reporting them, as long as you can get it forwarded appropriately (see below for more on this).

Permanent internet connection is necessary

It is my understanding that they are removing this with the February update. You will only need to connect to export APK’s. Hopefully this will go away with time too, and we can have full offline functionality (including exports).

However, if a login is still required every time then this is still detrimental and I do agree with your statement. It should be possible to remember a computer so that a login is not required daily, but instead monthly.

The UI and Menu from Web Tool loads sometimes very very slow and no it isn’t fix yet!

The UI and Menu are, for the most part, only slow at the beginning while an STP is loading. Speed improves after 10-15 seconds of opening an STP.

With that said, it is noticeably slower for the tool to load the right side previews on various tabs when compared to the PC tool.

But so often report it! And always they ask for the STP File… like a joke

It’s true, 1:1 PSS can be a big headache and difficult to work with. It typically takes multiple tries to get a ticket forwarded to the appropriate party, often with many unnecessary details requested along the way.

We have had success reporting it by including the STP, APK, Theme Tool version, Chrome version, any relevant screenshots, and steps to reproduce the error. If they ask for logs, we typically reply that there are no logs for the web tool and they forward it along.

The Way to test a Theme is difficult and time consuming

Yes. Exporting a preview APK takes far too long, and this definitely needs to be improved. The two issues are:

  1. It uploads the STP to the server before exporting, which can take a while. This can be fixed with offline functionality.
  2. Exported preview APKs are in Zip format, which means you have the additional step of extracting the Zip before being able to open it in the Apply to Device tool. It should extract the APK directly, not a zip.

Multiple themes at once update is no longer possible

I’m not sure what you mean by this. You can open more than 1 session of the web tool and load multiple themes at a time.

Visibility Check is useless, because it’s doesm’t check the Files on Real Device, it need to Check on same Devices, like the Validation Team

Yes, 100% agree. Testing theoretical previews is meaningless. When we have failures due to visibility problems, it is almost always due to the theme not applying properly to the device, not due to us selecting poor color choices. The web tool’s visibility check does not account for this, and is not useful or helpful at all.

About Speed for Theme creation, ex. it need for me on my PC around 5-7 Seconds to create a Theme, but on Web Tool i must wait around 40-60sec.

Two additional steps are happening, both I feel can be fixed:

  1. The theme has to upload to the server - allow exports to be done Offline, as previously suggested.
  2. Validation check is currently required. This greatly increases export time. It should not be required, and to my knowledge it is not meant to be required permanently.
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If you want to vote …

https://forum.developer.samsung.com/t/retain-pc-version-of-theme-development-tool/473

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The idea for a web browser based Theme Studio is to increase security and allow frequent release to fix issues when needed. The Web based Theme Studio will continue to work along with installed version of Theme Editor for a while after it is deprecated. Until we know the Web version usage data and pattern it will be harder to improve web version stability and its ability perform in some sort of offline mode. A goal is for the internet connection would only be needed to login to studio and to upload app to seller office but I was not given any timeline on that.

So to answer the question
The more designers use the web hosted tool the faster it will be improved and the sooner the end goal that everyone wants (reliable, fast and quick to update) will be reached.

Ron
Samsung Developer Program

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I never knew there is so much pain behind those beautiful looking themes.
Kudos to all you developers!

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Installing an updated version of the program takes 1-2 minutes. Working with the web version of the editor is less convenient for me. The display of colors in the browser is incorrect. Work in the PC version is faster and more comfortable.

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Will the Web based Theme Studio have the “Apply to Device” function? It is a crucial part for the designers who like to do better themes.

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It has the lotion, but first you need to install a extra tool and download the apk file for apply to device. It’s a difficult way and costs time.

With PC Tool it’s simple and easy

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More recently, we had to repack all of our dark themes. This work took several days (more than a two weeks) with the PC version of Galaxy theme editor.
The same job would take at least 2-3 times more time using the web version.
Switching to the web version only is a bad idea. This will complicate and impede our work.
Perhaps this will simplify the work of programmers in updating the program, but the price for it is our work, our time and the inconvenience of work. Not all authors read this forum. Few authors participate in discussions. You can interview all authors to know their opinion. But unfortunately nobody is interested in our opinion. The small convenience of programmers when updating editor is much more important.

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Working in the web version of GTS is very inconvenient and almost impossible if the Internet is slow, endless downloads and very slow. Accepting on the phone is not yet convenient and problematic, first download zip and then archive apk from it. I think the Theme Studio program for PC is already safe because without authorization you can’t open in any way. Please not terminate PC version of Theme Studio!

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Unfortunately it’s too late :frowning:

The online tool is already two versions ahead of the PC tool, so they are making faster bug fixes, which is awesome and will hopefully result in fewer rejections.

All critical errors have long been fixed in the PC version… Failures occur due to errors in the phone software.