Go ahead, jump on the App Store and go get the update – it’s OK, I’ll wait here for you

While you’re doing that, I’ll give you the run-down of what’s included:

NEW FEATURES:

• Custom tunings - Previously, you could only choose from one of the in-built tunings in the list. Now you can create the exact tuning you would like.
• Slash chords - This one was requested a lot. As you know, GCC suggests chord names as you enter the chords. The new algorithm will now suggest “slash” chords as well, e.g. E/G
• Inversions - In the “chord properties” dialog, there is a new “Inversion” checkbox. Select this to make the chord name to show that the chord is an inversion. E.g. Em => Em/G

BUG FIXES:

• Fret marker at the 10th fret could be obscured by a note on the 6th string
• Now supports keys G♯, D♯ and A♯
• Right-hand side of charts should no longer be cut off when printing
• Changing the root note of a chord to a flat note (eg D♭), was sometimes reverting back to sharp note (C♯)
• Corrected A major and C major fingerings on bundled “Open: Major” chart

Finally, if you have feedback on what features you would like to see included in app, please head over to our User Voice forum, and register/vote on ideas!

Well, I was so busy last week that I forgot to post an important announcement on the blog

– GCC VERSION 1.2.0 IS RELEASED!  –

Yes, I got it out the door and so it should be on your iPad by now! Here’s a run down of the new features:

• Copy and Paste!
• Page zoom
• Chord / text zoom
• Manual chord name selection

Also, some bug fixes:

• In some circumstances the charts were not saving in iOS 5.1
• Slash character in chart title prevented PDF from generating
• AirPrint printing was not working

Ok, well I better go get stuck into the next version now

If you want to vote on new features for the next version, just head on over to the new User Voice forum.

Thanks for all the support and kind feedback I had on this release, and keep helping me make the next version of GCC even better!

This version will store your charts in a different location on the iPad, so they will not be lost when you upgrade to iOS 5.1

Please make sure that you follow this process if you do not want your charts to be lost when upgrading to iOS 5.1:

1. Upgrade GCC to v1.1.1 – do NOT yet upgrade to iOS 5.1 though!
2. Startup GCC – verify all of your charts are there, and then exit the app. (THIS STEP IS VERY IMPORTANT)
3. Connect your iPad to iTunes. Navigate to your iPad > Apps. At the bottom of the page is a section “File Sharing”. You should see GCC in the list. If you click on GCC, you should see a file called appdata.db. If you don’t see appdata.db – repeat steps A & B
   I recommend at this point you save appdata.db to your computer so you have a backup of it.
4. Upgrade your device to iOS 5.1 when you’re ready. When you’re done, startup GCC and confirm that all of your charts are still there.

That should be it. Please do let me know if you have any troubles.

The good thing going forward is that you will be able to backup the appdata.db file whenever you like.

In iOS 5.1 Apple changed the way “localStorage” works, such that it is no longer considered permanent by the device.

This is not good, as it means under iOS 5.1 you *will* lose your saved charts if you upgrade! So please do not upgrade to iOS 5.1 yet.

I’ve just submitted a new version of the app to Apple (v.1.1.1) and this version will store the charts in a different location on the device, so they cannot be lost. Apple usually takes a week to approve updates to apps.

Once you have GCC v1.1.1 you must run the app at least once in iOS 5.0 before you upgrade your device to iOS 5.1

I’m really sorry to anyone who may have lost their charts. I should have tested iOS 5.1 more thoroughly prior to its public release.

On the upside – I have a new version of GCC (v1.2.0) coming soon, and this will be adding several of the most requested features by users – so stay tuned and thanks for all of your support.

*UPDATE*

Just to be clear on what happens to the current version of GCC (v1.1.0) when you upgrade to iOS 5.1:

Basically, during the upgrade the charts users have created are immediatly lost – because the upgrade process iOS 5.1 changes where “localStorage” is located on the device.

However, once you are on iOS 5.1 you can still continue to use the app and any charts you create will persist. But just be aware that the new location they are stored in is not considered permanent. So at any time, your device could decide to clear out the charts again – and it may do so because it’s low on storage or for a couple of other reasons.

I would recommend users wait for GCC v1.1.1 and not upgrade to iOS 5.1 yet – even if they are not fussed about losing their current charts.

If you’re an existing customer, you’ve hopefully updated already. If not – what are you waiting for! You’re going to want to your hands on these great new features:

• Export charts to PDF (the most requested feature we’ve had)
• Alternate tunings
• Multiple instruments (bass, ukulele, mandolin)
• Fretboard positional markers

There’s also a bugfix:

• Fixes issue with diminished chords, where the note name was not being calculated correctly for the bb7 interval

Please do let us know if you have any issues while upgrading.

This fixes the issue where changing the starting/ending fret from the default created a chord that did not look or function correctly, and the chart would not load if saved.

Please do let me know if you have any issues after receiving the update.

I’m also in the process of developing features for the next update which I hope to get finished and send off to Apple this week!

I can confirm that the next update will have the ability to export charts as PDFs (and email them).

I also have a couple of other features that will also be included in the next release, but will anounce the full details when the update is ready.

Thanks for your support everyone!

If you set the starting / ending fret for a chord other than the default (nut / 5th fret), then this breaks the app. The chord won’t look right on the screen, and then if you save the chart, you can’t get back into it.

I’ll be fixing this issue today and submitting the fix for Apple to approve. Sometimes Apple can take a few days (or even a week) to approve updates, which I understand will be quite inconvenient.

Thanks for your patience everyone, and thanks again for all the great feedback on the app I’ve been getting.

UPDATE:
I’ve now submitted the fix to Apple, so hopefully they will approve it soon.

In the last few days I’ve had feedback from quite a few customers and potential customers on the app. Thank you to everyone who has taken the time to contact me about feature requests or problems with the app. Much appreciated!

Two common requests I’ve had are “can I export a chart?” and “can I use alternate tunings?”. Just to let everyone know – both of these features will be supported in an upcoming release.

If you want more info on new features and updates when they occur, please do join the mailing list!

Also, just a note: I haven’t yet released the free/lite version of the app – But I will be doing that soon as well.

The first version will be released exclusively on the iTunes App Store, in both paid and free versions.

I will be looking to release an Android version as well as desktop version (for Mac and PC) later in 2012.

Please give the software a try – if you’re a guitar aficionado like me, I *know* that you will find it useful.

And of course, any feedback is greatly appreciated. I want to hear from the customers so I can improve this software even more!