AppBuilder v3.2

April 13, 2016

Release Notes

NEW

Major Features and Updates

This release of AppBuilder introduces the following major feature across the AppBuilder clients:

	Feature	In-Browser Client	Windows Client	Extension for Visual Studio	Command-Line Interface
Hybrid Development	The templates and the samples now target Apache Cordova 4.0.0*
	Develop Android apps with Apache Cordova 5.1.0 (Experimental)**
	Deprecated support for Apache Cordova 3.5.0
	Removed support for Apache Cordova 2.7.0, 3.0.0, and 3.2.0
	Switch between Debug and Release build configurations in the device simulator
	Develop with files which are both configuration- and platform-specific
	Improved server-side updates of Apache Cordova***
NativeScript Development	Develop apps with NativeScript 1.7.1
	Deprecated support for NativeScript 1.5.2
	Removed support for NativeScript 1.1.2, 1.2.3, and 1.4.3
	Develop with files which are both configuration- and platform-specific
	LiveSync changes to application packages over the air
	LiveSync changes to application packages over cable	Not Applicable
	Hardware acceleration is enabled for Android apps, by default

* Hybrid Development: The templates and the samples now target Apache Cordova 4.0.0
Newly created projects now target Apache Cordova 3.8.0 for iOS, Apache Cordova 4.1.1 for Android and Apache Cordova 3.8.0-2 for Windows Phone.

** Hybrid Development: Develop Android apps with Apache Cordova 5.1.0 (Experimental)
When you migrate your project to target Apache Cordova 5.0.0 (Experimental), you will actually develop with Apache Cordova 5.1.0 for Android, Apache Cordova 4.0.1 for iOS, and Apache Cordova 3.8.2 for Windows Phone. If your app already targets Apache Cordova 5.0.0 (Experimental), you need to migrate your project to Apache Cordova 4.0.0 and back to Apache Cordova 5.0.0 again for the change to be reflected in cordova.android.js.

*** Hybrid Development: Improved server-side updates of Apache Cordova
Occasionally, the AppBuilder team introduces minor updates to the list of currently supported Apache Cordova versions. For example, AppBuilder 3.1.2 updated the currently supported Apache Cordova 4.0.0 version to let you develop using Apache Cordova 4.1.1 for Android. Previously, you needed to perform manual steps to upgrade your project to use the update. Now, when a similar minor update is introduced for the target Apache Cordova version that your app is using, on your next build, AppBuilder will include the updated framework files in your application package. You will not need to perform any additional steps to apply the update to your app.

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FIXED

Notable Resolved Issues

This release of AppBuilder introduces the following notable resolved issues.

Functional Area	Notable Resolved Issues
Frameworks	If your project targets Apache Cordova 2.7.0, you cannot build for Android. If your project targets Apache Cordova 5.0.0 (Experimental), on iOS devices, the display name and the app icon might not appear as expected. After migrating your project to NativeScript 1.4.3, the action bar appears twice in your Android app. In projects created with Screen Builder which target NativeScript 1.4.3, the action bar appears twice in your Android app.
Mobile Devices and Platforms	When you debug on a connected Android device, you cannot modify the styles for your app. All changes to CSS in the debugger are reset on Enter. When you debug on a connected iOS device, the debug tools do not show CSS selectors properly. CSS selectors appears as [object Object]. If your project targets Apache Cordova 2.7.0, you cannot build for Android. When you pin your Windows Phone app to the start screen, the app icon might not appear properly. A blank square might be shown. If your project targets Apache Cordova 5.0.0 (Experimental), on iOS devices, the display name and the app icon might not appear as expected. When you debug on iOS devices, you cannot use the WebKit Inspector right-click context menus. After migrating your project to NativeScript 1.4.3, the action bar appears twice in your Android app. In projects created with Screen Builder which target NativeScript 1.4.3, the action bar appears twice in your Android app.
In-Browser Client	When you open a file in the code editor in Safari, a script error might be logged in the output.
Windows Client	When you debug on a connected Android device, you cannot modify the styles for your app. All changes to CSS in the debugger are reset on Enter. When you debug on a connected iOS device, the debug tools do not show CSS selectors properly. CSS selectors appears as [object Object]. When you debug on iOS devices, you cannot use the WebKit Inspector right-click context menus. Source mapping does not work in the device simulator. Apps with an enabled integrated Telerik Analytics plugin throw errors in the device simulator. The classic Windows desktop client might not save properly NativeScript plugin dependencies added from the Manage Packages wizard. This might cause build errors. You cannot test the Telerik Analytics, Telerik Mobile Testing, and Telerik AppFeedback plugins in the device simulator. Sometimes, installing a NativeScript dependency from the Manage Packages wizard might override previously added dependencies.
Extension for Visual Studio	When you debug on a connected Android device, you cannot modify the styles for your app. All changes to CSS in the debugger are reset on Enter. When you debug on a connected iOS device, the debug tools do not show CSS selectors properly. CSS selectors appears as [object Object]. When you debug on iOS devices, you cannot use the WebKit Inspector right-click context menus. Source mapping does not work in the device simulator. Apps with an enabled integrated Telerik Analytics plugin throw errors in the device simulator. When the same plugin is enabled multiple times with different versions in your project (for example, for different build configurations), the Project Properties might not load. The following error message might appear: An item with the same key has already been added. You cannot test the Telerik Analytics, Telerik Mobile Testing, and Telerik AppFeedback plugins in the device simulator. Sometimes, installing a NativeScript dependency from the Manage Packages wizard might override previously added dependencies.
Command-Line Interface	When you debug on a connected Android device, you cannot modify the styles for your app. All changes to CSS in the debugger are reset on Enter. When you debug on a connected iOS device, the debug tools do not show CSS selectors properly. CSS selectors appears as [object Object]. When you debug on iOS devices, you cannot use the WebKit Inspector right-click context menus. Source mapping does not work in the device simulator on Windows systems. Apps with an enabled integrated Telerik Analytics plugin throw errors in the device simulator. You cannot test the Telerik Analytics, Telerik Mobile Testing, and Telerik AppFeedback plugins in the device simulator. When you load an app in the NativeScript companion app for Android over cable, your app files are copied twice on the Android device.
Companion Apps	In the companion app for Android, you cannot test custom functionality for the Back button. When you load an app in the NativeScript companion app for Android over cable, your app files are copied twice on the Android device.

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CHANGED

Breaking Changes

Hybrid Development

Deprecated support for Apache Cordova 3.5.0. You can no longer change the target Apache Cordova version to 3.5.0. You will still be able to develop and build existing apps that target Apache Cordova 3.5.0.
Support for Apache Cordova 3.5.0 will be removed in a future release.

Removed support for Apache Cordova 2.7.0, 3.0.0, and 3.2.0. You can no longer build your project against Apache Cordova 2.7.0, 3.0.0, and 3.2.0. To resolve the issue, migrate to a newer supported Apache Cordova version.

The companion apps for hybrid development now target Apache Cordova 4.0.0. After you update the companion app, you will begin to see warnings if your app does not target Apache Cordova 4.0.0. You can ignore the warnings and continue testing your app but it might no longer behave as expected.

The iOS companion app for hybrid development now extracts application files to new locations. To be able to properly LiveSync changes over cable, you need to update the companion app and reload your app inside it.

The Android companion app now requires Android 4.0 or later. You will no longer be able to test your apps on earlier Android devices in the companion app.

AppBuilder now includes the server-side framework files for your target Apache Cordova version in your application package instead of the ones locally stored in your project. If your local framework files and the server-side ones differ in any way, you might experience issues when debugging your app on device with the built-in Microsoft Visual Studio debug tools.

AppBuilder no longer provides support for working with Android 2.x devices. You can deploy your Android apps only on Android 4.0 or later devices.

NativeScript Development

After you update your app to target NativeScript 1.7.1, you might no longer be able to run it on iOS devices because application.start now accepts a parameter for the main module instead of declaring it explicitly. For more information, see Application Lifecycle in the NativeScript Documentation.

After you update your app to target NativeScript 1.7.1, you can no longer debug on Android devices using the Microsoft Visual Studio debug tools.

When you update your app to target NativeScript 1.7.1, you might experience multiple issues due to breaking changes in the APIs. For more information about the major changes in NativeScript 1.7.1, see Cross-Platform Modules Changelog, NativeScript CLI Changelog, iOS Runtime Changelog and Android Runtime Changelog.

Deprecated support for NativeScript 1.5.2. You can no longer change the target NativeScript version to 1.5.2. You will still be able to develop and build existing apps that target NativeScript 1.5.2.
Support for NativeScript 1.5.2 will be removed in a future release.

Removed support for NativeScript 1.1.2, 1.2.3 and 1.4.3. You can no longer build your project against NativeScript 1.1.2, 1.2.3 and 1.4.3. To resolve the issue, migrate to the latest supported NativeScript version.

The iOS companion app for NativeScript development now extracts application files to new locations. To be able to properly LiveSync changes over cable, you need to update the companion app and reload your app inside it.

AppBuilder no longer provides support for working with iOS 7.x devices. You can deploy your iOS apps only on iOS 8.0 or later devices.