Previous update logs
V.6.3.5 (407)
13th January 2025
Added MIDI click track and MIDI clock master options
Added MIDI shorthand and control setup page for TC Helicon VoiceLive 3 (Extreme) pedal
PDF export now also allows for multiple columns when fit to page is selected
Added option to allow song selection using MIDI from external device (using combination of MSB and PC commands)
Instrument tab feature added to abc notation
Inline abc notation (within song lyrics) added
Importing of OnSong (iOS) html set list
Fix for scroll/next pedal minor issue.
Fix for MIDI footpedal long press detection
Various bug fixes
V.6.3.4 (406)
11th November 2024
OpenSongApp set bundle export/import - ideal for sharing a set with other users (includes the setlist and any required songs)
Support for JustChords (iOS) song and current setlist. Files can be imported and exported.
Various bug fixes
V.6.3.2 (404) BETA ONLY
25th October 2024
Audio recorder/player utilities added
Fix for abc notation decoding
Increased option of install for more Chromebooks
V.6.3.1 (403)
16th October 2024
Major redesign of the built in tuner.
Improved autoscroll and inline pause calculations
Individual song sticky note and abc notation preferences to force showing or suppress showing on song load (can override app default preference)
Fixed PDF export themes not correctly using capo font colours when required (they were incorrectly using the default chord font colour).
Various bug fixes
V.6.3.0 (402)
3rd October 2024
Updated UG extraction
Autoscroll countdown for predelay option added
Restore sets logic improved to reduce imports failing
Abc notation autoshow feature added
Various bug fixes
V.6.2.9 (401)
29th August 2024
Added inline chord diagram option for song display (useful for beginner players). Also for capo chords.
Updated autoscroll timer issue
Fixed bug when using local files (Pads, Backgrounds, etc) in a subfolder
Further fixes to clear cache of scroll values for Stage Mode when navigating back to the song display page
Fix for camera permission check failing when importing a song using the camera
V.6.2.8 (400) BETA ONLY
28th August 2024
Included capo chords for inline chord diagram display
V.6.2.7 (399) BETA ONLY
27th August 2024
Added inline chord diagram option for song display (useful for beginner players)
Updated autoscroll timer issue
Fixed bug when using local files (Pads, Backgrounds, etc) in a subfolder
Further fixes to clear cache of scroll values for Stage Mode when navigating back to the song display page
V.6.2.6 (398)
13th August 2024
Fix for old sets (without keys) not loading properly
Fixed PDF/Image crop preview
Fixed pad/audio link file issues
Fixed scroll bug in stage mode when returning from settings
Other minor bug fixes
V.6.2.5 (397)
6th August 2024
Updated permissions for webserver/local WiFi hotspot
Various bug fixes
V.6.2.4 (396)
2nd August 2024
Songs and NonOpenSongSongs database functions (backup/restore/export)
Nearby/Connect device improvements and option to auto start on boot
Exporting songs/sets to PDF/Print now includes scaling option and the ability to force to single page
Clients can now download the host's current set list and referenced songs (when connected)
Various bug fixes
V.6.2.1 (393)
21st July 2024
Updated webserver/local host logic
Fixes for song updating view after transpose or connected device changing song.
V.6.2.0 (392)
17th July 2024
Updated variation logic
Fix for UG/online song import issues
Various other bug fixes
V.6.1.5 (387)
8th July 2024
Added built in WiFi hotspot for web server when no WiFi networks are available
SongSelect and UG import fixes
Fixes for set menu items
Importing from docx files allowed
Bad song files are moved out of the OpenSong/Songs/ folder and into the OpenSong/Import folder. The user is alerted and can import/convert these files properly
V.6.1.4 (386)
8th May 2024
Updated chord format logic
Bug fixes
V.6.1.3 (385)
2nd May 2024
Fix for UG downloads
Improved webserver display and option to toggle chords
Minor improvements to speed of various background processes
V.6.1.2 (384)
21st April 2024
Fixed random crashes
Improved boot sequence speed
Added option to share CrashLog.txt
V.6.1.1 (383)
15th April 2024
Fix for delete set selection bug
Fix for boot issues on some Samsung devices
Local custom pads from v5 fixed (including H/Hmin keys)
Increased maximum threads (should speed up app on some devices)
V.6.0.9 (381)
19th March 2024
Bug fix for secondary display
V.6.0.8 (380)
11th March 2024
Added option to switch on/off request desktop site for UltimateGuitar import. Other online sources now user device default settings
Bug fixes
V.6.0.7 (379)
5th March 2024
Added Nearby custom messages
Bug fixes
V.6.0.6 (378)
1st March 2024
Added hardware acceleration off/on switch (to help minimise crashes
Fix for variation key changes
Updated commands and icons
Google Play crash fixes
V.6.0.5 (377)
23rd February 2024
Metronome fixes
Export fixes
Added inline autoscroll pause feature
Added prefer PDF for nearby client (to use alternative files)
Bug fixes from Google Play Store logs
V.6.0.3/4 (375/376)
22nd February 2024
Added inline autoscroll pause feature
Added prefer PDF for nearby client (to use alternative files)
Bug fixes from Google Play Store logs
V.6.0.2 (374)
13th February 2024
Identified bug fixes from Google Play Store and user feedback on the forum
V.6.0.1 (373)
8th February 2024
Identified bug fixes
Inline set defaults to 'off' due to lots of 1 star reviews from people who didn't see the message on how to hide it!
Complete app rewrite to massively improve render speeds and modularise code (making it easier to bug fix, add new features, etc).
V.6.0.0 (372)
31st January 2024
Complete app rewrite to massively improve render speeds and modularise code (making it easier to bug fix, add new features, etc).
Embracing Material App design to improve UI - a common complaint from users!
More features such as PDF exporting, OCR extraction of images and PDFs, MIDI pedals allowed as page turning devices, Chromatic guitar tuner, BeatBuddy integration, advanced song library searching/filtering, improved casting logic, manage song files easier, chord fingering playback including piano chords, export sets as PDF songbooks, transpose set items on the fly, various nearby connection modes, showcase highlighting of new features, links on most settings page to the online user guide, inline set view when performing, etc......
V.5.6.0(220)
1st Dec 2022
Minor bug fixes
This is the last update to v5!
V.5.5.9(219)
17th November 2022
Fix for storage permissions for Android R
Updated permissions for Google Nearby (for connecting devices)
Fix for section move in PresenterMode spotted by Ian
V.5.5.6(216)
1st November 2022
Fix for storage permission bug on Android R
V.5.5.5(215)
8th October 2022
Fix for set item variation creation using long press of + button
V.5.5.4(214)
7th September 2022
Updated Nearby permissions for Android 13
Fixed sorting of set crash for songs in 'MAIN' folder
Improved current set item highlighting (thanks Ian)
V.5.5.3(213)
10th August 2022
Updated permission requests for Google Nearby
Added alphabetical set sort
Various other minor tweaks, enhancements and bug fixes
V.5.5.2(212)
4th August 2022
Updated permission requests for Google Nearby
Various other minor tweaks, enhancements and bug fixes
V.5.5.1(211)
14th July 2022
Updated strings
Fixed WorshipTogether song search and download
Various other minor tweaks, enhancements and bug fixes
V.5.5.0(210)
8th July 2022
Updated UI to be cleaner
Various other minor tweaks, enhancements and bug fixes
V.5.4.9(209)
2nd May 2022
Fix for permissions for Google Nearby and MIDI over BluetoothLE
Updated song search - now in song menu header
Fix for guitar tab conversion between OpenSong and ChordPro formats
Various other minor tweaks, enhancements and bug fixes
V.5.4.8(208)
4th April 2022
Fix for German chord transpose
Fix for pedal reconnect sometimes crashing the app
Fix for rogue song code causing problems in the menu
Various other bug fixes and improvements
V.5.4.7(207)
16th February 2022
Includes fix for set list checkboxes not always showing.
Other fixes
- V.5.4.6(206)
- 5th February 2022
Includes fix for set list checkboxes not always showing.
V.5.4.5(205)
30th January 2022
Fix for set issue where app didn't recognise a song was in a set. Thanks to Alistair for support in debugging
Updated Solfège chord formatting (now matches SongSelect method) - thanks to Ian for coding contributions.
V.5.4.4(204)
26th January 2022
Added midi buffer delay
Transpose option to transpose by capo fret
Various bug fixes and many other enhancements (thanks Ian for code contributions and users for identifying via the forum)
V.5.4.1(201)
1st November 2021
Improvements to Nearby connections, pads, metronome use.
Reverted function of next/previous in set buttons and swipe when in Stage Mode to ignore song sections and move in the set. Scroll up/down buttons (or touch or pedal with scroll toggle) deal with song section choice.
Fix for set load issues
Update to scroll/page turn for PDF (scroll up/down to move through pages).
Fix for bugs when zooming in on highlighter notes, etc.
Fix for corrupted songs
Various other minor tweaks and improvements.
V.5.3.7(197)
14th July 2021
Fixes for Nearby Connections
Updates for Presentation Screens and Presenter mode
Fix for BibleGateway
Updates for AirTurn pedal
Ukrainian translation added (thanks Tarasz)
Clean up of song menu to minimise accidental scroll clicks
Received songs can now be reviewed and saved to your song database
Other minor fixes
V.5.3.2(192)
4th April 2021
Fix for KitKat users who couldn't select storage folder
Update to presentation second screen to match output backgrounds and feature for all modes where appropriate
Other minor fixes
V.5.3.1(191)
21st March 2021
Further improvements to metronome timing
Improved Nearby stability and usability with automatic silent reconnection if lost
Cleaner transpose improves chord placement
Storage chooser now has more guidance
Various visual improvements
Other minor fixes
V.5.3.0(190)
26th January 2021
Improvements to metronome and fix for timing slip with visual metronome
Updates to SongSelect import
Tidy up of popup windows
Added feature to filter out sections using custom prefixes (e.g. non-guitarists could hide [*guitar:C] sections)
Other minor fixes
V.5.2.9(189)
30th December 2020
Fix for issues with importing OpenSongApp and iOS/OnSong backups
Fix for long press to close menus
Other minor fixes
V.5.2.8 (188)
23rd December 2020
Improved storage location display
Improvements to metronome function/display
Better handling of non-English html encoded text (e.g. ö, Ä, é, or ß) when extracting from UG etc.
Other minor fixes
V.5.2.6 (186)
21st November 2020
Some improvements to menus to make them more sensible
Fix to linked files permissions being lost on device reboot
Other minor fixes
V.5.2.5 (185)
18th October 2020
Fix for crashes on Amazon and devices without Google Play.
App gives link to install Google Services/Play Store to gain access to Nearby Connect, Google Fonts, Google Cast if device does not have these services.
Fix for highlighter colour issues
Fixed Worship Together search on 'Find new songs'
Added import for OnSong sets (.onsong or .xml files)
Improvements to Presenter mode
V.5.2.4 (184)
4th October 2020
Updated Presenter mode - smoother and more reliable casting
Updates to CCLI licence information when projecting
Fixed autoscroll bug that was causing song duration to drift when autoscrolling
V.5.2.3 (183)
23rd August 2020
Updated PDF export feature (Android Lollipop+) to now create text based PDF (not a screenshot converted to a pdf). This is now also available when exporting a set, including all songs as pdf files for non OpenSongApp users.
Export png screenshot (Performance mode only) no longer requires adjusting autoscale to 'full'.
Various bug fixes.
V.5.2.2 (182)
18th August 2020
Fixed storage issues (Android 8+).
Updated 'Connect' feature to Google Nearby. Better compatibility/stability. All connecting devices need to be running v5.2.1+ as this update is not compatible with the older deprecated library used in V5.1.8 or lower.
Improvements to autoscroll & pads (thanks to GitHub contributions by IV).
Fixed multiple page PDFs pad cross fade.
Display chords/headings in bold and warn about accidental pedal presses (thanks again to IV).
Songsheet headers Bold lyrics option in Presentation mode.
Some other minor bug fixes
V.5.1.4 (174)
28th December 2019
PDFs (and images of songs) can now have autoscroll, pads, metronome, etc.
Some other bug fixes
V.5.1.3 (173)
12th December 2019
Fix for UG website change
V.5.1.2 (172)
28th November 2019
Fixed set loading bug that sometimes made the set list appear empty.
Various other bug fixes.
V.5.1.1 (171)
1st November 2019
Added vertical align option for Presentation Mode
Various other bug fixes.
V.5.1.0 (170)
16th October 2019
Nashville numbering system improvements (convert current chords to this format) - Make sure to set the song key first!
Metronome now has option to stop after set number of bars
Metronome max tempo increased to 299 bpm
Block shadow option added to connected display in Presentation mode
Various other bug fixes.
V.5.0.9 (169)
30th September 2019
Fixed set variations issue.
Added custom font for sticky notes.
Various other bug fixes.
V.5.0.8 (168)
2nd September 2019
Fix for UG website update
Option to allow autoscaled columns to all be the same font size or to scale to max size independently
Added 'duplicate' option to the Option->Song menu (quickly makes a copy of a song with another name, or in another location)
Code clean up
Bug fixes
V.5.0.5 (165)
5th August 2019
Many thanks to my numerous loyal users who have supported me over the years and understand the problems of keeping apps up to date. Also to those who have given me constructive and / or positive reviews on the Play Store. A massive thank you to those who have taken the time to help troubleshoot issues (sending screenshots, files, etc.). Also to those, who have supported me with donations (which I still find incredible that people do!). I've got to know some of you quite well over the years!
I have spent hundreds of hours since September trying to get the app able to run on newer versions of Android due to security updates (whilst I probably should have been spending time with my family!), however, I've taken a bit of a battering recently via email and Play Store ratings. With this in mind, I wanted to let users know that I am now considering removing the app from Google Play Store (and Amazon App Store). I'm finding it tough going to deal with it all! I will likely keep the app available via my website downloads page, which will also stop 'unexpected/forced' updates (as apps install via apk files don't get automatically updated). I'll keep the app on the Play Store for now (to help out those who need the update). I'll take a little time to consider my options. Sorry for any inconvenience this may cause.
Further updated the boot up screen to try to make it more obvious about setting the storage location using the red button (not using the links in the list of found locations - as these weren't allowed to take you to the displayed location unless you are running Android 9+)
Removed the direct email me and post to the forum link in the 'Other' option menu as too many users were using this to post to the forum without checking the forum for existing posts first. I've replaced this with a link to the forum.
Fix for KitKat users (Android stopped support in Oct 2017, I'm likely to have to stop soon as well especially after the huge amount of negative comments in the Play Store!) where line trimming was hiding the lyrics and chords. This is now disabled for KitKat.
Fix for some KitKat users selecting storage that tried to create an extra OpenSong folder
Fixed profile import issues caused by importing pre V4.3.0 profile files
Some other bug fixes
V.5.0.3 (163)
1st August 2019
Some bug fixes.
V.5.0.2 (162)
27th July 2019
Updated initial boot screen to animate 'Set storage location' button to highlight users what they need to do
Remixed the auto pads to reduce overloading the built in midi player (some devices refused to play them).
Removed Google fonts that weren't available
Fixed theme change not persisting across reboots
Added 'Close app' quick launch button option
Fixed some bugs identified from the big update
V.5.0.1 (161)
22nd July 2019
In order to move forward with newer devices (and the restrictions imposed), I've unfortunately had to drop support for devices running Android 4.2 and lower. I've only just managed to support KitKat for now (4.4). Android Lollipop (5.1) is now the recommended minimum. KitKat still cannot use SD cards I'm afraid, but the app will still work for you. I will keep older versions of the app on my Downloads page.
Full rewrite of app storage code to bring it in line with new Android security updates. This fixes issues for Android 8+ using the camera, external storage, sharing files, audio file links, etc.
Fixed song extraction issues from Ultimate Guitar and SongSelect due to their website updates.
Added pinch to zoom feature for songs for users who are used to using apps that don't automatically resize their songs to make best use of the space available. Use two fingers to pinch zoom.
Updated code to improve host/slave device interactions.
V.4.3.2 (154)
29th August 2018
Updated export code to deal with post Lollipop devices enforcing stricter security when sharing files
Updated code to improve host/slave device interactions
V.4.3.1 (153)
27th August 2018
Fixed ticks in song menu randomly resetting
Fixed issue of non OpenSong formatted songs (.txt, .chordpro, etc.) not displaying
Fixed bug causing a crash when blank sets were saved
Improved ChordPro processing (thanks to contribution by Steban23m)
Additional capo display in actionbar (thanks to contribution by Jörg)
V.4.3.0 (152)
18th August 2018
Fixed issue of importing some songs from online sources showing as an empty verse
Improved identification of malformed XML files when building song index
Opening malformed XML song files will now attempt an autofix
Autofixing a song during editing and importing a song from an online service will now try to identify guitar tab
Added item count to song folder
Connected slave devices will receive host songs automatically if they don't exist on the slave device
Fixed various bugs
V.4.2.8 (150)
21st July 2018
Reduced the likelihood of overwriting one of your songs accidentally with the 'Welcome to OpenSongApp' song (displayed if there was an error in your song)
Fixed bit of errant code appearing in songs extracted from Ultimate Guitar and reduced issue of rogue ampersands breaking xml files
When using 'Add brackets' button in edit mode, the cursor now moves inside the bracket (sensibly) to let you type your tag/section title
Added HolyChords.com as a source of new songs (especially for our Russian friends!).
Added set name to set view. Also states if the set has been changed from saved version
Pads can be paused/resumed during playback by tapping on the timer
Some other minor tweaks and improvements
V.4.2.7 (149)
15th June 2018
Songs can be edited using ChordPro styling e.g. [G]The chords f[C]or the [Dsus]song. The song is then converted back in to OpenSong format to remain compatible with the desktop app.
Added fix for ampersands (&) in UG songs - usually throws the errors during transposing.
Fixed sets containing songs in subfolders not saving or loading correctly
Improved Russian translation - many thank to Sergey!
V.4.2.6 (148)
16th May 2018
Fixed UG import issue after website change
Fixed the adding of custom image slides
Added toggle switch to song settings menu to keep multiverse verses compact.
Fixed some html tags not being processed in the song correctly
Fixed some glitches choosing link audio files
V.4.2.5 (147)
3rd March 2018
Added custom auto pad option (specify your own pad files for each key - must be saved in Pads folder)
Added sending of autoscroll start/stop to connected devices
Various bug fixes
V.4.2.4 (146)
16th February 2018
It is now possible to send MIDI commands and store these commands with songs (required Android Marshmallow+ and built in MIDI feature) - if MIDI menu is not visible, your device does not meet those requirements.
OpenSong XML Bibles can now be used (check the add custom slide to set option)
Toggle to show/hide the lyrics surround box (found in the fonts menu)
When scrolling backwards through a set, PDF files start at the last page as expected
Quick capo hint - when picking the capo fret from the edit song page and a song key is set, you will see the capo key for frets 1-11
Various bug fixes (presentation mode logos and background images, multiline verses, and others)
V.4.2.2 (144)
17th January 2018
Fixed download pdf crash on some songs from SongSelect
Various other bug fixes
Updates to some translations
V.4.2.1 (143)
5th January 2018
Updated storage selector to try to avoid users 'losing' songs by selecting the wrong location
Added 'find previous OpenSong installation locations' to the manage storage page
Redesigned foot pedal settings and added more assignable actions - 29 to choose from! Now supports pedals with up to 6 buttons. Each button can be customised and assigned a short press and long press action turning a 6 pedal device into an equivalent 12 pedal device!
CCLI automatic logging of songs now available (compatible with desktop app). Records creation, editing, adding to set (printing) and projecting. Log can be view/reset from within the app or exported as an XML file. Please note that this is not automatically sent to CCLI, but you can use this to help preparing your return.
Text shared from external apps (e.g. web browsers), can now be shared with OpenSongApp and it will create a new song for you.
Scriptures slides can now be automatically added to sets by sharing from YouVersion BibleApp - just highlight the verse, click on share and choose OpenSongApp
App can now automatically import the following file types (.ost, .osts, .osb, .backup, .pdf, .png, .jpg, .gif) by clicking on them in an external file browser. The app will then ask where you want to save them.
Hopefully fixed the ABCNotation issue that some users were experiencing.
Information text (autoscroll timers, pad timer and capo information) can now have the colours customised in themes.
Capo information bar now pulses a few times to draw your attention. You can also switch the size between mini and normal.
Autostart on/off options added for pads, autoscroll and metronome (only works after first manual start)
Added sub folders to the song list*
Added pause autoscroll quick launch button*
Added slow down or speed up autoscroll quick launch buttons*
Added custom maximum predelay time for autoscroll*
Updated themes (in edit song). You can now add any theme you want!
Fixed transpose issue with app not always using preferred chord format
Fixed line trimming to include comment lines and Presentation mode
Fixed pad volume not always saving
Fixed changes to current set not being saved when clicking on save to 'Saved set'
*Thanks go to James Miller for contributing code for the autoscroll and sub folder updates via GitHub
V.4.1.8 (140)
19th November 2017
Updated code in ABC Notation editor to extend range of supported devices
Updated XML file reader to better identify the character encoding (now also supports Windows-1250/1252)
Updated Presentation mode so that it now correctly sends songs to other devices running Performance/Stage modes
Stopped presentation order edit ignoring other song changes when editing the song
App now saves random song folder selection
Moved capo display to an info bar (top right) and included option for Roman numeral display of fret
Fixed battery text on/off not saving
Fixed capo fret not showing when using presentation order
Custom .ttf or .otf fonts now allowed - save them in /OpenSong/Fonts/ and select the custom font from the 'Fonts' menu
Added UkuTabs.com to 'Find new songs' menu
Fixed preview of audio link files not always playing
Added 'Learn Autoscroll time' feature
Added 'fix OpenSong format' button to the edit song window.
V.4.1.6 (138)
12th November 2017
Updated Google Cast API (Chromecast bug in the last iteration)
Updated set save logic (thanks to suggestions from Alistair)
Fix for songs extracted from pdf/UG that contained '&' causing errors
Updated code for creating ABC notation (music score)
V.4.1.4 (136)
30th October 2017
Improved scaling of image based songs (e.g. photos)
Added support for unlimited song subfolders (thanks to code contribution via GitHub by James)
Battery circle thickness can now be adjusted
Attempt to improve stylus support for highlighter notes
Fixed some minor bugs being reported by users
V.4.1.0b (132)
27th October 2017
Import from SongSelect - BETA. This uses the website and will download the PDF, then try to extract the song in OpenSong format (if the PDF is text based) into a separate file. This feature requires a SongSelect/CCLI subscription and valid login.
Built in feature to try and extract text from PDF files (after trying to edit PDF). Try to edit any text based PDF you have! This feature doesn't work for image based pdf files
Added music score clip (uses abc notation)
Added 'Random song' custom quick launch button
Allowed connected devices running Stage Mode to receive section commands from host
Improved highlighter scaling
Added undo feature for highlighter
Allowed highlighter tools to go down to 5px widths
Added 1/4 time signature (no 'off' beats)
Remove glitch of page buttons sometimes going off the top or bottom of the screen (not scrolling properly)
Stopped app opening unsupported functions for image/pdf files (which then corrupted them)
Fixed bug that could cause set item variations editing the original
Other bug fixes
V.4.0.8 (128)
7th August 2017
Added feature to change the alphabetical menu size in the song menu (you can also switch it off) - check out Gestures and menus/Menu settings
Fixed issue of pad files not working for some users (hopefully)
Fixed bug that wrongly ticked songs as being in the set if they had matching name parts. e.g. if 'Majesty' was in your set, the app was incorrectly ticking 'Majesty' and 'King of kings (Majesty)'
Fixed some of the page buttons (when not being grouped) not functioning as expected
Fixed other bugs reported by some users
V.4.0.7 (127)
5th August 2017
Bug fix for crash when starting Presentation mode - my fault entirely - sorry!!!!!
In addition to trimming sections, you can now switch on/off the automatic section space (see the font options).
V.4.0.6 (126)
4th August 2017
New experimental 'Highlighter' drawing mode added. This only works in Performance mode and if you are using full autoscale. Allows landscape and portrait notes to be saved separately. These can be shown automatically (for a set duration, or just on) or called up manually. Highlighter notes can be edited and include highlighter, pen and eraser, with various colours and tool sizes available. Also works for images and PDFs being used in the app as songs!
Option in the Autoscale menu to set the max Stage Mode section scaling
Empty space between sections can be automatically 'trimmed' - allowing more text to appear on the screen (Change fonts menu)
By request, I've added a Swedish translation (Google provided). Hopefully an improved one to come...
Just a quick note to let others know that a few users are starting to experience problems with external storage not being available. This is due to updates to Android security (nothing to do with me, despite criticism in the Play Store comments). I've always encouraged people to use internal/emulated storage - which I still suggest you do. Affected devices mostly seem to be Samsung ones currently. If you can move or copy your songs (using a file manager) and change your storage location in OpenSongApp, I'd highly recommend it. Check the internal/emulated storage location reported by OpenSongApp. This is the best place to store your files. I've played around with a way of changing how the storage can be accessed, but with limited success. I can just about make it work in the app, but currently Dropsync and Dropbox can't use the affected device storage either, so that would create other problems. I'm unlikely to be able to fix this.
V.4.0.5 (125)
23rd July 2017
Added feature to edit the battery, clock and song title/author in the actionbar menu (from Display menu)
Added option to email the forum directly from the app (from Other menu)
Added 'Edit song' to song long press feature in Song menu
Added 'Pop up set view' to custom gestures (e.g. long pressing a foot pedal)
Fixed 'Welcome to OpenSongApp' being set as the title wrongly for some files
Fixed Cavaquinho chords showing as Guitar chords
Fixed 'Edit presentation order' corrupting some songs in Presentation Mode
Fixed UG imports not always using the file name you have chosen
Fixed theme colour chooser not working for users with high resolution displays
Fixed option to return to the start screen
Fixed various other bugs causing crashes that were submitted via 'Report' feature
V.4.0.4 (124)
1st July 2017
Fixed cross-fading of pads between songs
Fixed autostart autoscroll
Fixed linked audio files not playing
Lyric lines now automatically add a space at the beginning (as desktop app does)
Fixed next song in set issue
Added transition time option for presentation mode
V.4.0.3 (123)
20th June 2017
KNOWN ISSUES - Automatic starting of autoscroll only works if you tap the screen after loading a new song. Pads aren't cross-fading and automatically starting between songs. I'll fix these soon!
Fixed sticky notes not closing when new songs are loaded
Fixed set navigation issue where sets contained the same item more than once
Fixed issue in Presentation mode where some songs weren't always being projected (if chords weren't also being displayed)
Generally increased the font sizes used in menus, windows and in edit mode
Added feature to let users specify the swipe gesture parameters
Added feature to let users set the scroll amounts and speed
Added 'Save' button to the set view. This allows you to save the 'Current set' as a 'Saved set'
Added option to donate via PayPal into the app (in the 'Other' menu) - requested by users!
Various other bug fixes based on user crash reports submitted - If you experience a crash and see the button offering you to report it, tell me what happened and submit the report - this shows up on my Google Play Console and helps me fix bugs.
Having had to buy a new Chromebook, I can now confirm that the app works well, including casting (if you have Google Play installed)
V.4.0.1 (121)
12th June 2017
Some bug fixes and enhancements to the big update:
Fixed the battery monitor using too much battery (ironically)
Fixed issue for some Samsung users (caused by a glitch in their hardware code)
Fixed tags not being recognised as verses/choruses (if capital letters were used)
Fixed a couple of other crashes identified from users submitting crash reports
Fixed performance and stage mode projection to not centre the text vertically - now looks more like the app display
Fixed the connect function sending the wrong song (when receive host files is ticked)
The 'Find new songs' menu only appears if the 'Welcome to OpenSongApp' song is showing and no songs are in the current folder
Added a feature in Presentation mode to automatically update the projector if a song section is clicked
Changed the sticky notes to look like post it notes. These are movable on the screen and can be automatically shown now and hidden after a certain length of time.
Updated the OnSong database import to cope with new and old OnSong databases
Added feature to change the text size for autoscroll and pad timers
Colour chooser for themes now includes RRGGBB text input (for those who like manual colour choice)
Improved the look of the popup menu screens
Updated some translations
V.4.0.0 (120)
7th June 2017
Here it is, the big update! While most users will only notice cosmetic differences, the app has virtually been rewritten from the base up, hopefully improving the overall performance and, of course, adding a rake of new features!
If you have any issue with accessing your current song database, don't worry, it won't have been deleted. Open the manage storage option and select your original storage location. You may need to close the app and then reopen it for everything to be rebuilt.
New UI with material design.
New 'Stage Mode' allowing better zooming of song sections at a time. This is primarily aimed at users wanting to control a projector at the same time as performing. This also allows tech teams to connect to on stage display monitors and show individual song sections with chords (similar to the congregation lyric projection).
Chromecast feature added allowing Performance and Stage Mode to be displayed wirelessly on a second screen
Images (.png, .jpg, .gif) can now be viewed in the app - useful if you've taken a photo of a song from another source! There is also the option to add a song via the camera (obviously this can't be transposed, or have any features such as pad, autoscroll, etc)
Experimental 'Connect' feature (required JellyBean+ and WiFi direct). Allows one user to be the host and clients can connect via WiFi. Client devices load songs when told to by the host.
Song menu now included alphabetical short cuts and song authors and keys (if set).
Added a quick set add/remove checkbox next to the songs in the song menu.
Backups can now be customised. You can choose which folders are backed up and when installing a backup, decide which folders to import and choose to overwrite existing songs, or only add new ones.
Popup windows (pads, autoscroll, etc.) can now be customised in terms of position, size and opacity.
Song loading is now MUCH faster.
Page buttons have been rationalised and tidied into groups when appropriate.
Custom quick launch page buttons have been added (3 to assign to whatever feature you want!).
You choose which page buttons you want to see.
Fixed fast scrolling of song menu (index now properly refreshes after changing folders).
New features added when long pressing on a song in the song menu.
Chords and headings can now be scaled in the song view page.
Battery level monitor added and general tidy up of the action bar.
Sets can now be organised into categories (folder grouping).
Next song in set display now includes the key (if set).
Option to export a list of songs you have (you specify the folders to include).
Now supports guitar tab. Start each line of tab with ;E :| (strings identified as e,B,G,D,A,E).
Alternative tab tunings available (just specify the tuning of each string). e.g. ;Gb:|--5--6. Each string is entered on a separate line.
Gestures and pedals can now start autoscroll, pad, metronome or combinations of 2 or 3 of these.
V.3.9.6 (107)
31st December 2016
Fixed UG import issue (again) - this was caused by an update to the UG website.
V.3.9.4 (105)
6th October 2016
Updated UG Import feature to cope with changes to UG website
Updated German translation - thanks Jan!
V.3.9.3 (104)
25th September 2016
Welcome song only appears on first install (or if you choose it from the song menu)
Long press foot pedal gestures now included (see Gestures)
You can now scroll through the song menu using the foot pedal up/down/next/previous buttons
Some bug fixes
Updated Serbian translation (thanks Ivan)
V.3.9.2 (103)
16th September 2016
Added OpenSongApp backup feature. Also allows exporting/importing/sharing backup files.
Fixed bug causing app crash for some users.
Lots of love for OnSong converts (or those working alongside musicians using OnSong) - Fixed OnSong import (due to OnSong moving to Zip64 format) and app now automatically batch converts .onsong files into OpenSong format.
V.3.8.9 (101)
2nd September 2016
Fixed a bug changing folders (in pre Marshmallow devices)
Added landscape mode for PDF file export
Fixed bug that caused PDF file to use older song names
Fixed searching of songs in MAIN folder that didn't open them.
I was desperate to get this update out before all of your gigs kick off tonight!
V.3.8.8 (100)
29th August 2016
Updated song menu structure now should make it easier to scroll through songs
Additional subfolder access now available
Exporting a song now includes a pdf version of the song. Make sure you use the light theme if you want a white page for your pdf!
Fixed bug that had hidden the set key option in the edit song page
Improved the song editing text window to avoid wrapping the lyrics window
Added new time signatures
V.3.8.6 (98)
11th August 2016
Added support for older versions of Android (down to 3.2)
Set view mode now more in line with Material design and matches colour/theme choices
Tweaked Ultimate Guitar extraction to cope with new website format
Improved Scripture extracting (now copes with more than 4 verses at a time)
Added 'search web for song' feature to allow you to quickly find out more about a song
Fixed a bug in Presentation Mode that stopped you editing songs via the menu
My song library has been removed from the app (sorry!)
'Welcome to OpenSongApp' quick guide song is now installed as the default song
Added support for Chrome books without touchscreen
Roboto font now included
Some new icons added (in preparation for further Material design tweaks)
Other bug fixes
V.3.8.5 (97)
2nd June 2016
Fixed issue some users were having due to Bluetooth permissions
V.3.8.4 (96)
2nd June 2016
Fixed bug that caused songs or sets with certain characters in the filename or contents to not load or display correctly
Maximum presentation autoscale font size option added
Pads, autoscroll and metronome work better together
Pads (or link audio files) can be set to loop (or not)
Minor bug fixes
Various performance improvements
V.3.8.3 (95)
1st June 2016
Maximum presentation autoscale font size option added
Pads, autoscroll and metronome work better together
Pads (or link audio files) can be set to loop (or not)
Minor bug fixes
Various performance improvements
V.3.8.2 (94)
21st May 2016
Backing tracks now don't loop unless you are using auto pads
App now uses built in file chooser for link files (Audio and other)
If a valid audio link file has been set, you can set the song duration to match this (for autoscroll)
Manually scrolling during autoscroll should now be more consistent
Presenter mode should now be less demanding on processor time (stops freezes)
Updated German translation - thanks Jan
V.3.8.1 (93)
13th May 2016
Sets with embedded images now import MUCH quicker and communicate better with the desktop app
Fixed a minor display bug that caused the comment line sizing to be ignored in 2 and 3 column view
Updated Serbian translation
V.3.8.0 (92)
8th May 2016
Display preferences can be saved to a profile and these can be loaded back as required - useful if you use the app in different ways (e.g. as a singer without chords and autoscale to width and as a musician with chords shown and full autoscale on). You'll find this in the 'Display' category
Added 'minimum' autoscale font size with override option - if autoscaling takes the font size below your minimum value, you can tell the app to scale to width only or turn autoscale off
Page buttons can now be sized from XS, S, M, L, XL and XXL - useful for different screen sizes
Fixed a bug that stopped the app leaving 'set' performance mode when choosing non-set songs
FIxed a bug that didn't always start a pdf at the first page
V.3.7.9 (91)
6th May 2016
Long pressing on the pad, autoscroll or metronome button starts/stops these functions directly (without the popup window)
Tidied up the display settings menu (grouping related items)
Fixed issues with wrongly encoded files
Speeded up the processing of songs (a little) - this is still very much device dependent
Added current set items back into right hand SET menu (you missed it apparently!)
V.3.7.8 (90)
15th April 2016
Updated GUI with menus now displaying on top of page buttons and menus
Fixed UG import issue caused by website change (again)
Additional Greek translations
V.3.7.7 (89)
6th April 2016
Songs in sets can now be changed to 'Variations'. The item can then be edited as required without changing the original. Great if you want to play a song in a different key during the set, or only want to play the chorus
The set menu has been tidied up - Set items are no longer shown in the right hand set menu. They can be view, reordered, deleted, shuffled, etc. using the set list page button (this now also appears on the Presenter mode)
The set list icon now pulses to show changes (rather than the right hand menu opening)
All new Greek translation has started - many thanks to Aggelos!
V.3.7.6 (88)
4th April 2016
Transpose of Do-Ré-Mi chords now included (for fixed-Do scale)
Scaling of comment lines and song headings now available from 'Change fonts' menu
Deleting of multiple sets at once now allowed
Bible verses can now be imported into sets (requires internet access - via BibleGateway.com)
Exporting set now includes the option to Tweet the set
Fixed import of songs from Chordie.com
Fixed autoscroll predelay causing app to freeze for the duration of the predelay on some devices
Fixed importing and exporting of sets with custom slides/images/scriptures which didn't work on some devices
V.3.7.5 (87)
28th March 2016
Transpose now uses preferred key choices (if key has been set for the song) - e.g. you can prefer to use F# or Gb for keys/chords
Each preferred key now uses flats or sharps as appropriate (e.g. C# uses sharps, whereas Db will use flats)
Added other song fields to the search (copyright, ccli, aka, alttheme, user1, user2, user3)
Page buttons (pad, metronome, autoscroll, stickynote, page, chords, link) can now be shown on the right or the bottom of the page
When using autoscroll, the current time position is shown on the screen (progress update)
Improved autoscroll calculation that better matches the scrolling to the song length
Sets files (from load, save, export, delete) can now be sorted in ascending or descending order
Multiple sets can be loaded at a time - allowing set merging - the order they are selected in is the order in which they will be imported
Added new instruments for chord diagrams - Cavaquinho, 4-string and 5-string banjo
Updated German, Serbian and French translations (thanks Jan, Ivan and Olivier)
V.3.7.4 (86)
21st February 2016
Improved French translation (thanks Olivier!)
Fixed bug for those using OpenChords (https://sourceforge.net/projects/openchords/) as their desktop chord management tool that caused the title to be wiped on editing a song
Updated the logo graphics
V.3.7.3 (85)
19th February 2016
Improved the full search feature (should be quicker and only happens when first opening the app). If you can't wait for the full indexing to complete, you can still search by filename. The songs shown should now be more compact.
To make it easier to search for a song by key, type the work 'key' first (in your language). e.g. 'key Gm'
Made the text on the buttons clearer to read on non Lollipop devices
Added feature to rebuild the search index and check any errors from the right hand 'Options' menu under the 'Storage' category
V.3.7.2 (84)
18th February 2016
Replaced V3.7.1 (83) within minutes as I mixed up the song title and the filename (not always the same!)
Finally managed to get full song search working (title, author, folder, lyrics, theme, key and hymn number) - the app rebuilds the song index each time it starts up (takes about 5 seconds to index my 2000+ songs)
Song and option menus now resize to half of the available screen width
Fixed issue where clicking a song in the new popup set window didn't always move to the correct position in the set
Tweaked the autoscroll autostart feature to make it more reliable
Fixed set export not including song files if they were in a subfolder
V.3.7.0 (82)
14th February 2016
Improved set list view - now allows dragging to rearrange and swiping to delete
Finally added Marshmallow permission requests
Updated UG import script (to follow new web page layout)
You can now specify a default autoscroll song length and delay for all songs that don't have these values set
Fixed transposing of songs with presentation order duplicating the sections
Fixed other minor niggles
V.3.6.9 (81)
25th January 2016
Updated translations (German and Serbian - thanks Jan and Ivan)
Open both menus gesture now also collapses the song menus
Fixed the autostart of metronome, pad and autoscroll
Fixed the importing of files (songs, sets and onsong files)
A few other minor bugs should be fixed.
V.3.6.8 (80)
18th January 2016
Improved gestures for autoscroll, pad, metronome - now work without opening popup window
Added basic sound level meter to Presentation mode (to help tech teams monitor levels)
Fixed issue of Material design causing crashes on older devices (particularly running Android 4.2.2)
V.3.6.7 (79)
8th January 2016
Added custom storage location (select from the 'Manage Storage' option). This allows users to select any location on internal or external storage (other than system folders obviously!)
Updated icons
Improved Lollipop/Marshmallow Material design
New songs added
General tidy up of code
V.3.6.6 (78)
23rd December 2015
Added Serbian translation. To select this (or any other installed translation), go the the right hand options menu and select Other/Language. Many thanks to Ivan for this translation!
V.3.6.5 (77)
14th December 2015
Fixed issue of some song lines being cut short.
Improved import of plain text files from Windows ANSI formatting (# and 7 chords being removed) - UTF-8 is the preferred encoding.
Added permissions for accessing and changing the wifi state in preparation for adding feature to run master and slave devices on stage (not ready yet!).
New songs added.
Other minor bug fixes.
V.3.6.4 (76)
6th Decemeber 2015
Fixed issue of some song lines being cut short
V.3.6.3 (75)
3rd December 2015
Improved recognition of utf-8 and utf-16 encoded XML files (issue for users importing from OnSong).
Improved conversion of OnSong formatted files.
V.3.6.2 (74)
28th November 2015
Fixed issue of some multi-verse songs causing the app to crash
Fixed issue of importing songs from internal storage to app when using external storage for songs
V.3.6.1 (73)
20th November 2015
Fixed issue for Marshmallow users that prevented the app asking for permission to access the device storage
Improved the German translation - thanks Jan!
V.3.6.0 (72)
21st October 2015
Fixed Ultimate Guitar import issues
Added recognition of usr files from SongSelect (these are words only files unfortunately)
Added support of custom image slides for presentation mode - WARNING - Only use these if your device has lots of memory, otherwise you may experience crashes!
New songs added
V.3.5.5 (71)
27th August 2015
Enabled link feature. Each song can be linked to a YouTube video, webpage, audio file and other document (such as pdf). These links will be opened in your default Android apps. You will need a file manager installed (such as ES File manager) to add links to local files. You can paste in web and YouTube links as well
Linked audio files can now be set as the backing track / pad for a song
Added tap to set tempo button for metronome. This averages the bpm. Waiting for more than 2 seconds resets the beat count.
Fixed issue of using chordpro songs in subfolders being moved
V.3.5.4 (70)
20th August 2015
Fix a bug that stopped you being able to rename songs stored in the main folder
Added a shuffle button to the Edit Set popup screen
V.3.5.3 (69)
19th August 2015
Fixed issue that stopped users editing their sets - my bad!
Tweaked the autoshow sticky notes option to only show notes in songs if they were presents (i.e. if no notes, show nothing).
V.3.5.2 (68)
17th August 2015
Ability to automatically display sticky notes when loading a song (if the song has any). You can toggle this on or off from the display section of the settings menu
Fixed problem trying to create a new song in the MAIN folder
Added a link to follow the app on Twitter (where new announcements are made and you can comment, etc.) in Settings/Other menu
Made choosing external PDF application (for non Lollipop users) a permanent choice
Fixed a bug that stopped Lollipop users viewing PDF files that weren't in the MAIN folder
Updated German translation (thanks Jan).
V.3.5.1 (67)
16th August 2015
Hopefully I've fixed a bug that was affecting a few users when trying to open the app
The app will now automatically open and install shared OpenSong files and sets that have custom .ost (Songs) and .osts (Sets) file extensions.
Exporting a song will now bundle an .ost version of the song so that other users running OpenSong Tablet can simply click on the shared file to add it to their song library
Exporting a set will now bundle an .osts version of the set so that other users running OpenSong Tablet can simply click on the shared file to add it to their set library. All songs in the set will also be bundled as .ost files for the user to install (make sure they are saved in the folders specified in the set though!)
The app will now automatically recognise OnSong backup files (ending with .backup) and will copy and install to your device.
The popup set view now shows custom notes and slides in a different colour to songs.
V.3.5.0 (66)
13th August 2015
Create notes/slides within sets - Can be used for reminders to do something, bits of text, prayers, etc.
Added popup set view button (appears on the right of the song page)
Modified right hand options menus. More groupings have been added to make options easier to navigate
Song editor has returned to full screen mode
Exporting a song via email will now include a screenshot as an image (use the light theme for a printable version shareable with other non OpenSong Tablet users).
Exporting a set via email will now also bundle the songs
For users not running Lollipop, PDF files will now attempt to open with external viewer (if installed)
Search view now lists songs in all folders (although you can only search for single keywords)
Improved import of OnSong files that had strange characters in them (darn Macs!)
New songs added
V.3.4.5 (65)
21st June 2015
Audio player now built into Presenter mode
Slight improvement in page drawing speed
Autoscroll autostart toggle feature between songs
Option to have double scroll arrows (up and down arrows at the top and bottom of the screen)
Install bundled songs only add songs that don't currently exist on the device
New songs added
V.3.4.4 (64)
18th May 2015
Major reworking of the Presenter mode. Hook your tablet up to a projector, Chromecast, Miracast, etc. and present lyrics to the congregation! Currently only lyrics, but chords coming too...
Presentation order now works! You can toggle this on/off from the Options menu. Songs can be created in custom orders from their sections by listing the order in the 'Presentation order' field from the 'Edit Song' page. Songs are then displayed following this order.
Improved language support for default section titles [V], [C], [B], [T] are now translated into your chosen language.
Songs are now sorted in user locales.
Improved capo display at the top of a song.
V.3.4.3 (63)
30th April 2015
Custom chords now added! You can now create, save and remove custom chords of your own. These are saved with the songs. Click on the 'Edit/Pencil' icon when browsing built in chords for your song
Added 'Next song in set' to page layout. Can be switched to "top", "bottom" or "off" from Options menu
Maximum autoscale font size value added to the Change Fonts page
V.3.4.2 (62)
27th April 2018
Common chord shapes now included (major, maj7, 7th, 6th, 9th, aug, min, m7, m6, dim7, m7b5, sus2, sus4, add9) for guitar, ukulele and mandolin. This is beta for now. You can access this via the Chord button at the bottom of the page (if page buttons are set as visible) or from the menu option.
Visual metronome (flashing title bar) now added
Export song now includes the song as plain text (in addition to the actual song file being attached)
Export set now includes the set as plain text (in addition to the actual set file being attached)
There are now 4 customisable colour themes (Dark, Light, Custom 1, Custom 2)
German translation improved (thanks Jan)
User selectable language (from 13 included translations)
Option to manually refresh song menu
Option to show only capo chords or both native and capo chords (if available)
Improved support for external storage
V.3.4.1 (61)
8th April 2015
Hopefully fixed a bug that was causing a crash for lots of users in V3.4.0 - my bad! This bug did not affect users running Android Lollipop (which is why it slipped past me).
V.3.4.0 (60)
7th April 2015
Metronome has been added
Extra foot pedal assignments available
Change fonts now includes an option to trim whitespace
Reworked autoscroll and pad button actions
Pad and metronome volumes (and pan) customisable
Metronome flows between songs (if tempo and time signature of the song is specified)
Various bug fixes
V.3.3.4 (59)
30th March 2015
Added a clock to the top bar to help you keep track of time!
Made the song title and author font smaller in the top bar so they can be seen
Improved German translation (thanks Jan!)
Connecting/disconnecting a pedal no longer refreshes the song page
Soft keyboard can now be easily shown even when a pedal is connected
Increased pause time between swiping between songs to fully allow the songs to draw properly (should minimise glitches of songs not being shown properly).
V.3.3.3 (58)
21st March 2015
Fixed a bug that was affecting new users. This meant the correct folders weren't being created meaning songs couldn't be found and set actions would crash the app. Many apologies for this. This bug came about as a result of setting up the external storage option.
V.3.3.2 (57)
16th March 2015
Page buttons (pad, autoscroll, etc.) have been reduced in size and can be switched off via a menu option. They are now also accessible from the top action bar menu
Autoscroll now has an adjustable delay before it starts
Fixed foot pedal setup button crash
Improved support for documents created in Mac/Linux/Windows (using different line break codes).
Various other minor bug fixes
V.3.3.0 (55)
9th March 2015
Quite a big update, with a lot of time spent on this - enjoy!
App now comes bundled with 24 worship 'pad' background tracks (covering all major and minor keys). Click on the 'music player' icon at the bottom left of the song screen (if you have set a key for the song, the pad will play in the background). This is ideal for creating 'ambiance' to a worship set, or simply 'filling out' your sound. These pads will cross-fade as you move between songs for a professional flow.
If you have set a song duration (in seconds) for your OpenSong song, the app will now autoscroll through the page for you. You can switch this on by clicking on the circular arrow button at the bottom left of the song screen. This is useful if you do not have a foot-pedal and your hands are busy!
OnSong backup files can now be imported. Simply place the OnSong backup file (XXXXXX.backup) into the documents/OpenSong/ folder, then from the Options menu, click on 'Import OnSong backup'. The app will list all backup files it finds at this location. Choose the appropriate one and the songs will be extracted into a new song folder titled 'OnSong' available in the Songs menu. After import, the songs will have the .onsong extension. Opening them from within the app will cause them to be converted to OpenSong format and they will be resaved without this file extension.
For all of those people who want store their songs on an external SD card (rather than cluttering up their internal memory), you can now specify where you want the app to read and save the songs and sets to. When you first open the app after the latest update, you will be asked which storage location you want to use. The default option (until this update) was the Internal storage (sometimes described as emulated external storage). If you have an SD card inserted, you can choose the second option - External storage. Be aware, removing this SD card will stop the app being able to use these songs (and you will be asked where they are!). You can change this storage location at any time by selecting 'Manage storage' from the Options menu. If you choose to change this location, the app will not delete the original files, nor will it move them - you will have to do this manually. This does mean, however, you can have two separate storage locations (if you have an SD card) and can use them independently if you want by switching between them.
Fixed a bug that stopped people renaming songs within the MAIN folder.