Mister Lister Help

Mister Lister: An Overview

 

 

The List History Screen

Summary and Description

The first screen in Mister Lister displays all the previous lists you've created so that you can access them if need be in the future. You will also notice the 'Help' button on the top left that brings you to this site so that you can find additional help if need be.

The List History screen will display all of your lists in an overview summary form, showing how many items remain, how much the subtotal is, when the list was created, and so on.

More Information

Some lists are "Sticky", meaning they are always at the top of the list no matter when they were created. This is similar to the "sticky" feature of most web forums. Lists that are "Sticky" appear with a green indicator at the top of the list. In this way, you can create templates of lists you often use, then copy them as need be. At the top of the list they will be very handy. This could also be used for lists developed over a long period of time, such as lists for projects or holidays. (Hint: Lists can be set as sticky or unsticky from the list's action menu. For more information, check the "Action Menu" section of the List View)

Lastly, in the bottom left corner you'll notice a star in a box. This icon is used to create new lists and appears on every screen we can fit it into.

 

The List View Screen

Summary and Description

The "List View" screen is where the shopping truly takes place, and this is the screen that appears when you select a list item on the "List History" view. When creating new lists, this screen will appear first without any items, unless this list was created as a copy of a previous list.

Notice that name of the list is in the Title area. The Back button returns you to the "List History" view while the "Edit" button, as usual, allows you to edit the list by removing items, reordering items, or editing items' quantities, costs, and names.

So, to edit an item, you first have to click "Edit", then select a row in the table. This will load a new view similar to the 'Add Item View' discussed later.

Notice also that there are more icons in the toolbar area of the screen. The is the 'Edit List' icon. Click this button to load the 'Edit List' view to add multiple items to the list quickly an easily. For more information, see the 'Edit List' view description below.

The next icon, , is the 'Action List' icon. Click this icon to perform various actions on the list, such as emailing it to a contact, copying it to create a new list, and so on. There's more information about the 'Action List' view below.

More Information

The 'List View' screen maintains the current state of the shopping list. For each item on the list, there's the item name, the size, quantity, and cost, all for easy display. On the left of each item is the checkmark that signifies if you've retrieved the item or not. These fields combine to generate a summary of the list's costs, but they're also a reminder to you.

When an item is selected, a screen will appear asking how much it cost. In this way, you'll be able to quickly and easily keep track of how much the shopping trip is costing you. Don't care about cost? This feature can be turned off in the Settings so the price prompt no longer bothers you. (How handy!?)

Tip: Is the screen getting too cluttered with checked items? Shaking the iPhone will cause the list to reorder so that checked items fall to the bottom, leaving only the unchecked items on the top for easier access. Just remember to hold on!

Tip 2: If you quickly need to get to the bottom of the list, turn the iPhone upside down! This causes the list to reorder, showing the bottom items at the top.

Tip 3: Want to see a summary of your shopping trip? Rotate the iPhone on one side (or the other) and you'll see the shopping trip summary view which displays the estimated total cost, including tax, of your shopping trip, along with progress indicators to show how close you are to being finished. Excellent or just plain thoughtful? Both!

 

The Edit List Screen

The Edit List screen shows every item that has ever been previously added to a list. This means that at first the screen will appear blank, but after adding items to lists, this screen will fill out with full glory, kind of like a great tall oak with a lot of leaves (in the summer time).

The reason this screen is so useful is because it helps you narrow keep track of everything you're actually interested in rather than having to search for those things among huge lists of items you don't care about. Also, with each item there is a quantity control so you can quickly modify the quantity of each item. When you save, every item with a quantity greater than 0 (zero) gets added to you list. This makes creating lists quick as a flash once you've got a bit of history.

Tip: Want to quickly edit the quantities of items already on your list without searching through the whole table? Shake the iPhone to display only items with quantity greater than 0. This way you can change or remove items easily and efficiently. Just remember to hold on to your iPhone!

Tip: Want to add a large quantity of an item?  Simply press and hold the + or - buttons to add items faster.

Tip: There might not be an Edit button, but you can delete list items from the Edit List screen so that you don't have to see them anymore.  Simply swipe your finger across the item you want to delete, like the standard gesture for deleting, and then tap 'Delete.'  Poof!  The item is gone.
 

Adding a New Item

Unlike other applications, Mister Lister avoids giving you huge lists of pre-compiled items because we realize that you may never buy even half of them, and we don't want to slow you down when it comes to making shopping lists by having you wade through it all.  Our solution was to create a customized auto-complete field that does the wading and searching for you.

When searching for an item to add, simply type in at least three characters and our application will automatically search every default item and every item you've ever added personally, quickly displaying a list of possible items you can choose from.  Keep typing to make the list narrow even more.

Don't see the item you want?  Type the full name, and when you add the item to your list we'll remember it.  Not only will it display on the Edit List screen, but it will also be searchable in the auto-complete drop down feature.

After you finish finding or typing the name of the item, set the size and quantity and hit 'Save' to add it to your list.  Once added, the List View screen will load again and scroll automatically to the newly added item.

If this screen appears when you select to edit an item from the List View screen, the size and setting fields will already be set.  Simply adjust the size and quantity fields and tap 'Save' to update the list.

Tip: You can press and hold down the quantity control for it to quickly add more quantity.

 

The Action Screen

The Action screen represents all the actions that can be performed on an individual list.  This includes copying and emailing lists, functions that can also be performed on the List History screen.  Aside from the 'Close' button, which is bright red and of obvious function, the functions of each button are described below:

• Uncheck All - As it sounds, when this button is pressed, every checked item on the list is unchecked and the list is as if it were newly created.  We would prefer users create copies of lists instead of unchecking every item, but we also enjoy implementing features that make shopping as easy and painless as possible!
• Sort Alphabetically - When items are added to a list, there may be no particular ordering.  In this case, it may be easier to reorder the list alphabetically than to search through a number of randomly placed items.  When this button is pushed, the entire list is reordered alphabetically, overriding any sorting that may or may not have taken place.
• Copy List - The copy list function is the preferred method for creating a new, fresh list from a previous list.  When this button is tapped, a screen appears prompting for a new list name, which, upon saving, instantly loads the new list with the same items as the list that was copied.  With this functionality, users can create template lists that can be copied to serve as the basis of any list.  For instance, if a set of items are on practically every shopping list, a list of those items can be created.  Then, when a new shopping list needs to be made, that list can be copied.  Immediately the shopping list is already well under way!
• Email List - The email action lets you email a list, with size and quantity information, to any contact on your phone.  Use this to create a list and send it to a spouse or child or anyone else willing to do your shopping for you.  Good for you!
• Sticky / Unsticky - Perhaps the most confusing action, this button sets the status of the list as sticky or not.  Indicating that a list is sticky will make it appear at the top of the List History view with a special green indicator letting you know it is sticky.  Normally, the List History view is sorted such that newer lists are on top.  However, sticky lists stay on top of non-sticky lists, similar to a sticky post in a forum.  By using sticky lists, you can keep track of special lists that might last longer than a single trip, such as template lists or Christmas lists.