NW Scheduler/Publisher - Updates, Support, and Suggestions

[Indapipe]

1 hour ago, Indapipe said:

prefer to not hear from users as much as possible. 😬

 

27 minutes ago, carlos said:

make you feel you are an annoyance.

 

21 minutes ago, Tortuga said:

process to contact them but i heard it was arduous. 

Ironic, since without users they have a very powerful and robust, but useless app.

[Tortuga]

46 minutes ago, Indapipe said:

 

 

Ironic, since without users they have a very powerful and robust, but useless app.

If it's anything like this site, they have a full time job keeping up with all the opinions they receive. 

[dljbsp]

5 minutes ago, Tortuga said:

If it's anything like this site, they have a full time job keeping up with all the opinions they receive. 

A note in the terms of service and use, require we be understand and loving, as the brothers and sisters that built it, are ALL in full-time service. All of the brothers are elders.

The have not requested suggestions.

They have created a volunteer network for personal support. You can even become a volunteer. 

You agreed to those terms when you installed their applications.

 

[Indapipe]

9 minutes ago, dljbsp said:

You agreed to those terms when you installed their applications.

Fair point. Thanks. 👍🏻 

[dvdgarofalo]

I just updated NWS to 8.1 and can no longer connect. Anyone else having the same issue?

 

 

[Marky]

I keep getting the message to send app data - I send it but nothing changes - I still keep getting the same message and it looks like the same app data.  There is a Reconnect button which doesn't seem to work either.  The notes say if that happens to wait a few hours and try again.  I will try again in the morning.

Edit: In the Shared Persons it does show me as updated to 8.1 #1443.

Edited 10 hours ago by Marky

[Jonathan1]

6 hours ago, Tortuga said:

If it's anything like this site, they have a full time job keeping up with all the opinions they receive. 

 

I can understand the frustration that’s being expressed here. At the same time, I think it’s helpful to look at the situation from a broader perspective.

 

From what I’ve seen, NW Scheduler has grown into a very large and complex application over the years. It handles many different areas all within a single system. That kind of scope can make it quite challenging to keep everything stable while also responding quickly to new suggestions.

In software like this, even small changes can have unexpected side effects elsewhere. So what may seem like a simple feature request from a user’s point of view can actually require a lot of careful work behind the scenes.

 

Because of that, it wouldn’t surprise me if the developers are trying to be cautious about introducing new changes. Not necessarily because they don’t want feedback, but because they may already be dealing with a very large and demanding codebase.

Of course, that doesn’t make the experience easier for users. But it might explain why the support process feels structured or limited.

[Jonathan1]

For me, this is exactly why architecture matters so much from the beginning.

 

If a system grows over time without clear boundaries between data, business logic, and user interface, it becomes harder and harder to maintain. At some point, even small changes can introduce risk, and every new feature adds more complexity instead of real value.

 

That’s why I try to approach software differently: keep the core simple, define clear domain models, separate concerns properly, and avoid letting UI or sync logic drive the data model. It may feel slower at the start, but it pays off later in stability, easier maintenance, and the ability to respond to real needs without everything becoming fragile.

 

In the long run, a well-structured foundation doesn’t just help developers, it directly improves the experience for users, because the system can evolve without constantly breaking or becoming harder to support.

[On the huh]

Update NWS to 8.1 and NWP to 4.0

No problems with NWS, except it is showing under NWP App Devices that all devices are an old version.  I know I've updated all my devices to 4.0.

Not seeing the new features in NWP 4.0 either.

[molnarj]

If you Refresh Authentication, the ones with the new app version show up.

[Floyd]

9 hours ago, dljbsp said:

A note in the terms of service and use, require we be understand and loving, as the brothers and sisters that built it, are ALL in full-time service. All of the brothers are elders.

The have not requested suggestions.

They have created a volunteer network for personal support. You can even become a volunteer. 

You agreed to those terms when you installed their applications.

 

 

I am adding to your comment not disagreeing with you.

 

I do appreciate that they are brothers and they are in full time service. That is great and I would always be respectful in my speech. But it is a commercial business that we are paying for. So for me the fact that they are brothers and they are in full time service has no bearing on the business. Its not a non profit. But not all businesses allow for feature requests so that is not something we should necessarily expect. But I do think actual support should be easier.

[dljbsp]

47 minutes ago, Floyd said:

I am adding to your comment not disagreeing with you.

I may be looking at this a little differently — and I’m not disagreeing with the frustration at all. If something isn’t working, that’s real, and it’s understandably frustrating.

 

From what I’ve understood, the software itself is free to use, and the support model has always leaned more on documentation and a volunteer network rather than direct, one-on-one support. So in that sense, I try to keep my expectations in line with that — even when it’s not the easiest route.

 

In a way, it reminds me a little of how even tools like JW Library are handled — where we’re often encouraged to lean on one another and work through things together rather than expecting direct, individualized support. It doesn’t remove the frustration, but it does shape how I personally approach it.

 

At the same time, I really do understand the difficulty when something just isn’t working the way it should. That’s not about feature requests — that’s about basic functionality, and I think we all feel that when it happens.

 

I guess for me, it’s just trying to balance both sides — appreciating what’s been built and the effort behind it, while also remembering that “each day has enough trouble of its own” (Matthew 6:34), and the congregation can still function even when New World Scheduler does not.

 

[dvdgarofalo]

Anyone have an install file for ver 8.0 they can share? My 8.1 install totally failed. Seem most items work but no territories. Had to change the pin so now all publishers will need to reconnect. Any suggestions? TYIA

[Matt S]

29 minutes ago, dvdgarofalo said:

Anyone have an install file for ver 8.0 they can share? My 8.1 install totally failed. Seem most items work but no territories. Had to change the pin so now all publishers will need to reconnect. Any suggestions? TYIA

If you mean no territories in NWpublisher app, did a brother with NWS Territories access send app data yet?
There shouldn't have been any need to change the App PIN. But I'd suggest you set the PIN to be the same as old PIN. That would avoid publishers needing to reconnect.

[foghorn]

Just updated NWS to ver 8.1. Now all territories forgot who they were assigned to! 😟

[molnarj]

Did an administrator do the first update? And did he send all the app data as instructed? 

Edited 1 hour ago by molnarj

[Tortuga]

1 hour ago, dljbsp said:

From what I’ve understood, the software itself is free to use,

It's not free

[Marky]

The issues I mentioned last night are all resolved now. This morning there was one more message to Send App Data.  This time it worked perfectly and everything seems to be functioning just fine now.

If you are having issues with the Send App Data not working, as the developers have suggested, wait a few hours and try again.  This worked for me.

[Pastore72]

territory maps

 

Hello dear brothers, I also updated to the new version, no problems. I was asking you if for you too the view of the territories on NWP with the OpenStreet map still doesn't work... I have some older brothers who find Google Maps too complicated with too many details and can't see the numbers on the houses, and another thing, on the statistics page where you can see the older territories not yet released and others, the image showing how many territories are in progress and the total doesn't update... it was very useful to me. A hug to everyone.