Ilaro

Please add iCloud support & export to Excel whole Ilaro database (not by separate index cards)

There is no user manual or video available to show you how to use it. I have emailed several times, got auto-acknowledgement, but never a reply. Retried the app after May/June 2018 update. App crashed as soon as "Use iCloud" was selected in Settings!

I was told there would be an update in December 2013, I have sent two emails this year asking when it would be updated and now they have my money they don't even reply.

Under its simple-to-use surface this is a more sophisticated app than might be obvious. That's how it should be. A great app makes life simpler whilst increasing the amount you get done. I'm bowled over by the sensible design. There are other database apps for iOS, good in their way. But I found them a bit clunky and they were taking time from the job I was trying to do. For me they failed the test of survival in real-life use. Index Card is a great app but it doesn't do what Ilaro does. Ilaro presents itself as a card index with searching by keywords. The beauty is that anyone making notes understands this. But as the blurb makes clear, it's quite a bit more cunning, and is so without being abstruse. For example, details of an author only need to be recorded or edited once for all the notes made on that author's works. Similarly, I misspelled the keyword 'History'. But I only needed to correct it in one place for it to appear correctly on all the cards to which it applied. Then of course you can select, rearrange, display, export an print your cards in a variety of useful ways and keep a diary of your thoughts. Unlike a real card index your data are backed up on iCloud (provided you've synced at some stage via iTunes & you're connected to iCloud). Because it's purpose-made for one job you don't need to think about database design. That's good; very good. But the one job lends itself to more uses than research notes. Some cataloguing for example. Or writing. Launched in November 2012, it's improved steadily and the amazingly responsive developer tells me that some improvements which sound seriously good to me are in the pipeline. Even without these I'll carry on using it enthusiastically. Ilaro is a delight to use, neatly addresses a real task, and has solved a set of note-keeping problems for me. Brilliant.

This app is buggy garbage that doesn't work. I asked for a refund and Apple said 'so sad for you.' So here is your one star for a trash can app that doesn't work.

It absolutely has some bugs, but nothing app or feature breaking. I’d consider them minor annoyances, but otherwise the app is great. It’s really helped with multiple research papers I’ve I recommend if your major requires you to write research papers.

Worth noting that this app which had been abandonware was updated recently. Fantastic potential but really needs desktop functionality and sync. Could be a great Zettelkasten or Slip Box replacement if they would put the effort in. At the moment is very focused as a project-based research card tool.

No response from the developer. If you don't want to spend hours entering information that will be lost or erased, don't get this app. Dear developer: Why spend all that time and money developing an app, only to lose it by neglecting to upkeep it? With a little upkeep and a few marketing videos, this could have been a bestseller. Previously: I previously reviewed this app and gave it a five star, but after encoutering a bug that locks me out of the information I entered and then crashes repeatedly when I try to click on it, I had to change my review. The backup of information is very important, and if this app is unable to do that in a way that retrives uncorropted information, it cannot be used for serious research. It takes hours to enter information in, and losing that is unacceptable. I'm hoping my information is not lost. I have written to the developer. Depending on the response and resolution to the problem, I will be changing this review to either a five star (if resolved) or to one star (if it's not resoloved - because this would make the program unusable). Previsously: This app is amazing for academics, college students, journalists, and writers. I keep track of all my sources, citations, writing topics, and authors here. I only wish there was a manual on how to use, because it is a little confusing.

There has been no movement in this app for quite some time and the developer has not responded to my numerous requests as to information on further development. So I can only conclude that this is abandonware and Apple should pull it from the store.

Let's keep it concise. You probably already have the best app in this category. This could have been a contender, but the last update was over a year ago. By the way Ilaro, not to be confused with the Nigerian city of the same name, means, "tool set," in Esperanto. "Nekompleta," is Esperanto for the English word: incomplete. How hard is it to add a sync feature (in any language)? Did you ever note that the green elephant has his own page on Wikipedia?