SYSTEM PREFERENCES

System preferences are catered towards App resources management. Some options become useful for those running older devices with memory limitations. They are also useful on Android Go™ devices with 1 GB or less of RAM, without multicore processors.

The options available are…

Theme: 

Gives you the option to choose the look and feel of Smart mineralogist using themes, with one theme catered towards brightly lit areas, and another favoring dark environments. By default, Android 9 and lower will automatically activate the dark theme when a low battery state is triggered by your device. Android 10 and higher will choose the appropriate theme based on your default System theme.

The options available are…

Theme: 

Gives you the option to choose the look and feel of Smart mineralogist using themes, with one theme catered towards brightly lit areas, and another favoring dark environments. By default, Android 9 and lower will automatically activate the dark theme when a low battery state is triggered by your device. Android 10 and higher will choose the appropriate theme based on your default System theme.

Performance options

Clear app navigation:

Toggle this option to allow the App to auto-erase its navigation history when a prior navigational choice seems unreachable. When you browse from one section of the app to the Next, the App maintains an internal 'stack' of your previous choices just in case you would like to go back. This stack is memory intensive and can quickly overuse your memory reserves if left unchecked. With this option enabled, the App will automatically clear your 'stack tree' every time you select a new option from the Navigation menu, saving memory in the process. Pressing the 'back' button to the beginning of navigation has the same effect as this option. This option maybe enabled depending on the amount of memory Smart mineralogist is allowed to allocate.

Conserve photo memory:

Gives you the option to limit how many images are loaded by image viewers throughout the app. Images are the largest memory users on the App and with multiple high-resolution images loaded for browsing can lead to memory starvation. This option can make app usage a pleasant experience for those with low performing devices. Toggle it to activate the 'Loaded photos' option below it, which allows you to set limits on how many images the App can load at once. This limit ranges from 1 to 4 images. This option is disabled for all devices.

Search Options

The App has an internal search engine to query the database for mineral names, formulae, year of discovery or IMA numbers. These options allow you to fine tune what the search engine should match for. They are also global, meaning they affect any tool that may attempt to perform a search.

The search options provide an added accuracy benefit when performing specific searches. For example, if you want to search for a formula with Iron in it, you would include the search phrase 'Fe' on your search text field. But if names, varieties and everything else is enabled, you will match all names and formulae with the phrase 'Fe', greatly decreasing the accuracy of your results. However, should disable everything other option but formulae search, then you will only get results with the formulae phrase 'Fe'. The available options are as follows…

Search mineral names:

Activate this option to match IMA-approved names of minerals. Take note that the search engine has the ability to convert non-English alphabet letters to English when searching. Meaning, names like Zenzénite are matched as Zenzenite. This option is enabled by default.

Search synonyms/varieties:

Activate this option to match non IMA names of minerals or their varieties. Some minerals have other popular names not included in the IMA list of approved minerals. Example, Mercury is also known as Quicksilver. If you would like to match non-IMA names, toggle any of these options to use them. The 'Varieties' option is enabled by default.

Search year of discovery:

Activate this option to search for minerals by their year of discovery. You may want to disable the 'Search IMA numbers' below as these options tend to conflict with one another. This option is disabled by default.

Search IMA numbers:

Activate this option to match unique IMA numbers of a mineral. Take note that IMA numbers frequently change when special procedures are performed on a mineral, making this option less effective than 'year of discovery' above.  This option is disabled by default.

Search formulae:

Activate this option to match IMA approved chemical formulae. As hinted on the introduction, you can use this option to find formulae with a particular element. Example, typing U on the search phrase should net you all minerals with the chemical element Uranium. This option is enabled by default.

Usage Options

Allow bug reports:

Opt to either send or not send bug reports as they occur. The App has a build in error reporting service which notifies me of catastrophic errors that causes the app to crash. This option allows you to report any app problems without any involvement in your part. This option is enabled by default.