Now that we've successfully created a game app, let's try something new! In this chapter, you will learn to use more components and blocks—this time, to create an event app. This type of app is helpful to organize an event where you will gather a group of people for a specific activity, such as a party, book club, outing, or meeting. In building this type of app, you will learn how to do the following:
- Include images
- Create a navigation menu of buttons
- Add multiple screens
- Use multiple labels
- Set up a map feature
We are transitioning into a beginner-intermediate level of app-making, so you will discover that some features in this app require multiple steps. For example, in this chapter, we will be setting up the user interface for the RSVP form and the Guest List display, but we will actually be creating the database and coding the blocks for these in Chapter 6, Introduction to Databases.
As with any tutorial, this one will most probably spark creative ideas about other ways you could use these components or more features you may want to add to the app. Be sure to jot down your jolts of inspiration in a notebook when they occur. We recommend saving your app building ideas and concepts in one place. You will amass a valuable resource for when you finish the tutorials and embark out on your own app development.
Sign into App Inventor by clicking on the Create Apps button on the App Inventor home page (http://appinventor.mit.edu/explore/) and logging into your Google account. Once you are in App Inventor, click on Start new project in the upper-left corner of the screen (the location is the same whether you are in the Projects view or in the Designer view). A pop-up window will appear (as shown in the following screenshot); type EventApp for the project name:
Once you click on OK, you will be taken into the Designer view.