Spotlight On posts focus on Xojo community members. We’ll use this space to tell the stories of people using Xojo, share amazing Xojo-made apps and spread awareness of community resources. If you have an app, a project or a person you want to see featured in Spotlight On, tell us about it!
When I started sharing Spotlight On posts last year, Alvaro Fontán was a Xojo developer that immediately came to mind as someone who should have a spotlight shone on their work. Alvaro has been to multiple Xojo Developer Conferences and is a great guy to get into a conversation with, whether about Xojo or a lot of other topics. His Offroad Portal project is a excellent example of an app that solves a problem and helps a community of people. This project continues to grow with 26 current administrators around the country distributing volunteers to all 50 states.
Mac, Windows or Linux?
I develop in a Mac environment but create applications for Windows, Mac, and Web using Xojo. I primarily use MySQL for all the apps I build and frequently integrate APIs into my projects. I also enjoy incorporating HTML and CSS into Xojo applications to enhance their functionality and user experience.
What do you wish more people would ask/talk to you about regarding programming?
I wish schools provided more opportunities for young minds to explore programming. Today, everyone carries a powerful computer in their pocket, yet most people have no idea how to create custom tools to truly harness its potential. I think Xojo would be an amazing starting point for them.
How would you explain your most recent project to a 5 year old?
Many people with little off-road experience end up getting stuck, facing technical difficulties, or breaking down. To address this, we’ve developed a web application that captures the incident location and allows users to share photos, notes, and contact information. Once a request is submitted, administrators verify the situation and forward it to local volunteers across all 50 states. Currently, we have 3 general administrators, over 26 regular administrators, and more than 13,000 dedicated volunteers. Additionally, we have the support of hundreds of thousands of extra volunteers from local off-road organizations we collaborate with. Our application enables real-time tracking of the recovery process, allowing all involved parties to communicate and coordinate effectively.
What’s next on your “Learn Next” list?
I’m exploring ways to integrate AI to streamline the work of our administrators, as much of their tasks are repetitive and time-consuming.
What is something that has surprised you about coding in the last 10 years?
Sometimes, after spending hours developing a solution and testing it for days, a user will discover a bug by doing something I never thought to try in my own app.
Xojo isn’t the only tool in your kit. What is a piece of software more people should know about?
MySQL, CSS, HTML, Python, AppleScript, JavaScript.
What is something you worked on recently that you want to talk about?
I received a request from an elderly person who had never used a computer and wanted to learn how to use a simple word processor. After searching for an option that was easy enough to simplify saving, loading, printing, and emailing, I couldn’t find anything suitable. So, in just a few hours, I designed a simple interface using Xojo, integrated it with a MySQL back end, and made it extremely user-friendly—with autosaving, non-destructive editing, and buttons to navigate through different versions. There’s one click to print and one click to send a copy by email.
It may sound simple, but the more I thought about it, the more I realized how overwhelming it must be for someone who’s never used a modern UI to complete even the most basic tasks. Xojo turned out to be the perfect tool for quickly developing solutions like this one.
When did you start using Xojo?
1998/99.
How did you find Xojo?
Can’t remember. 🙂
What did you first build with Xojo?
Small apps for helping with things around the office.
When was that?
The first apps I developed were in the early 2000s. In 2002, with my background in graphic design and while working for a sales magazine, I created the software we used to produce the magazines, utilizing Xojo and AppleScript with Quark. In 2004, I was hired as a full-time developer for the first time, where I automated the creation of brochures and booklets using Xojo and AppleScript.
By 2007, I advanced further and was hired by a large corporation that owned 25 newspapers. There, I developed a photo database that managed and shared about a million photos using Xojo and MySQL. Later, I built an editorial system that automated newspaper design and managed web content for over 200 editors, reporters, and photographers, integrating Xojo with Joomla and later with WordPress for smaller sub-sites.
When the company was sold, I continued maintaining dozens of systems I had developed, working as a contractor for the new owners.
What do you build with it now?
Our application for Offroad Portal is what consumes most of my time.
Do you earn a living with Xojo?
Yes, absolutely.
Do you use it for your hobbies?
It’s a tool I use, much like someone would use a ruler or a calculator. For me, thinking about implementing solutions with Xojo comes naturally.
What’s your biggest Xojo success?
The newspaper software was my proudest achievement. It was a massive undertaking with countless challenges, but also a lot of fun. I worked on that project for over 12 years, and I vividly remember the code reaching over 120,000 lines. I started as the sole developer, but eventually, I was able to build a small team. This allowed me to delegate parts of the code to other developers and get help with web integration.
Thank you to Alvaro Fontán for answering questions and sharing his Xojo experience with the community. Learn more about Offroad Portal.
If you have an app, a project or a person you want to see featured in Spotlight On, tell us about it!