I’ve started filing bug reports with Apple using a handy tool named QuickRadar. It helps streamline the process by filing bug reports via a native app on my Mac, rather than having to go through this process:
- Open a web browser.
- Go through the process of signing into bugreport.apple.com
- File a bug report using Apple’s bug reporting web interface
QuickRadar also makes it easy to cross-post the submission of a bug report to OpenRadar. Since bugreport.apple.com is not publicly searchable and only allows developers to see their own bugs, OpenRadar is a way for developers to share their own bug reports and keep both themselves and their colleagues up-to-date on the status of various bugs filed with Apple. For more details, see below the jump.
To get started with QuickRadar:
1. Download a copy of the QuickRadar drag-and-drop application and copy it somewhere convenient.
2. Launch QuickRadar.You should see a new icon appear in your menubar.
3. Click on the menubar icon and select Preferences…
4. In the Preferences window, select Apple Radar
5. In the Apple Radar preferences, enter the Apple ID username and password that you normally use to sign into bugreport.apple.com.
6. Close out of Preferences.
7. Select New Radar…
8. A New Radar window will open.
9. Enter your bug report. Once complete, click the Submit button.
10. QuickRadar will file the bug report with bugreport.apple.com.
You may also want to make application settings adjustments in the Settings section of Preferences, or register an OpenRadar or social media account, but that’s up to you.
If an OpenRadar account is registered, a new Send to Open Radar checkbox will appear in the New Radar window.
When checked, your bug report will be submitted to bugreport.apple.com and cross-posted to OpenRadar.
Among QuickRadar‘s more awesome features is how easy it makes the process of filing a duplicate bug report. For folks not familiar with how Apple’s bug reporting works, the idea of deliberately filing a bug report that duplicates someone else’s bug report may seem redundant. It’s reporting the same problem, right? Doesn’t Apple already have that information?
Yes, they do but Apple also uses duplicate bug reports as a way to judge how many folks are impacted by a particular issue and can use that information when assigning resources to fix it. A million people reporting a particular problem via duplicate bug reports gives Apple information about that problem’s scope that they wouldn’t necessarily have if they just had one person reporting the problem. A duplicate bug report may also include new information about the problem which wasn’t captured in the initial bug report.
To help streamline the process of duplicating an already-submitted bug, QuickRadar includes a File a Duplicate… function:
1. Click on the menubar icon and select File a Duplicate…
2. A File a Duplicate dialog window will appear
3. Enter the ID number of the bug report that you want to duplicate.
4. A New Radar window will open with the contents of the original bug report. The body of the bug report will also include information that it is a duplicate bug report and reference the original bug report ID.
5. If desired, add additional information. Once complete, click the Submit button.
6. QuickRadar will file the duplicate bug report with bugreport.apple.com.
