Changelog — earlier versions
Versions 0.1 to 0.30 of Sitter Sheet, newest first. The recent versions are on the main changelog. Nothing here has been rewritten: this is the same text that was on the changelog page before 0.42 and 0.44 moved it to this page.
Version 0.30
New above the form: "Check the sheet for gaps", a live list of the boxes still left blank. It appears as soon as you add a cat and it goes away when there is nothing left to name, saying so instead. The lines it checks are the date you prepared the sheet, the dates you are away, your name and phone, the sitter's, a back-up contact, keys and alarm, the vet clinic and its number, the arrival steps, where things are, the last-visit steps, and any cat with no food or feeding times written down.
Each line is a link: press it and the page jumps to that box, so filling a sheet in is a walk down a short list rather than a hunt. The cat on medication with no out-of-hours vet number is caught too, using the same condition as the warning already printed on the sheet. The list shows at most seven lines and then "and N more", so it never grows taller than the page it is checking. It is a memory jog, not a warning: nothing on it stops you printing, and it is off the printed sheet and out of the plain text version.
Version 0.29
New in section 1: "Things for the sitter to bring", one per line. Each line becomes a short "Bring with you" list at the very top of the sheet, above the arrival steps — the only block that sits above them — so the sitter reads it before setting off rather than on the doorstep. It is for the little things that otherwise go in a text message: their own food, a phone charger, wellies for the garden, a torch for the shed.
Leave the box empty and nothing is added, as with the arrival steps and the where-things-are list; the plain text version carries the same list as a "BRING WITH YOU" block at the top, after the prepared-on and away lines. The example data has four lines, so pressing Load an example shows what it does, and the empty state on the right now names the block in its list of what the sheet contains.
Version 0.28
The "Day 2 onward" grid now takes three, four or five blank date columns, chosen with a row of buttons next to the tick box that puts the grid on the sheet. Before this the grid was always three columns, so a five-day trip ran out of columns on the first page. The buttons appear only while the grid is on the sheet, and the grid, its prompt line and the plain text version all follow the choice.
The plain text heading now names the number of columns too, for example "DAY 2 ONWARD (8 lines — the printed grid has 5 date columns, or copy this list once per day)". "Clear everything" puts the choice back to three columns along with the three tick boxes. As before, the choice is not saved between visits.
Version 0.27
If the "Last visit before you go home" box in section 1 is left empty, the sheet no longer jumps straight from the daily checklist to the sitter's note lines. The heading "Before you leave for the last time" still prints, with a short line under it saying nothing is written down yet and pointing back at section 1 — so the gap on the printed page reads as a gap in the notes, not as a printing fault or a missing block.
Type one line into the box and the block is exactly as it was in 0.25 and 0.26: a numbered list of the way out of the door. The plain text version is unchanged — it leaves the block out when the box is empty, so a copied message does not carry a note aimed at the owner.
Version 0.26
Every tick line on the sheet now says what it is to a screen reader. Before this, the square box next to each daily checklist line and each house job was hidden from screen readers, so the line was read out as plain text with no sign that a box was there to be ticked. Each line now carries a short hidden "Tick box (unticked)" before its text, so the sitter hears the mark and the line together.
In the "Day 2 onward" grid the spoken hint also says which column the box belongs to — "Tick box (unticked), date column 2" — because a grid of identical squares is otherwise impossible to follow by ear. Nothing changed for anyone reading the sheet with their eyes: the hidden text is off-screen, it never prints, and the sheet and the plain text version are word for word what they were in 0.25.
Version 0.25
New in section 1: "Last visit before you go home", one line per item. Each line becomes a numbered "Before you leave for the last time" block near the end of the sheet — after the daily checklist and the Day 2 grid, just before the sitter's note lines. It is the other end of the visit: count both cats, watch them eat, latch the windows, put the key back. The plain text version carries the same steps as a "BEFORE YOU LEAVE FOR THE LAST TIME" block, so a copied message ends with them too.
Leave the box empty and no block appears, as with the arrival steps and the where-things-are list. The example data has its own five lines, so pressing Load an example shows what it does, and the empty state on the right now names the block in its list of what the sheet contains.
Version 0.24
The sheet now says how many lines are in each tick list, so a sitter can see the size of the job before starting it: "8 lines to tick each day" above the daily checklist, the same count in the "Day 2 onward" grid's prompt, and "4 jobs to tick off" above the house jobs. The count is worked out from the finished list, so the extra daily lines you typed and the medication lines are already included and the number always matches the lines printed under it.
The plain text version carries the same counts in its block headings, for example "DAILY CHECKLIST (8 lines, tick each when it is done)". Nothing else changed: leave a box empty and its block does not appear, count and all. A one-line list reads "1 line", not "1 lines".
Version 0.23
The sheet can now carry a "Day 2 onward — tick each day" grid: the same daily lines down the side and three blank date columns across, sitting under the daily checklist and above the sitter's note lines. Write the date at the top of a column and tick a box on each line as it is done, so one printed page covers the days after the first instead of printing the checklist again and again for a week away.
There is a new tick box next to the sheet, on by default, to leave the grid off. The plain text version carries the same lines as a "DAY 2 ONWARD" block, to copy once per day. Two small things besides: "Clear everything" now puts the three sheet tick boxes (note lines, Day 2 grid, leftover-food line) back to ticked instead of leaving them as they were, and "Load an example" now ticks all three so the example sheet is complete. The grid covers three days after the first; a longer trip means printing another copy of the sheet, or carrying on in the notes at the end.
Version 0.22
The empty state on the right — the text you see before you have added a cat — is now a bulleted list instead of one long paragraph. It names what the sheet contains in the order it builds up: arrival steps, where things are, the feeding table and the leftover-food line, the prepared-on line and contacts, the vet block with the out-of-hours number, the medication warning, each cat and the house, the jobs, the missing-cat steps, the daily checklist and the sitter's note lines.
Nothing about the sheet itself changed; only the wording of that empty state, so a first-time visitor can see what they will get without reading a wall of text.
Version 0.21
New in section 4: "Extra daily checklist lines", one per line. The daily checklist on the sheet already carries the feeds, fresh water, the litter trays, any medication and the daily once-over; anything else the sitter does every day — a second tablet check, a plant, a bin bag — goes in this new box and is added to the same tick list on the sheet, just above the last "call me if" line. The plain text version carries the same extra lines as "[ ]" lines in the DAILY CHECKLIST block.
Leave the box empty and the checklist is exactly as before; blank lines are ignored. The example data has its own four extra lines, so pressing Load an example shows what it does.
Version 0.20
New in section 1: a leftover wet food line. Type your own rule for the rest of the tin or pouch — where it goes and what gets thrown away — and it prints on the sheet as "Leftover food", just under the feeding table, because the feeding table says what goes in and nothing says what happens to what is left. The plain text version carries it as a "Leftover food:" line at the end of the feeding block.
There is a tick box under the box, on by default, to leave the line off the sheet. If you keep the line on but leave the box empty, the page uses a standard sentence instead: any opened tin or pouch goes in a lidded pot in the fridge, and wet food left in a bowl for more than half an hour goes in the bin rather than back in the fridge. The example data has its own wording, and the known limits note that the line is only as good as what you typed — it is not feeding advice.
Version 0.19
The sheet can now end with four blank ruled lines headed "Notes for me — sitter: write here", with a one-line prompt to date each note and write what happened: what was eaten, the litter trays, anything odd, anything that ran out. It is meant to be written on with a pen and handed back at the end of the trip, so the notes come home with the sheet instead of being forgotten.
There is a new tick box under the size buttons, on by default, to leave the lines off the sheet if you would rather not print them. The plain text version carries the same block as "NOTES FOR ME" with blank rule lines, and the lines print in grey so a black-and-white printer keeps them visible. The block is kept whole rather than split by a page break.
Version 0.18
The "First things when you arrive" block at the top of the sheet now stands out in its own shaded panel with a coloured left edge and steps in the accent colour, the same shape as the "Call me if" signs and the medication warning. It was already the first block on the sheet, but on a printed page it read like another set of notes; now it reads as the first thing to do.
On paper the panel prints as light grey with a grey edge, so it still stands out on a black-and-white printer, and the block is kept whole rather than split by a page break. Nothing else changed: leave the arrival box empty and no panel appears, and the plain text version still lists the steps as "FIRST THINGS WHEN YOU ARRIVE".
Version 0.17
New safety check on the sheet: if a cat has medication written down but the out-of-hours vet box in section 2 is still empty, the sheet now shows a "Fill this in before you print" warning, in its own highlighted block between the vet section and the cats. It names the cat on medication and asks you to add an out-of-hours number first, because out of hours the clinic number often goes to an answerphone and a cat on medication cannot wait until the morning.
The plain text version carries the same warning as a "FILL THIS IN BEFORE YOU PRINT" block after VET, so a copied message does not lose it. Nothing else changed: fill the out-of-hours box in and the warning disappears on its own. As before, the sheet is a memory aid, not veterinary advice.
Version 0.16
New in section 1: a "Where things are" box, one item per line — dry food, wet food, litter and scoop, the cat carrier, the bin. Each line becomes a bullet list on the sheet just under the arrival steps and above the feeding table, so the sitter is not opening every cupboard on the first visit. The plain text version carries the same list as "WHERE THINGS ARE".
Because that box now covers the kitchen and the utility room, section 4 has been renamed "Anything else about the house" and points back at section 1 for where the food lives; the example sheet now uses it for the wifi and a window that does not latch. Leave the new box empty and the block simply does not appear.
Version 0.15
Section 2 (the vet) now has two more boxes: the clinic's address, with room for a landmark or where to park, and its opening hours. Both print in the vet block on the sheet — Address and Opening hours — and both travel in the plain text version, so a sitter copying the sheet into a message knows where to go and whether the clinic is even open when they get there.
Leave either box empty and nothing is added for it; the vet block now appears if any one of the six vet fields is filled in, rather than only the name or phone. The example data includes an address and hours. The "Check the sheet for gaps" list added in 0.30 did not name these two boxes at all; version 0.37 adds them.
Version 0.14
New in section 1: a "First things to do when you arrive" box, one step per line. Each line becomes a numbered step in a block at the very top of the sheet, above the feeding table — the things a sitter forgets on the first visit, like letting the cats see you in, counting both of them before leaving, and shutting the front door properly.
The plain text version leads with the same steps as "FIRST THINGS WHEN YOU ARRIVE", numbered, just under the prepared-on and away lines. Leave the box empty and the block simply does not appear; the example data now includes four steps.
Version 0.13
New under the Print button: a Small / Normal / Large choice for the size of the sheet. Small fits the most on a page, Normal is the size from before, and Large is easier to read at arm's length. The sheet on screen changes straight away, so you can see how much room it takes before you print. On paper the three choices are set in points (10.5pt, 12.5pt and 14pt), so they come out the same size whatever the browser's own print scaling is doing.
The whole sheet now scales as one piece: the feeding table, the key labels, the tick lists and the footer all grow and shrink together instead of drifting apart. The print hint next to the buttons says which way to go if the sheet runs long. The choice is not saved, like everything else on this page.
Version 0.12
The printed sheet now breaks between blocks instead of through them: each cat block, the feeding table, the missing-cat steps and every tick line are kept whole, and a heading never sits alone at the foot of a page. Long sheets therefore run onto a second page with a small gap rather than splitting a cat in half.
Added a short note next to the Print button explaining this and suggesting you print at 100% ("Actual size") so the borders, table and tick boxes come out right. Print margins are set to 12mm, so the sheet does not run into the edge of the paper.
Version 0.11
Section 1 has a new "Sheet prepared on" box, and the sheet now prints a "Prepared on" line just under its title, before the away dates. This page has no clock and stores nothing, so the date is typed in by you (a day name like "Sunday" is fine) — the point is that the sitter can see at a glance how fresh the notes are.
If you leave it empty, the sheet says the date is not written down yet rather than staying quiet. The plain text version carries the same line as "Prepared on: ..." (or "not written down"), and the example data includes one.
Version 0.10
Section 1 now has a back-up contact: a name (who they are and where the key is) and a phone number, for the neighbour or second sitter your sitter can ring if they cannot reach you. On the sheet it appears in the contacts block as "If you cannot reach me", and the plain text carries the same line in the TRIP block.
If it is left empty the sheet says so plainly instead of staying silent, so you notice the gap before you hand it over. The example data now includes one.
Version 0.9
New in section 4: a "Jobs to tick off while I am away" box, one job per line. Each line becomes a tick box under "House jobs while I am away" on the sheet (between The house and the missing-cat steps) and a "[ ]" line in the plain text, so a sitter can tick off bins, plants and windows as they go.
The example data now includes four house jobs. Blank lines are ignored. As with everything else, the ticks are for a pen on paper — nothing is stored.
Version 0.8
The out-of-hours / emergency vet now has its own box in section 2, separate from the clinic number — at night and at weekends the clinic number often goes to an answerphone. On the sheet it appears as a highlighted "Out of hours" block at the top of the vet section, and the footer line points the sitter at it. If you leave it empty, the sheet says the number is not written down yet.
The plain-text version carries the same line, "OUT OF HOURS: ...", first in the VET block, and the example data now includes an emergency number.
Version 0.7
Added an "If a cat goes missing" block to the sheet, with four short steps: look inside first (rooms, under beds, wardrobes, cupboards, behind the boiler), keep doors and windows shut while you search and call the cats while shaking the food, ring the owner straight away if there is no sign, and ring the vet if a cat is hurt or has been out for hours.
There is a new optional section 5 in the form ("Your notes for a missing cat") for hiding places, microchip details and how likely each cat is to wander; those notes appear with the steps on the sheet and in the plain text.
Version 0.6
Added a "Sitter's daily checklist" at the end of the sheet: morning feed, evening feed, fresh water, litter trays, a line for each cat that has medication (with the dose you wrote down), and a reminder to look each cat over for its "call me if" signs. The boxes are meant to be ticked with a pen on the printed sheet.
The plain-text version ends with the same checklist, one "[ ]" line each, so a copied message carries it too.
Version 0.5
Added a "Feeding at a glance" table at the top of the sheet: one row per cat with the food and the times, in the same order as the cat chips. If a cat has neither food nor times written down, the table says so and tells you to press Edit.
The plain-text version starts with the same summary (one line per cat), so a copied message leads with the feeding plan.
Version 0.4
Each cat chip now has up and down arrows, so you can put a cat that needs medication first. The sheet and the plain-text version follow that order, and an edit in progress follows the cat you move, not the slot.
Version 0.3
Added a per-cat "When to worry" field: the signs that mean the sitter should call you straight away. It shows as a highlighted "Call me if" block on the sheet and as a CALL ME IF line in the plain text.
Version 0.2
Each cat chip has an Edit button, which loads that cat back into the form (the main button becomes "Save changes", and there is a Cancel edit button or the Escape key). Adding a cat whose name is already used now warns instead of creating a duplicate.
Version 0.1
First version: fill in the trip and contacts, the vet, one or more cats (name, food, times, meds, litter, quirks) and house notes; a care sheet appears as you type, with Print and Copy as text. An example and a clear button are included.