Appeon Workspace could be available in several versions:
-
demo version -- available in Apple App Store for the iOS device, while not available in any Google app market for the Android device.
-
built-in version -- available for the Android device, while not available for the iOS device.
-
customized version -- not available by default. It can be created by the developer or the server administrator according to their needs.
The built-in version and the demo version have the complete feature set of Appeon Workspace, as described in this document. The customized version may (or may not) have a complete feature set, depending on how it is customized by the developer or server administrator.
Before you go into the details for the different versions for the iOS and Android device, note that the version differences are mainly restricted by the Apple and Android policies, and Apple has much more stringent rules on the app distribution, hence will introduce much more work when preparing the Appeon Workspace for the iOS device.
For iOS Mobile Devices:
-
Appeon publishes a demo version of Appeon Workspace on Apple App Store.
There is always only one version of Appeon Workspace on App Store, because Apple does not allow multiple versions of the same app published on App Store, and this version of Appeon Workspace only works with the latest Appeon Mobile on the market. Due to these limitations, we call this Appeon Workspace the "demo version", and we strongly recommend it used only to test out or demonstrate the new features of the latest Appeon Mobile.
To install the demo version of Appeon Workspace from the Apple App Store:
On the iOS mobile devices, open App Store, search for "Appeon Workspace", and then tap Install.
-
No built-in Appeon Workspace for the iOS devices is provided any more, starting from Appeon 2016. You will have to create your own version of Appeon Workspace for the iOS device (see the customized version for more information).
-
The customized version is created by the developer or server administrator using the Appeon Developer Package tool. The customized Appeon Workspace can be uploaded to Apple App Store; or uploaded to a Web site such as Appeon Server via AEM.
Normally you would consider to package a customized version for these reasons:
-
You want to distribute an Appeon Workspace for the iOS mobile device, as the Appeon Workspace available on Apple App Store cannot satisfy your needs; and/or
-
You want to customize the visual elements (banner, texts, language, icons etc.) and functionalities (add/remove apps, default app etc.) in the workspace.
If you are interested to package and distribute your own customized version of Appeon Workspace for the iOS device, follow the instructions below.
-
To distribute Appeon Workspace on Apple App Store (so called "App Store distribution"), refer to Tutorial: Package & Distribute Appeon Workspace to App Store.
-
To distribute Appeon Workspace on Appeon Server or your own Web site (so called "in-house distribution"):
-
refer to the section called “Package & Distribute iOS Apps” in Appeon Mobile Tutorials (Mobile only) for packaging and distributing any iOS app including Appeon Workspace in manners including in-house distribution etc., then
-
refer to the section called “Mobile App Distribution” in Appeon Server Configuration Guide for .NET if you want to upload Appeon Workspace to Appeon Server, and finally
-
refer to Configuring the Appeon Workspace download center for creating the Appeon Workspace download center.
-
App Store Distribution vs. In-House Distribution
-
To distribute on App Store, you would need to enroll in the iOS Developer program, and to distribute on Appeon Server or your own Web site (in-house distribution), you need to enroll in the iOS Developer Enterprise program.
-
If you enroll in the iOS Developer Enterprise program, you are responsible for managing the Enterprise Program certificate and the provisioning profile. According to the Apple policy, the iOS Enterprise Program certificates expire after three years and provisioning profiles expire after one year, which means, before the distribution certificate expires, you will need to request an additional distribution certificate and replace the expired one, and before the provisioning profile expires, you will need to renew the provisioning profile using a valid certificate. Otherwise the app distributed using the enterprise provisioning profile will not launch after expiration. For more details, refer to Managing Expiring Certificates and Provisioning Profiles in the Apple document App Distribution Guide.
-
If Appeon Workspace is built and distributed thru the iOS Developer Enterprise program, when it is run on iOS 9.0 or later for the first time, the end user may receive an "Untrusted Enterprise Developer" prompt, Apple forces this prompt to appear because this Appeon Workspace has not gone through the App Store review process so it is technically untrusted. The end user can bypass the prompt by going to Settings > General > Profiles (or Device Management), tapping on the developer name under the "Enterprise App" heading, and then clicking on Trust.
-
Before Appeon Workspace is available for download from Apple App Store, Apple will need to review its code and may reject it if Apple considers it not comply with Apple's standards, therefore, be prepared that you may need to re-package Appeon Workspace according to Apple's requirements and the entire approval process may take up to one or two weeks. You may be interested to take a look at the App Store Review Guidelines first before you prepare to upload Appeon Workspace for approval.
-
Apple does not allow multiple versions of the same app published on Apple App Store, therefore, you probably have only one version of Appeon Workspace on Apple App Store, which means if you have more than one Appeon Server of different versions, you will need to plan which Appeon Workspace should be uploaded to App Store because Appeon Workspace can only work with the Appeon Server of the same version.
-
For Android Mobile Devices:
-
Appeon provides no Appeon Workspace on Google Play or any other Google app market, because Appeon provides a built-in Appeon Workspace with Appeon Server and that should satisfy your needs.
-
Appeon Server contains a built-in version of Appeon Workspace for the Android device.
In every release build of Appeon Server, the exact same build of Appeon Workspace is by default packaged and posted on Appeon Server, so that the developer or end user can easily download and install it. You could also directly take the APK file provided by Appeon and upload it to Google Play, or host it on a Web site, or send it to end users via emails etc.
To install the built-in version of Appeon Workspace on your Android device:
Use your Android mobile device to access the Appeon Workspace download center (http://server_ip_address/aws), and then click the download button to install Appeon Workspace to your mobile device.
Allowing the installation of apps from Unknown Sources on Android-powered devices
Android protects users from inadvertent download and install of apps from locations other than Google Play. It blocks such installs until the user opts-in Unknown sources in Settings > Security, shown in the following figure. To allow the installations of apps from other sources, users need to enable the Unknown sources setting on their devices, and they need to make this configuration change before they download the app to their devices.
Note that some network providers do not allow users to install app from unknown sources.
Appeon Workspace download center is created by Appeon to distribute the built-in version of Appeon Workspace. It is also served as a template to help the developer or server administrator to create their own download center and set the download URL correctly. Detailed instructions for how to do that are provided in Configuring the Appeon Workspace download center.
-
The customized version is created by the developer or server administrator using the Appeon Developer Package tool.
Normally you would not need to package a customized version for the Android device, because the built-in version should satisfy your needs (as aforementioned). The only scenario you may want to create a customized version for the Android device is that you want to customize the visual elements (banner, texts, language, icons etc.) and functionalities (add/remove apps, default app etc.) in the workspace.
If you are interested to package and distribute your own customized version of Appeon Workspace for the Android device, follow the instructions below.
To distribute your own Appeon Workspace on Google Play, refer to Tutorial: Package & Distribute Appeon Workspace to Google Play; to host Appeon Workspace on Appeon Server or your own Web site, refer to the section called “Package & Distribute Android Apps” in Appeon Mobile Tutorials (Mobile only).
