The two main use cases that Branch offers for deep-linking in the documentation are:
Deeplink directly into the app if the app is installed
Deeplink to the PlayStore/AppStore if the app is not installed and then forwarding the deeplink parameters
I'm curious if it is possible to always direct the user to the store in order to make sure they update the app to the latest version. Then, when the app is opened from the store the deep-link parameters are still available.
So the flow would be "Click on link" -> "Open play store/app store" -> "open app and handle deeplink"
Thank you.
A Branchster here -
Yes you can do that either by appending your PlayStore Link as a fallback url or by customising your Advance Redirects in Configuration in your Branch Dashboard. Note that this updating the redirects might cause some issue with your default link behaviour.
Related
What I am trying to do is opening a deep link in mobile browse (Not in app). Deeplinking is all set up, all the links with specific domains are opening/navigating into app opened from any where else. Now here is a scenario that there are some particular links with same domain (I set up deeplinking for), I want to open that in browser because I don't have any view to show for that link in my app so I want them open in browser.
I have identified the links but when I opened these links via Linking.openUrl it navigates me to the app.
if (lowerUrl.includes(PostType.NO_DEEP_LINK)) {
Linking.openURL(lowerUrl);
return null;
}
Is there any method I can specify the Linking method to open url in mobile browser not in app although the url has a same domain that is setup for deep linkg.
Solution 1#
The best possible solution for that can be using android:pathPattern in android manifest. Basically you have to provide path pattern (a sort regex) to match the valid links.
Documentation for that can be found here.
https://developer.android.com/guide/topics/manifest/data-element
Solution # 2
One has to make RN Native Module and instead Linking.openURL(lowerUrl) to handle this kind of scenario.
To make browser native module one can take help from here.
This solution doesn't work with devices which lacks google play services like Kindle Fire, etc
I have the following requirement and based on the branch docs I cannot get myself a straight answer.
We want to enable deep links that if the user has the app installed that it uses them and if not redirects to download then redirects.
If the user is on a desktop they get redirected to a page to download app.
We want to control all the actual deep linking using react navigation config and wanted to know how we can pair the two!? The guides are very poorly written and makes understanding the flow a nightmare.
Some guidance and suggestions on how best to accomplish this would be great.
P.s. are the links generated that when app found it takes the prefix and replaces with appname:// ??
Your requirement for deep linking can be handled with Branch, you can set the URI schemes of the apps under the link settings of your Branch dashboard and also mention your app on PlayStore/Appstore for the user to download the app when clicked on the link.Similarly you can add the redirection URLs for the scenarios when your link is clicked on a desktop.
Alternatively you can use our React SDK to create links with all these link properties and even more. More details here.
The handling of the deep link data and redirecting the user to the desired page can be found here.
If you wish to know more about how Branch passes data through to the app and attributes app sessions, check this.
I'm creating Firebase Dynamic Links programmatically in an Android and iOS apps.
Both apps are already available in Google Play and the App Store, so I want to use MinimumVersion to redirect users to the appropriate store if they are using previous versions.
The iOS parameters documentation states:
The version number of the minimum version of your app that can open the link. This flag is passed to your app when it is opened, and your app must decide what to do with it.
So if I understand it correctly, previous version would not be able to use it, as the code to decide what to do with it, doesn't exist in the current iOS version?
The Android parameters documentation states:
The versionCode of the minimum version of your app that can open the link. If the installed app is an older version, the user is taken to the Play Store to upgrade the app.
But when I try it, the Android device still suggests the current app to handle the intent, and doesn't redirect the user to upgrade it.
When I choose the app it opens it instead of redirecting.
What can cause this behavior?
Am I missing something in my understanding of how Firebase Dynamic Links suppose to work?
I need to open a third-party app from my react native mobile app. I understand that this is called universal linking on iOS and AppLink on Android.
I have done a lot of research for this, and I have been able to set up a link to the third party app on the app store. Now I just need to get my app to open up the app if the user has it installed. That requires the URI scheme of the other app, though.
My question is, how do I get the URI scheme to this third party app? Rather, how do I get the URI scheme of any app? I know the URI scheme of the twitter app is 'twitter://app', but the app I am trying to link to is way more niche than twitter or other popular apps, so there is no help for this sort of thing online.
Any tips?
Finding the URL scheme of an iOS app
Due to Apple's tendency for secrecy, it's not easy to find the URL scheme of an iOS app. But it can be done. Here's how I do it, using a Mac app called iMazing.
Launch iMazing, select a connected iOS device, click Apps:
In the footer of the window, click Manage Apps:
Select the app you're interested in , then select Export .IPA menu item. Note: You may need to download the app first.
The saved file will have the .ipa extension. Change the extension to .zip, and unzip the file. You now have a directory with the name matching the app's name.
Assuming "asana" is the app name, open the file "asana/Payload/asana.app/Info.plist" in a text editor, and search for a section that contains "CFBundleURLSchemes". Assuming the app contains CFBundleURLSchemes (they are optional), it should look something like this:
The URL scheme is in the <string>asana</string>, so the complete url scheme in this case is "asana://". Test that the URL launches the app by typing it into iOS Safari browser window. If it works, Safari should display an alert like this:
What About Apps Without CFBundleURLSchemes?
I haven't found a way to launch apps without CFBundleURLSchemes directly, but you can link to the app's page in the App Store, where the user can open the app with the Open button (or Get button if the app is not installed).
You will need to obtain the app page's URL from the App Store:
Open App Store, go to the app's page, click the share icon:
Click Copy Link:
The URL will look like this:
https://apps.apple.com/us/app/asana-organize-tasks-work/id489969512
Clicking on that link in Safari will bring up the app page in the App Store.
Maybe it is worth to start with some background:
There are various ways to deep link into an app, and it depends on the platform (iOS\Android\WindowsPhone...) and its version.
On iOS, up until version 9, the way to open an app was by using URI schemes, e.g. the one you added above: twitter://app. Each app declares the scheme that should be used. Therefore in order to deep link into the app you wish to open, you'll need to use the scheme that it declared. This is the same for Android until version 6.
Starting iOS9+, Apple introduced Universal Links as the method for deep linking. Here's some information: https://developer.apple.com/ios/universal-links/
In these versions, URI schemes won't longer work when using Safari browser (which is the iOS default browser) if the app is not installed. If the app is installed, however, URI schemes should allow opening the app, if everything is configured successfully. In Android there's a similar method called "AppLinks".
Having said this, the above information is for setting deep link for your app. I do not think that it is a common use case to open a third party app from your app - deep links are configured and used by the app owner (e.g. for publishing his\her app to engage users).
I'm working as a web developer for a start-up that has a andriod app prototype. I'm not an app developer ( still learning) so I'm a little unsure how to approach this.
I wanted to deeplink the app to the webpage. I came across this solution called Branch.io . It looks like exactly what we need but I'm not sure how to link it with an unpublished app. Maybe I'm missing something. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.
The Branch service actually doesn't depend on the App or Play Store at all. The link will first try to open up the app, but fallback to the store pages if not installed. You can override this fallback to any website, and the links will still function as usual.
To test an app not in the Play Store, first choose 'Custom URL' in the Link Settings dashboard, and fill in the page you'd like to send users when the app is not installed. It's common for people to send users to either their home page or TestFlight app.
Then, to test the deep linking through install and download tracking, just do the following:
Create a Branch link
Click it on your phone or on simulator and wait to be redirected
Run the app from Android Studio/Eclipse
Here are some more testing considerations. Happy linking.