metro-style apps update behavior - windows-8

Which ways users can update Windows 8 metro-style apps installed on machine, considering a existing new version on Store?
Apps that uses ApplicationData.Current.LocalSettings to save some user data, when the app is updated, this settings are removed/reset or saved between versions?
And what is the behavior of LocalSettings when user uninstalls and reinstalls the app manually?

The settings are persisted between versions.
The LocalSettings are removed when the user uninstalls the app.

Related

Questions about Windows App (Metro) Tiles/Icons for desktop applications

I have an application written in VB.NET that I want to move to Win10. It will always be a desktop application, however I would like it to have a start icon / tile in Win 10. Looking around I found this exact question which suggests to create a Metro App (now I believe called Windows App) which launches the desktop app. This is also discussed in this thread. So the questions;
These threads are a little old is the best way in Win10 to give a desktop app a Windows App Tile by using a Windows App as the Launcher for the desktop app?
It appears that in Win10 Microsoft has now allowed non-store apps to be installed in Update Security > SideloadApps. This needs to be enabled to install the App, but does this need to be always enabled. For example what happens after install if the user turns it off, will the app then not start?
For example I see in this link that there are 2 Registry keys to change, basically AllowAllTrustedApps and AllowDevelopmentWithoutDevLicense. Is it possible for my desktop installer to change these keys, install the Windows App (and everything else) and then change the keys back again?
Uninstalling? If I created a Windows App which only launched my desktop app then there is a possibility that the user uninstalls or deletes the Windows App, meaning my desktop app would be orphaned and lost. Any suggestion on solving this?
According to your description, I think what you need is Desktop Bridge. There is no need to use a Windows App as the Launcher for the desktop app.
You can try with Desktop App Converter, with this you can bring your existing desktop apps written for .NET 4.6.1 or Win32 to the Universal Windows Platform (UWP).
And after converting, you can replace the Assets generated by Desktop App Converter (DAC) automatically to provide custom Tiles/Icons. For more, you can refer to Manually convert your app to UWP using the Desktop Bridge.

wso2 emm apk version management using the WSO2 store

I am testing WSO2-Emm system for managing our android mobile app. We have an app for taxi drivers. We deploy it using our tablets and a single gmail account. Our problem is that google allows up to 10 signed in devices for a single google account.
I have tried to load the apk to the WSO2 store. The problem is that when I want to upload a new version of the same app I get a warning message saying that this APK already exists in the store. When I try to rename it and add it as a new apk it works. The problem is that when I go to App-Management, the application appears under 'installed'. The Emm system doesn't detect there is a new version.
To be more specific, my question is is there a way to manage mobile application versions using the WSO2 store and not the google play store.
If there is a way we can go on with this system. If not, we will stop testing it.
The only way I've figured out how update an already installed app is by going to the App Management tab, selecting your latest version of the app in question, and hitting the install button under the Roles tab (NOT the Users tab). It will send the install command to any devices listed under roles you have checked, even if they already have the app installed. Keep in mind this will install the app on all the devices, even devices that already have the version you're trying to put out.
It looks like you already know about the patch on EMM-686 that must be implemented in order to upload multiple versions of the same app to the Publisher. Just in case you want to confirm it's implemented correctly, see my answer here for instructions on how to implement it.

Can I install my own Windows Phone App on a real device without uploading the app to Store?

I'm new to windows phone, and I don't have a real device to test on.
I know that one can install .XAP files from SD card.. but does this process reqires internet access to check that the app is on the store or I just installs it as in Android?
Thanks in advance
You can debug your app on your physical device in Visual Studio. Your device has to be connected via usb cabel to your computer and has to be developer unlocked. You can developer unlock your phone with the Windows Phone Developer Registration Tool, which is a part of the Windows Phone SDK. You can find more information about the process here.
No, you cannot install the xap package on other people devices until unless their phones are not developer unlocked. When you build a .xap package in Release mode, you need to first upload it to Store where the Microsoft team checks package for security concerns. Once that has been checked, package verified, then the packages can be installed, basically uploading the app.
To debug the app, its better to unlock your friend's phone and then test it on it. After that if you wish you can also un-register the phone to revert back to original developer locked mode.
There is one more method which I use when my app is completed but do not wish to release the app on store, but instead, I wish that first these apps be used by my friends first, they give feedback and after that I finally submit the app on Store.
To do this, I submit the app in private visibility on Store. There is an option while submitting the app which indicates whether you want that other users can see your app on phone. I mark it Hidden. Once my app is verified and is on store, I download the app from store by going to the appropriate link of app on store which is given in app profile at dev-center. I choose 'Download and Install Manually' option to download the xap. This xap can be installed on other devices without unlocking their device.

Keeping user data after upgrating a Windows Phone application

I have a Windows Phone application which needs to save some user data/settings in a xml file BUT when I upgrade and install a new version of this application, the data are destroyed and reset.
How can I preserve data/settings in a xml format when upgrading my application (for one version to a newer)?
According to MSDN,
Updating apps and isolated storage
When you update your app, any data in the isolated storage is preserved. However, data in the isolated storage is deleted if the user uninstalls and then reinstalls your app. For more information, see Data for Windows Phone 8.
Are you rebuilding the project every time before debugging? That will remove and install the app freshly. Try publishing the app on store in beta and update it. That should preserve app data.

Windows Phone - Restricrt users from using previous version of an app

I am working on a Windows Phone News Client and recently we changed some of the APIs. For that some of the older versions of my app is crashing heavily as there are format mismatches.
My question: Is there any way available to restrict users of previous version (suppose version 1.0.0.0) using that particular version? Or, force them to download the latest version of app (suppose version 1.0.0.1) from store? Does Windows Phone Store have any built in feature for this purpose?
Please guide me. Thanks.
As far as I can see, there is no such feature in Windows Phone Store to accomplish your requirement. When update available user will be notified, but the update won't get installed automatically without user action.
You should implement logic to restrict user in the application it self. For example, upon application start up, check current version against latest version in server, then close the application if it isn't up-to-date.