I have created a custom App URL for my iOS app. The URL format is similar to this:
myappname://texttobeparsed
This works fine when I paste the URL in safari, My App opens and correctly handles the URL. The problem is that other apps such as iMessage or Notes do not recognize this as a URL.
Why isn't this URL scheme being recognized as a URL? Could it have to do with how I set it up in my info.plist file or something else?
Or, does the URL need to be in a different format to be recognized?
I know it's possible to have the system recognize it as a URL in apps other than web-browsers because I've seen it before with other apps (ex. iTunes: itms://itunes.com/apps/appname or Twitter: twitter:// or Facebook: fb://).
There's nothing you can do about this. If the link isn't explicit (e.g. in an HTML email), these apps can just recognize a built-in set of standard URL schemes. itms:// is one of Apple's own schemes (for the iTunes Store), so it makes sense that it is supported in addition to the standard mailto://, http://, tel://... schemes.
Edit: I would guess that the information that is used to determine what constitutes a valid URL in text views etc. is cached somehow. Contrary to what I initially guessed, it seems that app-specific URLs do work in Notes, etc. I've tested this with tweetbot:// for example (which I have installed) and twitter:// (which I don't have installed) to verify that it doesn't just check for a pattern like *://, but actually uses information about the installed apps.
I'd suggest that you try to restart your device. If it's an issue with some cache, that might help and I don't think there's much else you could do if your URL scheme already works in Safari.
Update: I've installed the official Twitter app to test this, the twitter:// scheme wasn't immediately recognized in Notes, but after killing and restarting the Notes app, it worked.
Update 2: I've done a minimal test app with myappname:// as a custom URL scheme. Again, like with the Twitter app, it worked after restarting the Notes app, so it doesn't seem related to the popularity of the app or whether it's been submitted or not.
I can't answer as to why it's not working (beyond guessing that the link interpreter is hard-coded to only recognize certain URL schemes), but I can say that the typical way around this is to link to a web page, and have the web page redirect to your custom scheme.
It's slightly less elegant, because the user will see Safari open up briefly before being forwarded to your app, but it's also more robust because the web page can provide a link to the app store to install the app if it is not installed on the user's phone.
Related
I maintain an application written in C++Builder 2009. Part of it involves using a TWebBrowser control (based on Internet Explorer) to send users to a Google login page in order to obtain an OAuth key. This has worked well for a while, but now Google, bless their hearts, has implemented some kind of security upgrade, and now my users get to a page that says "Couldn't sign you in, this browser or app may not be secure". FYI, I am already setting a Registry key that is supposed to make IE run in version 11 emulation mode.
I do have a couple of workarounds: If the user runs IE first in admin mode, signs on, leaves it up while running my application, we don't get the problem. Second, I can start up the default browser - Chrome, IE, whatever - and send them to the URL for OAuth, then it avoids the error message.
The problem with this solution is that without being able to hook into TWebBrowser events, I don't have any way to automatically retrieve the OAuth key - it is necessary for the user to cut/paste it into my application. I'd like to avoid these clunky solutions.
I should also mention, this problem occurs only for certain Gmail accounts. I have no idea what the difference is between accounts that work and don't work. Any ideas on that?
So, is there any way to configure IE or TWebBrowser so this security issue is bypassed? Or, if I was to update to a modern version of C++Builder and use TWebBrowser (or something else?), would this problem be avoided? Any other ideas to fix this problem?
The latest C++Builder supports Google's Chromium engine, it's probably safe to say it'll be compatible with Google's security upgrades.
Powerful Chromium Based WebView Component To Host Web Content In Your Delphi/C++ Builder FireMonkey Apps
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 trying to authenticate a desktop application with OAuth. I already asked a question, but I deleted it as I discovered that the method was obsolete (integrated web view).
The idea is to open the browser and then have the page call back my application with a custom:// URI scheme.
Of course it doesn't work, Google asks that the scheme contains a dot (like com.org.myapp), but the native app can only have a fmp:// uri scheme, which I can't change.
The documentation doesn't mention anything, and I can't create a local temporary server.
1- Can I use the fmp:// scheme as a callback in any way?
2- If not, is it possible to redirect the call to another centralised web server? Everything I try generates a 400 error on the google page, saying "redirect_uri_mismatch" or similar stuff.
As stated in the comments above, the only solution is to create an intermediate web server that serves a page which then opens the URL. OR creates a record in the database with the authentication code.
Update: It appears Twitter has fixed this issue. Clicking the authorize button now works! Thank you all for the responses.
I have a UIWebView that opens and directs to Twitters Oauth/Authorize webpage. The user signs in with there Twitter details and authenticates the use of our application with there Twitter account. This process worked perfect before the release of Twitter 6.37 iOS application. What happens now is when the WebView detects https://twitter.com/oauth/authorize?oauth_token instead of staying in the WebView it opens the native Twitter application and dies. If you uninstall the Twitter application everything works as usually it staying within the WebView. How can I prevent this from happening? I want to stay within my UIWebView and not automatically open deep links. I have been reading about the new URL deep link changes in iOS 9, but not sure of how to stop them from my application to other native applications. Thanks for any help!
As a workaround, in twitter authentication screen we can use the Go button on iOS typing keypad instead of using the sign in button on web view until twitter fixes.
Please refer the attached screenshot link for clarity.
Screenshot for the workaround
I ran into this issue as well and figured out it was because my authorize endpoint was set to https://twitter.com/oauth/authorize?oauth_token="+oauthToken (I believe this was in the original documentation). If you add api as the subdomain: https://api.twitter.com/oauth/authorize?oauth_token="+oauthToken, it will no longer trigger the deep linking and load the twitter app.
My answer to this via a Xamarin question:
Unless Twitter removes/updates the apps section of "https://www.twitter.com/apple-app-site-association" to allow a bypass or a secondary oauth that is not in the apple-app-site-association file I do not see how you would do it. These files are signed and iOS handles them at an OS level.
I have not played around very much with the continueUserActivity delegate and the NSUserActivity object that is passed to apps launched from UNI links, but I do not see a way for the launched app (i.e. Twitter) to return control to the original app, and at that point the oauth call-chain would be broken anyway....
Unique. Unlike custom URL schemes, universal links can’t be claimed by other apps, because they use standard HTTP or HTTPS links to your website.
Secure. When users install your app, iOS checks a file that you’ve uploaded to your web server to make sure that your website allows your app to open URLs on its behalf. Only you can create and upload this file, so the association of your website with your app is secure.
Via: https://developer.apple.com/library/prerelease/ios/documentation/General/Conceptual/AppSearch/UniversalLinks.html
I would report as an issue (bug?) to Twitter's Dev forum: https://twittercommunity.com
I have build a simple web app using Worklight.
My apps Preview URL is :
//local.loc:9080/Mobile/apps/services/preview/MobileAPP/common/0/default/MobileAPP.html
Shortend URL (with bit.ly credentials) is: http://bit.ly/153qbvr
Here the domain is completely different (bit.ly).
But actually I am looking for URL like : http://local.loc:9080/Mobile/MobileAPP.html.
Are there any ways to get a URL for public access like:
//:/application-name/launch_App_.html
if not, let me know ways to reduce the URL - if any.
The first URL you've mentioned is internal. It is meant for preview (development time mostly). Why would you be interested in shortening it? What is the value of doing so for you?
Also note that the shortened URL provided by bit.ly when using this service via Worklight - IS NOT the same URL as the first one (preview), it is meant for the Mobile Web environment, meaning for users who use their mobile browser app to access your app.
In short (no pun intended...), no, there is no way to do what you are asking for via Worklight - you cannot tweak the URL.
Let me re-iterate, the preview URL (the one mentioned in your question and that you want to shorten) is for the administrator or developer. It is NOT MEANT TO BE PUBLICALLY USED in any capacity, shape, form.
If you want to provide a web-public link to your app, add the Desktop Browser environment to your application. This environment is meant to access the app from a regular Desktop (PC/Mac) browser app. Note that even in this case, you cannot shorten the URL via a tweak in Worklight.
What you can do, is install some custom shortening service of your own in your company's servers and create your own custom URL that will look the way you want it to.