Configuring the Mobile Homepage Application Launcher Module

Prerequisites

You are assigned the portal Content Admin role, the Workspace System Administration role, and the Shared Workspace Creation role.

Context

The Mobile Homepage Application Launcher module enables you to select native and Web applications that can be launched by end users directly from the mobile homepage on tablet devices. For each application, you must define a Mobile Native Application Launcher iView in SAP NetWeaver Portal and then create an enterprise workspaces module from each iView. All applications defined in this way are available for all mobile homepages on the same system. You can then choose which applications to add to the Application Launcher module in each mobile homepage. At runtime, the applications are displayed as launchable icons in a grid.

Note

The Application Launcher module provided in version 1.1 SP03 is now deprecated. Any existing mobile homepages that include this module should continue to work as previously. For new mobile homepages, use the new Application Launcher module and the instructions that follow.

Procedure

Create a Mobile Native Application Launcher iView for each native application that should be available for adding to a mobile homepage:

In the portal, navigate to Content Administration Portal Content Management .
In the Portal Catalog, select the folder in which to create the Mobile Native Application Launcher iView.
From the context menu of the folder, choose New iView iView from Template .
From the list of templates, select Mobile Native Application Launcher iView, and choose Next.
In the Object Name field, enter a name for the iView and an optional description, and choose Next. The description is displayed in the application launcher gallery when you select applications to add to the mobile homepage.

Specify values for the following properties:

Property	Description
Application URL Scheme	URL scheme for launching the application. For example: `fb://` (Facebook); `twitter://` (Twitter); `mgc://` (Google+). You can also enter a Web URL to define a Web application.
Application URL in Store	URL in the device store (such as Apple App Store or Google Play) for installing the application. When the user launches the application at runtime, if the native application is not already installed, the user can choose to navigate to this URL and install the application. The URL will look similar to: `https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/<name>/<id>` (App Store) `https://play.google.com/store/apps/<details>` (Google Play)
Icon URI	URI of the icon to display for the application. This icon is displayed in the application launcher gallery and at runtime. If the icon file is stored in the Web Resource Repository, you can copy its ID (choose Copy ID in the icon's context menu in the Web Resource Repository) and paste it into this property. To use the default icon, leave this property value empty.

Property

Description

Application URL Scheme

URL scheme for launching the application.

For example: fb:// (Facebook); twitter:// (Twitter); mgc:// (Google+). You can also enter a Web URL to define a Web application.

Application URL in Store

URL in the device store (such as Apple App Store or Google Play) for installing the application.

When the user launches the application at runtime, if the native application is not already installed, the user can choose to navigate to this URL and install the application.

The URL will look similar to:

https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/<name>/<id> (App Store)
https://play.google.com/store/apps/<details> (Google Play)

Icon URI

URI of the icon to display for the application. This icon is displayed in the application launcher gallery and at runtime.

If the icon file is stored in the Web Resource Repository, you can copy its ID (choose Copy ID in the icon's context menu in the Web Resource Repository) and paste it into this property. To use the default icon, leave this property value empty.

Choose Next.
Choose Finish.

Create a module template based on the Mobile Native Application Launcher iView that you created in the previous step. Repeat this step for each Mobile Native Application Launcher iView. These applications will then be available for selection in all Application Launcher modules in all mobile homepages that you create on the same system. For more information, see Creating a Module Template.
Note
When creating the module template, the Application launcher gallery checkbox in the Available in area is automatically selected, and all the options in this area are disabled.
Create a mobile homepage that contains the Application Launcher module. For more information, see Creating and Configuring a Mobile Homepage.
In the mobile homepage, choose Configure Module in the Application Launcher module.
A gallery is displayed containing all the applications in your system that were defined as described in the previous steps, and whose module templates you have permissions to access. You can hover over an application to view its description.
Choose Select App on one or more applications that you want to be available in the module at runtime.
Choose Done. The selected applications are displayed in the module and you can use the arrow buttons to change the order in which they are displayed in the module at runtime.
Note
The applications are not launchable in the desktop scenario.
After you have configured the modules for the mobile homepage, perform final configurations, such as adding members and managers, and publishing the mobile homepage. For more information, see Creating and Configuring a Mobile Homepage.
Note
When assigning members and managers to a mobile home page that contains an Application Launcher module, make sure that all mobile homepage users have permission to access all of the applications that you have added to the Application Launcher module.

Results

When users open the mobile homepage on an iPad device, they can tap each application that was added to the Application Launcher module to launch it. If the application is not installed, an option is displayed enabling you to navigate to the URL of the device store and install the application (if you defined this value in the Application URL in Store property of the Mobile Native Application Launcher iView).