Courseware:IT Connect - 09.2 Installing new Apps

How to install an App from the AppStore

The App Store

The beauty of myApps is that the number of Apps is not limited to what has been installed by the Install. Instead, you can get further Apps from our App Store into your system.

The store is available at  store.innovaphone.com. Here you will find all Apps, Firmware, Software and the operating system for the App Platform itself. However, as you have seen, this is quite a bit of information and not easy to follow. Fortunately, there is a more convenient place when it comes to installing Apps: the AP app installer PBX-Manager plugin.

It will let you do the following tasks:

• browse through the App Store and select Apps by license type, language and category
• install new Apps along with an instance of it
• update installed Apps
• uninstall Apps from the AP
  

let's have a look at the App Store as follows:

• open the Settings App in myApps
• in the Settings App, start  the AP app installer, this will show the App Store
• to see all Apps you have installed,  click on Installed apps and then on the vendor innovaphone AG.
  
  You will see all the Apps you have installed along with their name, manufacturer, license type and the installed version. Note that Apps that have the latest version are  marked with a check-mark whereas those with an outdated version are marked with a bullet instead
  
  
• when you click on one of the Apps, you will not only see even more details but have the option to  Update or Uninstall the App
  

Installing new Apps

You might of course want to install new Apps instead.

This is also easily done as follows:

• use the  left arrow button on the top until you're back to the initial screen of the AP app installer
• click on  Categories and then {all} to see all available Apps
• scroll down to the Contact Widgets app and click on this App
• select the  version used in the training (labeled as srTraining) and click on Install
• accept the terms of use
  
  and eh voilà, the new App is installed on the AP. However, to be able to use it, a few steps are still required which are done using the AP widgets plugin of the Settings app.
  
  
• to have access to this new plugin, you need to re-start the Settings app. As soon as you have done this, you will see the  new plugin
  

Making it known to the PBX

Now that you have installed the new App on the AP, you must still make it known to your PBX so that users can have access to it. This is done using the  AP widgets plugin in the Settings app.

As soon as you have started the plugin, you proceed as follows:

• you click on  Add an App
  This will create the necessary objects in the PBX to make the new App available
• in the  form that comes up, you define the visible name (Name) Contact Widgets, the id (SIP) innovaphone-widgets and the name of your PBX (PBX) hq
• for the Licenses, you tick the Video License and set Widget Licenses to 1
• finally you add the App to the template called Config Admin

When you're done, there should be a  check mark at the end of the line showing the object you have created.

All Apps have their own Settings plugin that allows the creation of their respective PBX objects. However, the number of objects may differ and some have further configuration options.

License types

You may have observed that the App Store  shows a License type for each App.

The choices are:

• None
  You're lucky, the App is for free
  
  
• innovaphone license
  This is a license that works just like any other innovaphone license, that is, you can purchase it the same way as you do for all other innovaphone licenses. Even more, it works the same. That is, among other things it is available in test mode or you can choose to rent it instead of buying it. Also, promotions such as the  myApps 4U program may apply.
  
  Please note that App manufactures may decide to disable specific license features. For example, renting may be forbidden.
  
  
• License through partner
  This App uses a proprietary license scheme. You would need to contact the manufacturer for details

Some Apps may also show Further requirements are needed. In this case, the application might require another system to be installed in order to work fully.

The Contact Widgets App

Now that we have installed the Contacts Widgets App as an exercise, we can have a closer look at it. This App is interesting as it is not primarily related to telephony or communication. Rather, it is related to web design. This demonstrates the versatility of myApps (and hence the App Store) as a platform for all kinds of productivity Apps (you may also want to  install the Notes App as another example for non-communication-related Apps).

With just a few clicks, Contact Widgets allows you to easily integrate these  sidebar contact web widgets into your own website. An example can be seen on our own website  www.innovaphone.com: en.

Defining a widget

Since we have added the Contact Widgets App to the Config Admin template (and you are an admin user), the new App should now be available in your  list of all Apps. You may want to also put it on your home screen.

So let us create a pretty widget for your own website:

• start the App
•  create a new widget of type Sidebar
  
• in the new  Settings dialog that appears,
  
• select Right as Position under the APPEARANCE heading
  
• tick the Always show widget check-mark
• enter your company information under the STANDARD ADDRESS heading
• perhaps add some fancy eye-catching Bubble text
• change the name of your new widget to my-widget using the  pen symbol on the upper left
• leave everything else untouched
  
  So far, you have defined the visual appearance of your widget. Now proceed with the definition of potential contacts (a.k.a Agents)
  
  
• switch to the Agents tab
• click on  Add agent
  
• type ckl into the SIP-ID field (you could as well search for Christoph using the magnifying glass)
• enable Voice, Video and Chat
• finally, save your  widget configuration using the button on the upper right
  

Fair enough, now you have created your first widget. What's left is to integrate it into your website.

Website integration

Hm, you don't have a website at hand, you say?

Never mind, the App is here to the rescue!

On a real website, you would want to integrate a small snippet of code into your website, such as this one:

<script src="https://apps-dvl-ckl.training.innovaphone.com/dvl-ckl.net/widgets/innovaphone-widget-ui.js" type="text/javascript"></script>
<script src="https://apps-dvl-ckl.training.innovaphone.com/dvl-ckl.net/widgets/innovaphone-widget.js" type="text/javascript"></script>
<script>try { innovaphone.widgets.loadWidget("wss://apps-dvl-ckl.training.innovaphone.com/dvl-ckl.net/widgets/service", "6def86bf53d049d08cec5432487882c5") } catch (error) { }</script>

Don't panic! You actually do not need to understand this and you should leave the details to your web developer.

The Contact Widgets App can also create a full website for you.

So let's go for it:

• in the widget configuration, click on the  Code button on the upper right.
  This will show some cryptic HTML code which you can safely ignore
• instead, click on the  Download Button
• this will open your browser's download dialog and you may either download it to a convenient place or  let your browser open it right away

Your browser will show you an (otherwise blank) site with a  nice sliding-out contact widget on the right edge.

Note that the code in your website never needs to be changed in any way. All modifications are done in the Contact Widgets App and they are effective immediately.

Give it a try!

• add a  Link to your widget agent
• set Christoph's E-mail as Title
• set mailto:ckl@innovaphone.com as URL
• save the link and
• save the widget

And eh voilà, your website updates itself without you even having to refresh it.

More information about the Contact Widgets App can be found in  Concept Contact Widgets and  Install Contact Widget App.