Can we add functionality to the mobile site to view the page in the SE iOS app? It could be through smart app banners or a link at the bottom where the download link is.
I really don't care which, but right now there's just no way to do it.
2 Answers
This is finally live. Here's what it looks like:
We went with our own solution rather than the regular Apple Smart App Banner for a multitude of reasons, the biggest one being the default Apple one looking really annoying. More details about how ours works:
- It only shows on Q&A pages, since those are the ones we can actually open in the app. Later on when we have deeplinking support for search pages and other pages, we'll add them there too.
- If you hit the × the banner goes away forever. We store this in localStorage so if you clear your browser's memory we'll lose the setting, but for most people tapping it will mean never seeing the banner again.
- It only shows if you're using Safari/Chrome/Browser/etc. That means it doesn't show when you are looking at a post within another application, so if you're reading something in Alien Blue and click a link to a SE post we won't show the banner within that app's WebView.
Try it out and let me know what you think! I'm sorry it took us so freaking long to get this out the door.
answered Apr 24, 2015 at 19:23
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1Failed on first try: if the inbox is opened in the app, it doesn't work. App stays in inbox and won't open the question. Update: it does go to the question but does not close the inbox. Commented Apr 24, 2015 at 19:35
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Also, since it applies only to questions, maybe change the wording to "Read this question in our app"? Commented Apr 24, 2015 at 19:37
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@ShadowWizard well, if you're on a answer link it'll scroll to that answer after opening the question. Commented Apr 24, 2015 at 19:42
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@mhlester I'm pretty sure that if the app isn't installed no banner will appear. (as most people will just find it annoying) Commented Apr 24, 2015 at 19:48
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1it actually opens up the App Store or Play Store if you don't have the app installed. In the future it'll retain the URL you clicked from and take you to the post after you download the app and login. Commented Apr 24, 2015 at 19:50
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this works great. the emoji icon is kinda annoying, but i'm an old fuddy duddy when it comes to what a font should do– mhlesterCommented Apr 24, 2015 at 19:56
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Kasra this is bizarre. I deleted the app and tapped the icon. It launched the iTunes store and presented the app for download, rather than launching the app store. Shockigngly I can still download the app through that store, but I assume it's possible to launch the app store instead?– mhlesterCommented Apr 26, 2015 at 18:51
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@mhlester right now I'm doing a
itms://link which opens the iTunes Store. I'll see if there's any way to actually do App Store links. Commented Apr 26, 2015 at 18:55 -
Looks like it's
itms-apps://: stackoverflow.com/a/2337601/3130539– mhlesterCommented Apr 26, 2015 at 18:56 -
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Looking forward to this being on all sites!! Thanks for effort. Commented May 1, 2015 at 17:21
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1I don’t see this link - has it been disabled? Or did I click the cross once at some point? Commented Sep 2, 2018 at 8:29
With help from Brian Nickel, I've made the following bookmarklet which works for iOS:
javascript:window.location=window.location.href.replace('http','se-zaphod')
To make a bookmarklet on your device, make a dummy regular bookmark and then edit it with the javascript code.
Now every time I need to view a question in the app, I choose the bookmark and it launches!
(still waiting for the link on the site though)
alertor a modal splash screen!