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iOS 11 came out of beta on September 19^th. But, don’t worry. The Appery.io team is close to putting the final touches on our full support for the new version of the iOS. As soon as it’s ready, we will be announcing it here. Stay tuned!

We are now using MongoDB v3.2 Geo 2dsphere indexes (instead of 2d), which corresponds with MongoDB documentation and requires stricter validation. More information can be found in the section on the GeoPoint data type of our reference. Also, check out these examples.

Another month, another platform update! Here’s what’s on for the coming August update coming in a few days.

New Android Cordova Library

We have updated our Android Cordova library version to 6.2.2. This version will be selected automatically in new projects.

Also, we now support Android SDK tools 26.0.1. This means more features, more plug-ins available to import, and being able to export
Appery.io projects to the latest Android Studio.

Adding Limits on the Request Body Of Custom And Generated Services

Until now API Express services didn’t have a limit on request size, but we know that some of you really need this option. In this release, you’ll see this message if the body of the request is more than 5 MB:

{
"code": "AE018",
"message": "Body request max size is exceeded",
"status": "REQUEST_ENTITY_TOO_LARGE"
}

Ability to Order JS and CSS Files Inclusion

In previous releases of Appery.io JS and CSS files were executed by creation date. Yes, this was really annoying in some cases. Now you can go on the App settings tab, open Resources, and select the order of these files. For instance, simply drag the CSS3 file and drop it on the top of the list and this file will run before the CSS1 file if you like.

Extended Database Statistics

There are are a lot of different stats you might want to know about a database: longest requests, successful requests, error requests, information about collections with issues, selected operation, and much more! All of this data is now available on the Statistics tab of your database. Just look at the screenshot:

Ability to Create an Index for System Fields

Our users can already use system fields in their queries (a really useful capability). So for better performance, we have added a possibility to create indexes for system fields. Check it out!

Multi-Language Support Updated

In Appery.io, you can easily build an app that provides a UI that switches among several languages with the updated and improved i18next plugin.

Bugs (Less of Them)

A large number of bugs were fixed by our development team. You’re gonna like it!

Get in Touch

As always, we want to get your feedback. You can always email us (support@appery.io) or post on our forum.

This blog post supplements “OAuth Login with Google App” in the Appery.io documentation.

Since April 20, 2017, all OAuth requests through InAppBrowser are blocked (see http://blog.ionic.io/google-oauth-changes/ for details). Now it’s necessary to use the Google Sign-In Cordova/PhoneGap plug-in.

So, first of all, download the plug-in and add it to the project (more details on this).  When ready, you can proceed with specifying the settings for iOS or Android apps. We’ll describe both ways and then show you how to set up your app at the end.

Google setting for iOS projects

1. On the Google project page, go to the Credentials tab and select Create credentials > OAuth client ID: 
2. In a new window, select iOS.
3. Define the Bundle ID (you can get it from App settings > iOS binary > Bundle ID).
4. Click Create.
5. Now, copy the iOS URL scheme from the created Client ID:
   
6. Add the iOS URL scheme as the REVERSED_CLIENT_ID parameter of the Google Sign-In plug-in and save:
   

Ready!

Google setting for Android projects

1. On the Google project page, go to Credentials and select Create credentials > OAuth client ID: 
2. In a new window, select Android.
3. You will need the SHA-1 fingerprint of the certificate that you are using for signing up your app to link the client ID to the app. To get it, export your certificate (Resources > Certificates) and run the following command in the console:

   keytool -exportcert -keystore path-to-debug-or-production-keystore -list -v

   keytool is a key and certificate management utility.

   It is included in the jdk, you can install either jdk or download the keytool utility.

4. The obtained SHA1 code should be added to the Signing certificate fingerprint.
5. Insert the Package name (App settings > Android binary > Package name).
6. Click Create.

Changes to make to the Appery.io project

1. Add the button Login with Google on Device on the LoginWithGoogle page.
2. Add the following JavaScript code to the click event:

   window.plugins.googleplus.login(
       {
         'scopes': 'https://www.googleapis.com/auth/drive' // optional, space-separated list of scopes, If not included or empty, defaults to `profile` and `email`.
       },
   function (obj) {
           Apperyio.storage.token.set(obj["accessToken"]);
           Apperyio.navigateTo("WelcomeOnDevice");
       },
       function (msg) {
         alert('error: ' + msg);
       }
   );

3. Duplicate the Welcome page and rename it to WelcomeOnDevice.
4. Remove the JavaScript code from the Page show event (leave only Invoke service there).

Please note that the selected Android certificate will only work with the release option enabled.

Today we’ll show you a small example of how to pass data from a modal to its parent.

1. Create a model as shown in the screenshot below:
   

   Create Model

2. Then, define a scope variable “user”, based on this model on the index page.
3. Create a simple page to run the modal and show the global variable “user” like this:
   

   Screen page

4. Create a simple modal with the same structure as the page above (to show the variable “user” and change its property):
   

   Modal page

5. Open the modal you’ve created from the page of your application with the JavaScript code below:

var modalOptions = {  // About Ionic Modal: https://links.appery.io/ve-snippet-modal-ionic
  animation: 'slide-in-up',     // The animation to show & hide with
  focusFirstInput: false,       // Whether to autofocus the first input of the modal when shown
  backdropClickToClose: true,   // Whether to close the modal on clicking the backdrop
  hardwareBackButtonClose: true // Whether the modal can be closed using the hardware back button on Android and similar devices
};
Apperyio.get('Modals').loadModal("Modal1").then(
function(modalInstance) {
  modalInstance.open(modalOptions).then(function(modal) {
    modal.scope.modal = modal;
    modal.scope.user = $scope.user;
    modal.show();
  });
},
function(error) {
  console.log(error);
});

That’s it! Now you can run the application. You can change the user’s name on the page and see its value on the modal. Go ahead. Change the user’s address on the modal and see this value displayed on the page.

Here are some highlights of what’s coming in our June platform update rolling out on June 25th.

New Ionic Component

We have added a new component for the Ionic palette in Appery.io, the Slide Box. It’s a simple component that allows you to create a pretty handy little widget for your mobile application. The Slide Box lets you embed a set of images (or random HTML) and then display them one item at a time.

Importing Cordova Plug-ins from GitHub

Now you can grab Cordova plug-ins directly from GitHub, which is faster and easier. Just find the plug-in you want on GitHub, click the Clone or Download button and copy the plug-in’s URL.

Then, in Appery.io, go to the Resources tab and find the new Cordova Plugins tab. In the tab, click on the green Import Cordova Plugins button, select the From Git tab in the dialog box, and paste the link to the plug-in that you copied from GitHub.

From now on, when you open your projects you’ll see this plug-in among the imported plug-ins.

Panels Changes

We received a few requests to make work with panels more comfortable. So, we have added a close button on the Outline and Palette panels. Also, you can easily switch now between normal and small buttons. Hope you like it.

Database Export

The issues we had with database export were annoying, but we have good news. We have fixed this critical bug.  And even more… Now you can export individual collections from your database. Hope, you’ll find this useful.

Server Code Statistics

We know you want to know more about your Server Code script usage, and now you get this option. Select your Server Code, click on the Statistics menu item, and you’ll see the new tab called Reports. There you can find information about your Server Code activities filtered by date.

And More Changes

New Google Map Component

The Ionic and Bootstrap Google Map component was updated. Now we use the more stable version 2.1.6, Errors in the previous version have been fixed.

Android SDK

Most of you have Facebook accounts and want to have Facebook integration in your apps. With the latest Android SDK version included in this release, you’ll find that the Facebook4 plugin is supported.

More Image Formats

Now SVN and ICO images are supported by our Media Manager. More pictures in your apps!

SHA1 and SHA256 Certificates

Now, when you download your certificates from Appery.io, you’ll find SHA1 and SHA256 certificates in the exported zip file. These would be useful for Firebase integration.

Bugs (Less of Them)

No update is complete without bug fixes. So, yes, we fixed a great number of large and small bugs to make the platform better.

Get in Touch

If you run into any hiccups with this release (Hey, we aren’t perfect.), please reach out to us via the forum or by sending us an email (by signing into the platform and clicking the Get Help link at the top).

Being able to send Push Notifications to users is one of the fundamental capability in an enterprise mobile app. Appery.io platform comes with Push Notifications component out-of-the-box and allows you quickly to send targeted messages to iOS and Android devices. In this blog post we will show the four ways to send a Push Notification message to a user:

1. Push Notifications Console.
2. Server Code Push Notifications API (server-side).
3. Push Notification REST API.
4. Customer Console.

Push Notifications Console

This first option is probably the simplest way to send a Push Notifications once you have installed an app on a device. Select device types, enter the message and send. The Push Notification message should arrive on the registered device instantly.

Push Notifications console

Read the rest of this entry »

One of the core components in Appery.io platform is a cloud build service which builds a binary file (hybrid) for iOS or Android. Appery.io leverages Apache Cordova (PhoneGap) to create a binary file. Launching the build process is very simple. Right from inside the App builder, clicking the Export button you will see the option to create a binary file for iOS or Android.

Export menu

Once Binary (.ipa) or Binary (.apk) is selected, the build process starts. The build process usually takes one minute. When the build is completed, the file is downloaded to your computer. From there you can publish the app to an app store, using the standard publishing process for each store.

Learn more about how to use Apache Cordova in Appery.io to build hybrid apps and use native APIs.

Bitcoin is a cryptocurrency and a digital payment system with 5.8 million users. In this blog post, you will learn how easy it is to build an Appery.io hybrid app to accept payments in bitcoins. It just takes a few simple steps to build the app and ready the payment ecosystem.

First, you need to get a merchant sandbox account on the BitPay server at https://test.bitpay.com/get-started. There are other payment servers, but BitPay currently is the largest and oldest bitcoin payment processor in the world, serving industry-leading merchants on six continents.

Next. You need to import a plug-in that will be the prebuilt (mostly prebuilt) client app. To do this, when the App Builder loads, choose the creation From Plugin option and check the BitPay App plug-in. (Learn more details about how to build an Ionic app in Appery.io.)

Then, you need to add one more piece to Appery.io, the BitPay Cordova plug-in. Go to https://github.com/bitpay/cordova-sdk and save this repository as a ZIP file. Upload this file to Appery.io to install this plug-in. (Please read this for more information about installing Cordova plug-ins into Appery.io.)

Next, Generate a BitPay API token with point-of-sale capability without client authentication at https://test.bitpay.com/api-tokens. With this done, get back to your app to set the token value. At this point, a distribution certificate should be associated with your app as described in https://docs.appery.io/docs/appexport-certificate-management.

Finally, as a customer making purchases with BitPay App, you need a bitcoin wallet installed on your phone. A bitcoin wallet is an app that lets you receive, hold, and spend bitcoins. This list shows bitcoin wallets supported by BitPay.

And, one more thing. After all of this is done, please make sure you switch to a merchant production account on the BitPay server at https://bitpay.com/get-started.

That’s all.  Now your app is ready to take bitcoin payments.

EveryoneAPI by Telo allows to convert a phone number into real business intelligence with a simple API request. The complete reverse phone append product is simple to use, yet powerful and built for developers by developers. As you probably already know, integrating with any 3rd party REST API using the Appery.io Server Code is also simple. In this blog post, I will show you how to invoke a test a script that calls the Everyone API.

To start, create a new Server Code script with the following code:

var telephone = request.get("telephone");
var url = "https://api.everyoneapi.com/v1/phone/"+telephone;
var auth_token = "AU83e975.....";
var account_sid = "AC659275.....";

var XHRResponse = XHR2.send("GET", url, {
"parameters": {
"auth_token": auth_token,
"account_sid": account_sid,
"pretty": "true"
}
});
Apperyio.response.success(XHRResponse.body, "application/json");

The only thing you need to do, is to replace the auth_token and account_sid with values from your account. Sign up for an account here. It’s fast and simple.

The phone number for which you want to get information is passed as a parameter to the script (line 1). To test the script, switch to Script parameter tab (on the right side), enter a parameter called telephone and then set it to a test value. Here is an example testing the API using the Appery.io telephone number:

Server Code script

Once you finished and tested the script, you easily import into your app. This video shows how to do that.

Looking for more APIs by Telo? Check out the CallerID Server Code plug-in:

Plug-ins

This plug-in creates a Server Code script that integrates with OpenCNAM API. The OpenCNAM API allows you to get caller ID information for phone number provided.