we have a web site that allows people to click on a link to a vCard .vcf file to install contact details on their phone. The method for handling this has changed in iOS 13 and it is really confusing people. Previously, the vCard opened in the Contacts app and there was a Save button to add it to contacts. Simple, and people understood it. Now the vCard opens in a preview, but there is no obvious way to save it to their contacts. They have to know to tap the Actions icon, then find the Contacts entry and tap that. Very few people can work that out, instead they just tap the Done button, thinking it has been added. Adding a vCard to your contacts has become too hard for most people to work out.
Does anyone know of a trick whereby we can skip the preview screen and open the vCard directly in the Contacts app?
Gary
Including vCard information within a QR code as plain text (not a linked .vcard file) prompts users to add this information to their contacts app—a simple user experience for both iOS and Android users.
From what I've found, requesting any iOS or Android user to download a .vcard file leads to a confusing user experience which should be avoided.
Not sure how helpful you'd find it to include a QR code on a mobile website, but it's one option you have.
You might try to embed the vcard in an ical element like described in iPhone: how to get safari to recognize a vcard?
Related
Is there a URL to open the contacts application from within my application? I know you can achieve this with the settings app by using the UIApplicationOpenSettingsURLString constant in Swift; however, I wasn't sure if I could do the same with the Contacts app.
There isn't a deep link for opening the Contacts App.
Apple is very picky when it comes to deep-linking. They have to provide one for Settings since many apps need services like Data, Location, Bluetooth, Wifi, etc.
Unfortunately they do not extend this to the Contacts App.
However if your app needs contact information then for that Apple has provided a Contacts framework to browse through your contacts within your app itself.
Read more about it here.
In order to add/update/delete/merge contacts directly from your app without using the Apple's Contact UI, use the CNSaveRequest APIs. More on that here.
The closest thing you can get to opening a contact is to write them a message in IMessage. From this screen the user can press the contact icon and open the contact page for that particular contact.
You can do this by opening the url sms://+44776382223 where the number is the number of the person that you would like to view the contact of.
User downloads my iPhone app from the appStore link I provide from invite email. Is it possible to persist/cache the user-data say email Address and pre-fill when the app launched.
Thank you.
You can get all the data that Apple allows you to get, which is absolutely none - you can't get the user's email, you can't get his phone number, you can't get his UDID. No way to identify him. If you want anything from the user, he needs to enter it manually. If you think about it - it's actually a good thing. All your iphone information is completely secure and protected.
No, this can't be done. Your special link might take the user to the app store, but then that's it. The act of installing the app has nothing to do with your link anymore and no data can be passed to the freshly installed app.
Of course once the app is installed, if the user taps on a special link you provide, it could force your app to run and provide data to it.
Maybe you could provide a QR code the use can scan with your app the first time they run it. The QR code can contain the data you want. Of course the user may choose to not scan the code. Then again, the user can install your app without using your link to begin with.
When I send a sms msg to a friend in my phone book which also uses an iPhone, the message goes as iMessage by default.
Using the reverse logic, is it somehow possible to programatically figure out a list of people in my phonebook who use an iPhone?
Actually I have built an iPhone app and I want to provide a feature to let the user share the info about the app with her other iPhone friends if she likes the app. Now since non iPhone friends have no interest with the msg coz they cant use the app, it makes sense to provide the user a list of only iPhone friends whom she can fwd her msg if she wants to. Therefore I want to provide a list of iPhone users from her phonebook only and then let her iMessage them.
How can I achive this?
I read your post several times and can't see a definite question. But I'll try it:
Is it possible to find out, which of my friends are using an iPhone?
Yes and no. If you want to show only persons who downloaded the app, then it's totally possible, but if you want to find this out just by their phone numbers and using official Frameworks it's impossible to reach this.
Is it possible to find out, which of my friends are using iMessage?
No, except they all download your app and enter if they're using iMessage or not.
Again: If you want to get a list of your friends which are using an iPhone, they would need to download your app which collects the data. (It's called WhatsApp)
What's the URL to launch in order to bring the iTunes App Store to the front, and open it to show the Reviews page of an app?
I want to send my users to the "Write a Review" page.
Some other SO answers provided URLs like the one below, but it doesn't seem to work:
itms-apps://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewContentsUserReviews?id=12345678&pageNumber=0&sortOrdering=1
Any suggestions for a URL that'll work on iPhone and iPad?
Update: iOS 4.2 seems to have fixed this and links now open the App Store app directly rather than the review page.
This article Dissecting iTunes links explains everything.
Heading straight to a review form
It’s also possible to send someone
straight to the review form for an
app.
https://userpub.itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZUserPublishing.woa/wa/addUserReview?id=337064413&type=Purple+Software
Simply replace the ID with your app’s
ID to create a URL for your app.
On a desktop or laptop, this will take
you directly to the review form in
iTunes for the app or item. On an
iPhone or iPod touch, this will open
MobileSafari, then open iTunes or the
App Store app on the reviews page,
leaving the user only one tap away
from writing a review.
To find out an item’s ID, right (Mac &
PC) or control-click (Mac) on a link
to the item in iTunes and select Copy
Link. The result will look something
like this.
http://itunes.apple.com/au/album/dig-your-own-hole/id19605549
http://itunes.apple.com/au/app/consume-mobile-isp-packages/id337064413?mt=8
The ID is the number in the URL after
“id’.
It might be worth noting that this URL
was created using iTunes 8. I don't
think there’s a way to create review
links in iTunes 9, so maybe this URL
is being phased out. Use with caution.
Update: #mareMtl has provided an
alternative review link for apps.
Please note that it only works on
iPhone OS devices.
itms-apps://ax.itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewContentsUserReviews?type=Purple+Software&id=337064413
I tried a bunch of different links, this is only one working for me on iPhone AND iPad consistently:
http://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewContentsUserReviews?pageNumber=0&sortOrdering=1&type=Purple+Software&mt=8&id=YOUR_APP
Check out Appirater - http://arashpayan.com/blog/index.php/2009/09/07/presenting-appirater/
Every time the user launches your app, Appirater will see if they’ve used the app for 30 days and launched it at least 15 times. If they have, they’ll be asked to rate the app, and then be taken to your app’s review page in the App Store.
this works for me:
itms-apps://ax.itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewContentsUserReviews?type=Purple+Software&id=584691809
Am using Appirater for Rating my App
These links in AppiRater
// for ios6 or earlier
NSString *templateReviewURL = #"itms-apps://ax.itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewContentsUserReviews?type=Purple+Software&id=APP_ID";
// for ios7
NSString *templateReviewURLiOS7 = #"itms-apps://itunes.apple.com/app/idAPP_ID";
These links works fine .
But takes me to "Details" page of the app .
But it should go to "Ratings and Reviews" page..
suggest me any idea
Thanks
iTunes has a link maker you can use to get the URL. Tested on my app. It works.
For Requesting for rate and review to user after iOS 10.3+
The SKStoreReviewController allows users to rate an app directly from within the app through a dialog box. The only downsite is that you can only request StoreKit to display the dialog, but can't be sure if it will.
import StoreKit
func requestToRate() {
SKStoreReviewController.requestReview()
}
I am wondering if there is some way to create and send VCards based upon the iPhone Address Book information from my own app. On the Mac, there is some easy function in the built in app to do this, but I have not seen something on the iPhone like this. So, is there some framework or otherwise that enables me to turn contacts on the iPhone into VCards?
Thanks for any help!
There is a "share contact" button at the bottom of every contact in the contacts app on the phone, press it and you can email a VCard to whoever you want.