Our App Links functionality allows us to launch Apps directly into specific Screens using unique URLs similar to web links.
These links can be emailed or otherwise passed to other app users. They will launch the app when the user taps or clicks on it (assuming the app is already installed).
An App Link looks something like this: app://somescreen?myfield=somevalue
We also support app launching capability via an Android NFC scan, so you can tap an NFC tag and launch your app based on what is read off the tag.
Launch Options
Navigate the Side Menu > Design Tools > App Setup > Launch Options.
On the Launch Options page, you can create launch rules and app links to launch the app directly onto specified screens. On the top right of the page, hover over Manage and Add Launch Rule to create an App Link.
Creating App Links
The incoming app link has two parts to it.
First is the URL scheme, the part before the :// piece. This will vary depending on whether you are using our standard app or your own branded version of our native app technology. Either way, this part is fixed and will not change – it’s simply part of the app links you create.
The second editable portion is significant because the app extracts this piece and then evaluates it against the Rules you specify to determine what Screen to launch into. If no rules match the incoming value, the app defaults to launching the start screen.
We recommend using the target Screen name to make your app links more descriptive.
e.g., app://inspection
App links can include parameters by using query string syntax.
e.g. app://inspection?site=1234&condition=2.
Where site is the first parameter’s name, and 1234 is its value.
Screen to Open
This is the target app Screen, which will be opened if the Launch Value matches the incoming app link and the optional Conditional Formula is empty or evaluates to true.
Screen Parameters (optional)
Pass launch parameter values into the target Screen using {{parameterName}} syntax.
For Form targets, you can preset target fields with ‘dataname:value’, pipe-separated.
e.g. field1:{{city}}|field4:{{hello}}
For Listing & Mapping targets, you can pass in a formula to filter the target rows. Use {{target[column]}} for target columns.
e.g. {{target[3]}} >= {{price}}
For Detail targets, pass a value to match the first column of the target data row.
e.g. {{mychoice}}
Conditional Formula (optional)
In most scenarios, the app link alone will be distinct enough to define your Launch Rule.
However, in some cases, you may want the same app link and may need to launch one of several Screens based on the parameter values on the link.
Alternatively, you may wish to make a Launch Rule conditional based on the user’s metadata, for example, only allow Project Managers to open the link.
For these cases, define multiple Rules against the same app link and then specify differing results using a formula that has a True/False result. The app will execute the first rule with a True formula result.
Refer to app link parameter values via {{parameterName}} syntax.
e.g., if the incoming app link is: yourcompany://inspection?perform=Yes
Then, a formula of {{perform}} = ‘Yes’ will be True.
Sending multiple values to a Choices Field
A scenario may arise where you might need to send multiple values to a multiple-choice “Choices” field. In this scenario, your app deep link will look something like the example below, where the multiple values that are to be assigned to the choices field are pipe-separated:
Example:
In the sample link above, the data name for the choices field on the target form is “the_choices_field” and the values “Red|Blue|Green|Black” will be passed to that field when the link is clicked, and the app opens. To ensure you can pass parameters to your choices field successfully, make sure that you have the “Multiple choice” checkbox field selected as shown below:
Sending app links via email
Avoid mail filter issues by using our redirect option.
Some email clients (like Gmail) do not allow app launch URLs due to security issues. You can get around this by using the URL example provided below. This will redirect the user to a public, branded launch screen webpage to launch the desired app URL.
Example
https://eforms.mobileform.net/appredirect?link=eformsmobile://inspection?site=hello&Condition=123
Export/Import Launch Options
You can reuse launch rules by exporting and importing a .xlsx or CSV file in the required format, rather than creating them from scratch.
At the top right of the Launch Options page, hit Manage to export added rules, import a set of rules, or download a template in the required format to populate before importing.
The file’s first row needs to contain headers (App Link, Screen, Screen Parameters, and Conditional Formula) with rules added into rows beneath it.