Using App Management UI

Overview

Have you ever found yourself hunting through several digital locations in your company for a specific version of a specific app that eludes you? Or tried to share an app build with your coworkers, only to struggle with a third-party file sharing system? Our App Management feature set is our solution to those issues, giving you another way to streamline your test flows by providing you with a convenient way to store, install, and interact with your applications on HeadSpin's cloud. Using App Management, your organization can bring your app versions and builds together in a centralized location alongside the data tools you use within HeadSpin for your testing work. With your apps maintained and tracked in one place, your organization will see huge improvements in your feedback cycles, collaborative efforts, and ultimately your entire app development routine!

Primarily, App Management relies on our Metadata Selector syntax. This ruleset allows you to query against apps using a set of defined metadata fields, utilizing data you can provide yourself or pull from an app’s native metadata derived from common information across supported devices platforms (app ID, version number, etc). You can learn more about the Metadata Selector syntax here.

Introduction to the UI

Let’s start with exploring the App Management layout.

The image above breaks down the App Management UI into different sections, as follows:

1. Search Bar: At the top of the screen is the App Management search bar, which you can use to search for a specific app. The search bar allows you to search through the entirety of your organization’s App Management contents by a variety of query parameters. The app list will update in real time to reflect the matching results for your query. You can search your apps by any metadata value - name, build number, tags, app ID, and more. Bear in mind that the search results prioritize inclusion and the search function cannot be narrowed to search only within a specific metadata field, so if the search data you enter can be found in multiple metadata fields, all of those results will be returned. For example, if you search for an app with the build number 1.6.0, and your App Management system also contains an app that is 16.0 MB in size, both of these apps will be listed in your search results since they contain the values 1-6-0.
2. The search bar can be a powerful tool. By searching against any metadata selector you choose, you can sort your app builds and get fast results, allowing you to visualize groupings of your apps. Searching by OS, by tag, by app region - you can utilize the search and sort functions for a variety of management needs.
3. Apps List: The majority of the page displays the apps list, where all of the apps uploaded to your organization’s App Management instance are shown. The app list is the most fundamental tool of the App Management system. Here you will find all of the apps your team uploads to your HeadSpin organization in a list format. When you enter the App Management page in the UI, the app list displays all of your apps in order of most recent upload time to least recent by default. Each instance of a build upload is displayed as an individual item in the list with some general identifying metadata for each instance. This metadata includes the app name, build number, package name, OS, file size, and upload time. By default, the app list will display 20 app builds per display page, and your total uploaded apps will be listed in the bottom-left corner of the page. Each instance also has a quick-access ‘Install’ button displayed to the far right of its listing, which you can click to install the selected app onto the HeadSpin device of your choice to begin a testing session.
4. Each app instance in the list can be clicked to open the app’s App Data Panel. This is a window that opens on the right side of the App Management page to show more detailed metadata associated with the build you clicked on. Remember that HeadSpin’s Metadata Selector Syntax uses both metadata defined by the app as well as data you can enter manually? Within the App Data Panel you can edit an app version’s data and provide that additional data. We’ll look at the App Data Panel in a little more detail further below.
5. Display Pages: In the upper-right corner of the page the Display Pages list reports how many pages have apps to display according to any search parameters currently entered. The display pages are a navigation tool to help you view your apps in the app list. Your entire app list is divided into groups of 20 for ease of viewing; each set of 20 is contained in a display page. Using the display page numbers, you can jump to a group of apps deeper into the list by selecting the display page number you wish to view. You can advance or backtrack by one page using the navigational arrows, or move to the very first or very last page of your app list. The display pages can also be modified by search results; for example, if you enter a search criteria with a broad result, you may have several pages of results to view. The display pages function the same way with search results as with your default app list.
6. Upload and Filter Buttons: You can use the Upload and Filter buttons to interact with App Management; Upload uploads app builds from your local system or networked drives, and Filter provides options for filtering your Apps List. The ‘Upload’ button and ‘Filter’ button are placed in the upper-right corner of the App Management page to make them easy to locate and use. Clicking the ‘Upload’ button brings up your local system’s file management tool, from which you can select apps or their associated files to upload to App Management. The ‘Filter’ button accesses a panel on the right side of the page that provides some options for narrowing down your search results, such as filtering by OS or changing the app list to display apps by oldest upload date instead of newest. The bottom of the Filter panel contains buttons to apply the selected filters or reset the filters to their default settings.

App Data Panel

The App Data Panel contains additional details describing the metadata of a selected app build. The top half of the panel, labeled App Details, displays the same metadata. In the bottom half of the panel, labeled Provided Metadata, you can enter metadata selectors of your choice. Clicking the ‘Edit’ button in the upper-right corner of the Provided Metadata accesses the interactive version of the Provided Metadata section. In the fields in this section, you can add the release configuration, build configuration, a build description, the app’s target region, the commit hash, a timestamp (independent of the upload timestamp), and any tags your org has created to this app’s metadata. You can cancel the changes to close out the panel if you choose; to confirm any changes you’ve added to the metadata, click the ‘Save’ button.

In addition to the metadata information in the App Data Panel, there is an ‘Install’ button that functions the same as the ‘Install‘ button available for app builds from the app list. There is also an ellipsis icon, which gives you the options to open the App Data Panel in its own tab in your browser, open an automation configuration window for the app in another tab, download the app build, or delete the app build. The automation configuration window allows you to set capabilities for a test involving an app; from this window you can start a manual or automated session with the capabilities you select.

Using App Management

Let’s look at a typical workflow with bringing an app to the App Management system.

Upload an App

First, upload an app from your personal machine (or a networked drive).

1. Click the ‘Upload’ button on the App Management main page.

2. Select your application from your file management system.

3. When your app is selected, App Management will prompt you to enter additional metadata in the Upload Apps pop-up. If you choose to enter a tag, note that tags are made in key-value pairs. You do not have to provide metadata to continue.

4. Click ‘Upload’ in the Upload Apps window. App Management will return your view to the main screen, with a status bar showing the progress in uploading your app. A message in the upper-right corner will notify you when the uploading process is complete.

As you will see, your app will appear at the top of the app list as soon as its upload is complete.

Install an App

Next, install your uploaded app from App Management onto a device of your choice.

1. Click the ‘Install’ button either from your app build’s App Data Panel or from its listing in the app list.

2. The Device Selection panel will appear on the right side of the screen. From the list of available devices, select a device onto which App Management will install your app by clicking that device in the list of device tiles.

3. At the bottom of the Device Selection panel, you can either navigate to the automation configuration window, or you can immediately install the app and start a manual session on your selected device.

4. When you begin your session, App Management will display a small pop-up status window. Once the installation is complete, App Management will redirect you to the Remote Control session of your chosen device. (App Management only installs the app and redirects the user to the Remote Control session. To capture your session for Performance Monitoring data you must start a recording from the Remote Control page.)

Note that currently bulk app installation on multiple devices in a single action is not supported; App Management is limited to installing one app on one device at a time. Installing an app can also be done from the device itself in a Remote Control session, using the Apps tools in the Remote Control View.

Uninstall an App

Next, let’s look at how to uninstall an app from a device. For this process, you need to be in a Remote Control session on a device. Uninstalling an app from a device is a process you can complete using our API; to do so in the UI, you must do it from the device or a session on the device.

1. In the Remote Control toolbar on the right side of the Remote Control view, select the ‘Apps’ icon. This will pull up a slightly modified version of the App Management feature set within the Remote Control session. By default you will see the Uploaded Apps List.

2. Click the Installed Apps category header to view the Installed Apps List. Currently the Installed Apps List of installed apps shows only package name and version number data for apps installed on the device. Locate your app within the list. (You can use the search bar at the top of the view panel to more precisely locate your app.)

3. Once you have located your app, click the ‘Uninstall’ button to the right of the app’s data. Your app will very simply be uninstalled. Once the uninstallation process is complete, you will be returned to the Install Apps List, and the app will be removed from the list.

Download an App

Part of the value of App Management’s features is the ability to download any app build from the app list to your machine. For example, in the image below, multiple versions of an app have been uploaded; let’s say you want to download a more recent version of the app uploaded by a colleague.

1. To download the app, click its listing in the app list to open its App Data Panel.
2. Click the ellipsis icon.
3. Select ‘Download’ from the dropdown menu. Your browser will automatically begin the file download.

Delete an App

Of course, as part of managing your apps, there will be times when you need to delete an app from App Management to keep your app list organized. The deletion process is simple.

1. In the app list, click the app build you wish to delete to view its App Data Panel.
2. In the App Data Panel, click the ellipsis icon.
3. From the dropdown menu, select ‘Delete’. You will receive a warning pop-up requesting confirmation of the deletion. Click ‘Delete App’ in the confirmation window to delete the app.

Conclusion

This document covers the essential basics of the App Management workflow. While this document specifically provides information regarding the use of App Management in our portal UI, you can also perform many of these tasks and others using our expansive App Management API suite. Many queries can be made against App Management using Metadata Selectors or by using app ID; you can find more about that here.

App Management’s fundamental purpose, like all our products, is to make your testing work a smoother, easier, more enjoyable experience. We are continuing to enhance its available features, and of course we welcome your feedback and questions! Please feel free to contact your HeadSpin administrator to begin a discussion.