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Version: 2024.3.27

Manage App Catalogs

The App Catalog is an app that your users run on their mobile device and allows them find and install your corporate and other suggested apps. For a list of supported mobile platforms, see Supported Platforms

When you add a new user to your organization, Digital.ai App Management sends an invitation email that includes a link for downloading the App Catalog. The link downloads the App Catalog appropriate for the user's device. For example, if a user views the invitation email on an iPad and you've added a native iOS App Catalog for your organization, then the link downloads the iOS App Catalog. If there is no native App Catalog available for the user's device, the link points to the web App Catalog. For more information, see App Catalog Download Experience.

Web App Catalog

The web App Catalog provides a web-based app for viewing and installing apps on any device. It provides a familiar user experience on each device and behaves very much like Digital.ai App Management's native App Catalogs. On Apple and Windows devices, the web App Catalog resembles the native iOS App Catalog; on Android and Blackberry devices it resembles the native Android App Catalog.

The web App Catalog is available for use immediately after an organization registers with Digital.ai App Management. There is nothing for you to create or download. (If you are new to Digital.ai App Management, see Quick Start for a quick introduction.)

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To find the URL used to access your organization's web App Catalog, go to the Applications page and click the Details link for the web App Catalog. The App Catalog Deep Link field displays the URL. For more information, see Vanity Subdomain.

Native App Catalogs

Native App Catalogs are built for a specific mobile platform (iOS, Android, etc). Native App Catalogs provide users with a more familiar mobile user experience, and offer some functionality that is not available with the web App Catalog. For example, iOS and Android native App Catalogs support push notifications to automatically notify users when app updates are available.

Native App Catalogs are not automatically available for new organizations, but you can easily add them from the Applications page. For more information, see Add or Update an App Catalog.

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When you implement native App Catalogs, you can continue to use the web App Catalog to provide a solution for users who do not have supported devices. For example, users can run the web App Catalog on Windows devices.

App Catalog Updates

Digital.ai App Management occasionally makes improvements and other changes to the web and native App Catalogs. Most of the time these updates are delivered automatically and require no additional work for your users to have the latest experience.

However, there are some cases when the improvements require you to manually upgrade to the latest App Catalog version and redistribute the app to your users.

When a new App Catalog version becomes available, an Update App Catalog button appears on the Applications page. For more information, see Add or Update an App Catalog.

Custom Branding

You can customize components of the App Catalogs to incorporate corporate branding and enhance your users' experience. For example, you can provide custom logo and background images, change the colors of UI elements, and more. For more information on branding, see Customize the App Catalog.

Multiple App Catalogs on the Same Device

Users can install multiple App Catalogs on the same device as long as the catalogs have separate bundle IDs (iOS) or package names (Android), which is the case when a user is installing App Catalogs built for different organizations. However, Android App Catalogs are typically assigned the same package name by default, in which case if you require multiple App Catalogs you should contact Customer Support to request a different package name.

If you are interested in deploying multiple catalogs to any of your users, see Multiple App Catalogs on the Same Device to understand the requirements.