The AppSheet โApp Galleryโ is where users can access apps available to them for use, as well as the apps they have created. It is available via the menu of most AppSheet apps, and is the default application when opening the Android or iOS AppSheet app.
An updated version of the App Gallery will start rolling out on Monday, March 8 - @macastan and I would like to hear if you have any initial thoughts. Do you use the current App Gallery? Are these updates going to be helpful for your app users?
No changes are being made to the menu of any apps youโve created - the โApp Galleryโ link that exists today in most apps is remaining the same.
Preview of the updated App Gallery
Whatโs visible to users if they open the App Gallery:
โRecentโ (Default View)
โShared with meโ
โCreated by meโ
thanks Peter.
On my own case, we deploy app to the end user by white labelling the app, which is making the App Gallery hidden. The problem with us to present the App Gallery to the user was they see and access to Public App, which gave them confusion and we are quested what it is. To avoid, we made a rule to change to white-label app and then hide Gallery from public.
Thanks Koichi, good to know. For what itโs worth, this update will be removing the list of โPublic Sample Appsโ from the app gallery. Perhaps that makes it more relevant for some of your users.
I am building my first appsheet app. I have been in the technology field for more than 20 years. I really enjoy the environment. I am enjoying learning it, too.
But I have to say I agree with all of the other community members. Any paid account (at any level) should have the option of turning off/hiding the app gallery. Thatโs just normal practice.
Actually, this topic is the one thing that makes me think twice about investing time, money and resources into developing apps with Appsheet.
I am currently developing Appsheet apps for an audience who are being forced to upgrade to smartphones from flip phones - not all of them but some of them.
I am making my App Sheet apps as simple and easy to use as possible for this audience. If my technical support team end up spending hours redirecting these people out of App Gallery/App Gallery buckets we will stop using App Sheet after we have developed our own custom apps.
I think App Sheet as a concept, environment and a technology is great. But your marketing dept. needs to back off so that App Sheet can be taken seriously by businesses.
I hate to come off so strong on my first community comment. But this is really an issue that is not defendable.
Hi I never use the App gallery.
Hey @Lynn, hope youโre well. Do you and your users make sure to create bookmarks/shortcuts to your apps? Or maybe create your own launcher app?
Hi @Peter
We just have shortcuts on our phones to the apps we use.
Hi @Peter
We actually tell our users:
You say that the App Gallery will now open the Recent Apps.
Are these the recent Apps used on this Device, or used by this USEREMAIL?
Fabian, thanks for the feedback - this is very helpful.
I think the process for your users can remain exactly the same, and hopefully will be smoother as a result of these updates. The โRecentโ view will show your users the apps theyโve last used, on any device (if I use an app on the desktop, it will show as my most recently used app in the App Gallery on my mobile device).
It makes sense for someone like me to see that, but for someone whoโs just using a piece of software theyโve hired me to develop - that becomes a sore spot since we canโt remove it.
What happens when a general user clicks on that?
Many of my clients feel the same way, and I donโt blame them. I agree, it is forced marketing, and it is confusing to employees who just have to use the app for their job.
I go with this completely and every single person who has the same view. I really would appreciate appsheet listening to this.
After all the pains in conceiving and developing the app , it feels like some free social app. It lacks the professionalism - be it from the management , employee or consumers perspective.
A business app should look like a business app. The White label option I think should be available for all levels and not just publisher level.
Hey Matt, genuinely appreciate the feedback, this is important for us all to understand.
We agree that we want to limit the possible navigation ways for users to navigate away from apps they need to be using - thatโs the goal with this update.
The โunremovableโ App Gallery link in most apps is remaining the same, no additional links are being added.
Whatโs changing is whatโs available to the user in the App Gallery if they navigate there - instead of focusing on seeing โPublic Appsโ or Apps theyโve created, the apps theyโve recently used or are available to them are prioritized.
Separately, I know the installation process is difficult - working on that as well as a separate effort, appreciate hearing the feedback, thank you!
No matter what Peter, You really would need to get the avenues of your marketing separated from the apps. No businesses small or big would want their app to look unprofessional, built quick and now bundled with a variety of apps. Thereโs a lot of thought that go into each app, the understanding of the business processes and more, NO CODE Platform is the future but at the same time should look serious. Having WHITE LABEL only at a certain level of subscription I feel itself is the biggest flaw.
Its not wise to look the users of a business users as your prospects. They are available everywhere else. You need to target them elsewhere.
Well said. This summarises all the complaints end users have been formulating!
Hey Peter, thanks for the clarification; I misunderstood the original post. Iโm glad to hear that the link inside apps wonโt be expanding.
As to the revision of the app gallery menu items: cleaning up the interface is always a good thing.
I personally never use it, but Iโm sure some find it helpful.
Exactly what he said.
Although I have a comment? We donโt have the option to even go to the gallery when opening my app launcher from a shortcut? We removed the icon for Appsheet itself from our store phones and only have the shortcut to go to our app launcher which essentially***** isolates them from the gallery all together so far knock on 3 pieces of wood.
This 1000%
Iโm moving to wrap my app in an webview apk because of this confusion. So only iphone users has to deal with this stuff.
100% agree.
I agree with @MultiTech_Visions and @GreenFlux, in my experience new app users tend to behave almost like children, if they see a button in an app they have commissioned they will press it, and in the case of the app gallery, they will go down that rabit hole, eventually asking the infamous question after you tell 'em to ignore that button:
Why donโt you remove it then?
Very helpful feedback Rafeal, thank you - to confirm, the goal with this update is to provide those new users a much easier way to quickly navigate back to the apps relevant to them if they โclick that buttonโ (App Gallery).
Also agreed 100% with @MultiTech_Visions and @GreenFlux. The amount of times I have to say โInstall the Appsheet App then DO NOT TOUCH IT. DO NOT GO INTO IT. DO NOT LOGIN. HIDE IT IF YOU CANโ because they end up down that rabbit hole. Sometimes I have to get them to uninstall everything and start again. My โrecord timeโ is 1 hour 25mins on the phone just to get an app installed on someoneโs phone.
Anyway, rant over. @Peter, if youโd like to pass this on to whoever does the UX. The reason why I want to remove stuff like this is beacuse it makes it easier for our clients to use. I will shortly have my first client ever that uses 2 apps, and that is just because your licencing model forces me to do it that way. So there is almost never a reason for them to go hunting around looking for other Apps.
If the UX are not convinced. Maybe I could direct some 60+ year olds their way and see if they can talk them through installing the App on a 8 year old iphone via telephone only.
I also agree with having an option to hide the app gallery.
Simon, I appreciate the rant This is all super helpful to understand, and is exactly the types of the problems weโre trying to chip away at with these updates. To clarify, no new โhardโ menu items are being added to any apps.
The main goal with this update is to make the content of the App Gallery (if the user navigates there) much more relevant to that user, so they can quickly get back to the apps important to them. Itโs removing the distractions of showing sample apps, or encouraging them to become a creator.
A separate effort will work on addressing the cumbersome shortcut installation process - but ideally, the App Gallery can also start serving as a better catalog of apps the user needs to use on a regular basis.
Would be nice if apps would age out of Recent Apps, such that an app I used one time a year ago doesnโt continue to show up.
Good call Steve - letโs discuss soon.
Wow, I have to jump on the train hereโฆ
Super confusing for most users. But I think thatโs built in with Appsheet. I think the root cause is that Appsheet thinks that ever app user can and should develop apps, so Appsheet is marketing to every user to go build an appโฆ
Thatโs the problem.
There are orgs that truly want everyone to take a crack at democratized citizen development. Then there are orgs that want centralized development.
We white label to get around this as wellโฆ
Might be they need to find some other avenue. This doesnt quiet seem a best way, from the app developers view at least.
Thanks Grant - to clarify, the goal is to make it easier for app users to stay focused just on the apps they use frequently or are available to them. This update will remove some of the distractions of encouraging the user to also become a creator. (No new menu links are being added, and the app gallery will only display apps the user should be using).
Iโd like also to be able to remove shared apps.
I have some apps shared with me that I simply cannot โunshareโ.
Hugo, this makes sense, thanks - Iโll share the feedback with the team.
Hi @peterdykstra ! I would like to request that "Shared with me" not be the default. "Recent" or "Owned by me" would be better. In my case, I have students using a prototype app that I have made and that they have copied. If something leads them to navigate into "Shared with me" they take it as a dead end (because it's empty for them) . An alternative would be not to go to any one part of the app gallery by default but to go to the menu showing the three options.
Here's an image that a student sent me today in distress:
โ
Thanks Matt.
I also frequently send myself a link via the quick Chrome methods - hopefully though this opens the door to for more teams using the App Gallery as a more proper launcher, so users need to rely less on shortcuts or bookmarks that may get stale or deleted over time.
I understand that having the AppSheet App installed, but not used may confuse our users.
Thatโs why I tell them: The AppSheet App is like a Browser. Our App is like a website. So you can open the Browser and then open a website. Or you can add the website as a shortcut to your home screen.
With that you donโt need to tell them โinstall the AppSheet App, but then forget about itโ.
And: Sometimes we need to delete cash and data in the AppSheet App, because the App is not working for some reason. This is not happening often but the community has several posts about it. When you do this, all shortcuts will be gone. Now you have to send this user again the link to your Apps.
Thatโs why I teach them to use the AppSheet App to get to our Apps and then add Shortcuts.
Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day; teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime.
But I only want them to go fishing in this one pond that I have specifically set up and created for them. Any fish in other ponds are poisonous and even if you tell them that they will find their way over there.
My users donโt know what a browser is, they just click the โinternet buttonโ. Sometimes you just need a padded room.
I use .apk and .ipa files for every app I deploy. The only circumstance where I would deviate from this would be in the case of a client who is already aware of the alternative deployment process.
The thought of instructing users to first install the appsheet app and then make shortcuts through it sends chills down my spine.
So you ask appsheet for these on every App? How do you present them to the client. Interested in the way you work
Iโm also very interested to know more, getting people to install the app can be a real pain in the rear.
To clarify, I only deploy .ipa and .apk files for the upfront application launcher:
I donโt deploy the sub-applications.
Larger orgs have had their own MDM platform where they host the .ipa and .apk. For smaller orgs I have just deployed their application directly to the app stores.
Canโt express how much the App Gallery is a pain. My users were happy to loose the search function just to avoid it.
Thatโs the other strange setting: Menu and Search must be linked.
One way thatโs almost perfect, for me, to get around this is:
If the user creates a shortcut to any of the apps and loads it, App Gallery returns in the loaded app. so I ask them not use that function, which would be useful (shortcuts).