Shortcut to launch another IOS app

MrWassen · August 19, 2020, 8:14pm

Hi guys,

Another IOS question:

Is it possible to create a button in the remote app which can launch another IOS app on the same device? For example in my current setup in HStouch (homeseer app) I can launch the Sonos app from within the HStouch app UI. (I believe this is only possible if the target app has a known URI - for sonos it is “sonos”).

Thanks

Dennis

bill · August 19, 2020, 9:13pm

Yes, but it is just like you mentioned, dependent on the 3rd party app providing a URI/URL Scheme. Not all every app provides this. It has to be set in the package they upload to the store.

Assuming you are able to track down the URI for the app you wish to open, here’s how to open it from the Home Remote:

Add a Method action to your Button’s Clicked trigger.
Set the TargetName for the action to App.
Set the Method to OpenUri.
Set the Parameters to the shortcut URI for the app.

This site lists the iOS URIs for several popular apps. Netflix, for example, uses “nflx://”.

Attached is an example:
iOS_AppShortcuts.hrp (14.4 KB)

MrWassen · August 19, 2020, 10:47pm

Thanks Bill, that works great!

Domodial · November 19, 2020, 5:55am

Hello,

On android i can’t launch anything as third party apps, nor can i access youtube:// nflx:// or cololight://

I can open the Playstore : market://details?Id=com.google.android.youtube but I would like to open a local app on my phone.

I tried opening the package directly in this form com.ilifesmart.quantum.mslict but it doesn’t work

bill · November 19, 2020, 6:09pm

The app developer may not have included support for those URIs in their apps.

On Android you have another option. You can actually open any app using the package id.

To launch YouTube on Android you will need this URI:

intent://#Intent;package=com.google.android.youtube;end

If you need to launch another app, just replace the PACKAGE_ID:

intent://#Intent;package=PACKAGE_ID;end

Domodial · November 22, 2020, 10:18am

Wow !!! Work fine ! Many thanks !

boante · January 7, 2021, 11:12am

Hi. I am quite new user of Home Remote, but I have got the basics in place to control my home. A question connected to open an APP on Android: I have followed above steps and the MethodAction Parameters I use:
intent://#Intent;package=com.netatmo.netatmo&hl=sv

But it does not work. I got the message: Method OpenUri not found on my Android device
I have tried several APPS but with the same result.

Please advise.

bill · January 7, 2021, 4:49pm

Your URI is incorrect. It needs to be of the format:

intent://#Intent;package=PACKAGE_ID;end

The package ID for Netatmo Weather is “com.netatmo.netatmo”. So your URI should look like this:

intent://#Intent;package=com.netatmo.netatmo;end

You also need to make sure “App” is selected in TargetName dropdown. You MethodAction should look exactly like mine below.

Attached is a revised example. This usually a Tile approach.
Shortcuts_Android.hrp (102.9 KB)

boante · January 8, 2021, 10:18am

Thanks Bill. It worked. I created a Plugin for the APP, then added it as a device in a group, and then mapped that group to a devicebrowser. I guess that is the simplest way to do it. Or?

bill · January 8, 2021, 4:20pm

I don’t know that one way is easier than the other. It depends on what you want. This last method I shared allows you to use the built-in Groups layouts. In the previous example I shared it’ll work for custom layouts.