/Harpy

Notify users when a new version of your iOS app is available, and prompt them with the App Store link.

Primary LanguageObjective-CMIT LicenseMIT

Harpy

Notify users when a new version of your app is available, and prompt them with the App Store link.


About

Harpy is a utility that checks a user's currently installed version of your iOS application against the version that is currently available in the App Store. If a new version is available, an instance of UIAlertView (iOS 6, 7) or UIAlertController (iOS 8) is presented to the user informing them of the newer version, and giving them the option to update the application.

This library is built to work with the Semantic Versioning system.

Changelog

3.1.0

  • Added Swedish localization support (Issue #62 - Thanks Jon Andersen)
  • Added property for customizing UIAlertController tintColor (Issue #60)
  • Updated README with more information regarding the Forced Update option (Issue #61)

3.0.0

  • Added support for UIAlertController for devices running iOS 8.
    • If iOS 7 is installed, UIAlertView is used.
    • Due to addition of UIAlertController, a new mandatory property must be set, presentingViewController.
    • If this value is not set, an NSLog will be fired, and the Harpy will not continue the version checking process.
  • Fixed a potential issue with developers who used the Skip setting.

Features

  • Cocoapods Support
  • SUpport for UIAlertController (iOS 8+) and UIAlertView (Older versions of iOS)
  • Three types of alerts to present to the end-user (see Screenshots section)
  • Optional delegate and delegate methods (see Optional Delegate section)
  • Localized for 16 languages: Basque, Chinese (Simplified), Chinese (Traditional), Danish, Dutch, English, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Portuguese, Russian, Slovenian, Swedish, and Spanish
    • Optional ability to override an iOS device's default language to force the localization of your choice
    • Refer to the Force Localization section
  • Check for Supported Devices
    • Removed in 2.7.1. See Supported Devices Compatibility section.

Screenshots

  • The left picture forces the user to update the app.
  • The center picture gives the user the option to update the app.
  • The right picture gives the user the option to skip the current update.
  • These options are controlled by the HarpyAlertType typede that is found in Harpy.h.

Forced Update Optional Update Skipped Update

Installation Instructions

CocoaPods Installation

pod 'Harpy'

Manual Installation

Copy the 'Harpy' folder into your Xcode project. It contains the Harpy.h and Harpy.m files.

Setup Instructions

  1. Import Harpy.h into your AppDelegate or Pre-Compiler Header (.pch)
  2. In your AppDelegate, set the appID, and optionally, you can set the alertType.
  3. In your AppDelegate, call only one of the checkVersion methods, as all three perform a check on your application's first launch. Use either:
    • checkVersion in application:didFinishLaunchingWithOptions:
    • checkVersionDaily in applicationDidBecomeActive:.
    • checkVersionWeekly in applicationDidBecomeActive:.
- (BOOL)application:(UIApplication *)application didFinishLaunchingWithOptions:(NSDictionary *)launchOptions
{

	// Present Window before calling Harpy
	[self.window makeKeyAndVisible];
	
	// Set the App ID for your app
	[[Harpy sharedInstance] setAppID:@"<#app_id#>"];
	
	// Set the UIViewController that will present an instance of UIAlertController
	[[Harpy sharedInstance] setPresentingViewController:_window.rootViewController];
	
	// OPTIONAL: The tintColor for the alertController
	[[Harpy sharedInstance] setAlertControllerTintColor:@"<#alert_controller_tint_color#>"];
	
	// (Optional) Set the App Name for your app
	[[Harpy sharedInstance] setAppName:@"<#app_name#>"];
	
	/* (Optional) Set the Alert Type for your app 
	 By default, Harpy is configured to use HarpyAlertTypeOption */
	[[Harpy sharedInstance] setAlertType:<#alert_type#>];
	
	/* (Optional) If your application is not availabe in the U.S. App Store, you must specify the two-letter
	 country code for the region in which your applicaiton is available. */
	[[Harpy sharedInstance] setCountryCode:@"<#country_code#>"]; 
	
	/* (Optional) Overides system language to predefined language. 
	 Please use the HarpyLanguage constants defined inHarpy.h. */
	[[Harpy sharedInstance] setForceLanguageLocalization<#HarpyLanguageConstant#>];
	
	// Perform check for new version of your app 
	[[Harpy sharedInstance] checkVersion]; 
}

- (void)applicationDidBecomeActive:(UIApplication *)application
{
	 
	/*
	 Perform daily check for new version of your app
	 Useful if user returns to you app from background after extended period of time
 	 Place in applicationDidBecomeActive:
 	 
 	 Also, performs version check on first launch.
 	*/
	[[Harpy sharedInstance] checkVersionDaily];

	/*
	 Perform weekly check for new version of your app
	 Useful if you user returns to your app from background after extended period of time
	 Place in applicationDidBecomeActive:
	 
	 Also, performs version check on first launch.
	 */
	[[Harpy sharedInstance] checkVersionWeekly];
    
}

- (void)applicationWillEnterForeground:(UIApplication *)application
{
	/*
	 Perform check for new version of your app
	 Useful if user returns to you app from background after being sent tot he App Store, 
	 but doesn't update their app before coming back to your app.
 	 
 	 ONLY USE THIS IF YOU ARE USING *HarpyAlertTypeForce* 
 	 
 	 Also, performs version check on first launch.
 	*/
	[[Harpy sharedInstance] checkVersion];    
}

And you're all set!

Differentiated Alerts for Patch, Minor, and Major Updates

If you would like to set a different type of alert for patch, minor, and/or major updates, simply add one or all of the following optional lines to your setup before calling any of the checkVersion methods:

	/* By default, Harpy is configured to use HarpyAlertTypeOption for all version updates */
	[[Harpy sharedInstance] setPatchUpdateAlertType:<#alert_type#>]; 
	[[Harpy sharedInstance] setMinorUpdateAlertType:<#alert_type#>];
	[[Harpy sharedInstance] setMajorUpdateAlertType:<#alert_type#>];

Optional Delegate and Delegate Methods

If you'd like to handle or track the end-user's behavior, four delegate methods have been made available to you:

	// User presented with update dialog
	- (void)harpyDidShowUpdateDialog;
	
	// User did click on button that launched App Store.app
	- (void)harpyUserDidLaunchAppStore;
	
	// User did click on button that skips version update
	- (void)harpyUserDidSkipVersion;
	
	// User did click on button that cancels update dialog
	- (void)harpyUserDidCancel;

Force Localization

There are some situations where a developer may want to the update dialog to always appear in a certain language, irrespective of the devices/system default language (e.g. apps released in a specific country). As of v2.5.0, this feature has been added to Harpy (see Issue #41). Please set the forceLanguageLocalization property using the HarpyLanugage string constants defined in Harpy.h if you would like override the system's default lanuage for the Harpy alert dialogs.

[[Harpy sharedInstance] setForceLanguageLocalization<#HarpyLanguageConstant#>];

Supported Devices Compatibility

As of v2.7.1, this feature was removed, as Apple stopped updating the supportedDevices key in the iTunes Lookup API route.

Every new release of iOS deprecates support for one or more older device models. Harpy checks to make sure that a user's current device supports the new version of your app. If it it does, the UIAlertView pops up as usual. If it does not, no alert is shown. This extra check was added into Harpy after a lengthy discussion. A new helper utility, UIDevice+SupportedDevices, came out of this discussion and is included with Harpy.

Important Note on App Store Submissions

The App Store reviewer will not see the alert.

Created and maintained by

Arthur Ariel Sabintsev