The Camino Forum as an App

[ivar]

With this new version of the forum it is now possible to install the forum as an app... kind of.. let me explain.

What it is is called a Progressive Web App

web.dev

web.dev

This is not possible in all browsers, but in Chrome-land it should work (not in Safari I think).



To see if this is available for you, look for the circle with a + sign in the address bar of your browser (see above). Click it, and you will be asked to install it.

What this does is create a small app that is downloaded to your computer, and from then on you can open the app, and the forum opens up inside this app. It is just the forum website inside an app. You can then add the app to your doc or menu bar and click it to open the forum. This way there is no need to open a web browser and the go to the forum.

You can of course continue using the forum as before, this is just one more way of getting to the forum.

Thanks,
Ivar

 

[ivar]

This is what the app window looks like when the app is open.

 

[Robo]

What is the benefit of an App over just using a Browser?
Might be a dumb question?

 

[alexwalker]

What is the benefit of an App over just using a Browser?
Might be a dumb question?

Phone vs. your laptop, I assume.

 

[C clearly]

Phone vs. your laptop, I assume

Not really. I find that the browser version on my phone is very good, and it looks just like the image Ivar posted above for the app.

 

[ivar]

There are not a lot of advantages to the app.. it comes with the new forum version, so I enabled it.

One thing I like is that I have now an icon in my doc that lets me know when there are notifications (PMs or other notifications) from the forum.



The rest of the app experience is the same as looking at the forum in a web browser. I like that the browser navigation bar at the top is gone.. so there are more space for forum content.

But these things are details. I would think most people would just use the webpage as before.

 

[AJGuillaume]

I would find that very useful on my phone, but alas Chrome doesn't give me the little circle with a + on my Android phone.

It works on my laptop.

 

[ivar]

I would find that very useful on my phone, but alas Chrome doesn't give me the little circle with a + on my Android phone.
View attachment 85202
It works on my laptop.

If you are on Android, here are some instructions:

Use web apps - Android - Google Chrome Help

A web app is an app built for the web that you can access on any device. You can use web apps to have a website work as an app and access it on your computer or mobile devices through the launcher or

support.google.com

 

[LouLou]

Works a treat! Thanks Ivar.

 

[GraemeHall]

If you are on Android, here are some instructions:

Use web apps - Android - Google Chrome Help

A web app is an app built for the web that you can access on any device. You can use web apps to have a website work as an app and access it on your computer or mobile devices through the launcher or

support.google.com

Wow. I just opened the forum as a web page on my Android phone (Samsung S10), and up popped a box asking me if I wanted to install this as an app. I said Yes, and there it is in my apps!

 

[tpmchugh]

Works great on my Chromebook. Just sits in my taskbar at bottom along with gmail, photos and google maps. No need to do anything after pressing little circle thingy.

 

[Bisnieta]

It's much more convenient to have this shortcut on the phone. I suppose it's more like a link than a true app, but it works! Thanks, this is a very handy upgrade!

 

[trecile]

I guess that this is useful for some people, but it doesn't support the way that I use forums. When I open this, or any other forum that I frequent I identify the threads that I want to read, and open them each in a new tab. Then I read each thread, closing the tabs as I go. No having to hit the back button after I read a thread to find the next thread that I want to read.

 

[lt56ny]

Thanks Ivar for all your hard work to make the forum a wonderful experience. But for this pilgrim who is brain dead when it comes to technology. I am good!!! But my thanks for all the many happy hours I have spent with you and all the others on this forum.

 

[camino.ninja]

There are not a lot of advantages to the app.. it comes with the new forum version, so I enabled it.

One thing I like is that I have now an icon in my doc that lets me know when there are notifications (PMs or other notifications) from the forum.

View attachment 85180

The rest of the app experience is the same as looking at the forum in a web browser. I like that the browser navigation bar at the top is gone.. so there are more space for forum content.

But these things are details. I would think most people would just use the webpage as before.

The notification thing is really cool. Much needed feature