I am developing an application in which the user has the opportunity to share some data to facebook.
In this data that will be shared, a link to the application is provided.
However, the application is obviously not yet published yet. So I have had to "guess" what the URL will be. I have set it in this format:
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.mycompanyname.appname ,
where mycompanyname is my name, and appname is my application name (i.e. using my real bundle id, or packet name). This is is the suggested way according to the answer to this question.
Now, my question is simply if there is this a proper way of doing this without assuming the link will always be the same? I do not want to risk publishing an app with a link that doesn't lead anywhere. Can I instead add some kind of placeholder that will automatically change to the actual play store URL?
Google play link always contains your package name after [id=]
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=yourpackagename
Because on google play package name is unique for the same app, you can't find two apps with the same package name.
So it's ok to publish your app like you said, also if there anything wrong for any reason you can always update your published APK without any problem.
So you can for sure publish your app with it's link without no problem.
Related
I have changed my play store app name and it was approved 10 days ago. I have changed the poster too with the new name headline. My app link is 'https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.farhad.myquizapp'. When I write a post or a comment with that link in web (Facebook) it shows the previous poster with previous name. But after clicking the link play store shows the actual name what I have changed.
Thanks
AFAIK the URL of the store listing cannot be changed. I think you would have to create a new app listing and change the application ID in build.gradle (Module...). And then the package name in the manifest.
The information from Google is a bit confusing about whether it's the application ID or the package name. They are independent of each other but if you don't change them yourself they are the same.
Remember that APKs with different application IDs are treated as
different apps in Google Play Store
To create the link, you need to know the app's fully qualified
package name, which is declared in the app's manifest file. The
package name is also visible in the Google Play Console.
https://developer.android.com/studio/build/application-id
https://developer.android.com/distribute/marketing-tools/linking-to-google-play?hl=de
I hope this answers your question.
I have published an android app in the store, however, we lost the keystore, when I unpublish the current app and try to republish another app with the same name I've got a message saying that I couldn't publish an app with the same name, is there a manipulation to do ?
Thanks :)
Every application on Google Play needs to have a separate application id (like com.company.awesomeapp). So if you lost your keystore and can't upload the application with the id you had before, you will have to change the id (say, com.company.awesomeapp2).
One small note, now the application id is not the same as the application package. So you may continue to use the old application package internally (for the source files and in the manifest), but you need to change the applicationId in gradle.build to something new. If you reference the application id somewhere in the manifest, you can use a placeholder: ${applicationId}.
The solution for my problem was to rename the previous application and create an app with the same name.
I obviously had to change the app id also
Even though your old app is not available for download anymore, the Play Store still requires a different applicationId, because some users might still have the old app installed on their devices (it still may be 'supported' in the sense that users can buy in app purchases etc.), and it's the Android OS that explicitly denies installation of packages with the same name, and allows updates when the id and certificate is the same.
You could imagine a situation where you delete an app from the play store, and if it would allow creating a new one with the same applicationId, and someone got hold of your keystore and certificate, that person could upload a completely different app and trigger updates to users with your old app. Now, that would be very bad and simple solution is just to not allow same applicationIds.
So I have learnt my lesson in backing up my keystore and the new one is now safely tucked away from now on. { and yes I have looked for the old one for ages :-( }
I need to un-publish my current app and so I can reuse the app name and create a new app version 1 with the new keystore I have created.
I can only un-publish my app and not delete it as Google need to keep it as unpublished for legal reasons etc etc so understand that.
How do I create a new app with the same name as right now play store says that the name is already in use.
Still digging and investigating a solution but any help would be appreciated.
So after talking with Google support I really wanted to get the correct solution that only changed what needed to be changed and leave what could be left alone.
So for all the folk out there like me who lost their keystore file, here is the necessary steps for republishing your app where you have lost your keystore.
Unplubish your app.
So under ALL APPLICATIONS you see this and the app shows as Unpublished under Status.
Change the name of your unpublished app.
Here i just added the word old to the app name.
Rebuild your app with a new package name as follows:
if the current package name is com.mycom.myapp then use a new one such as com.mynewapp.myapp
Make a new keystore and when they say to KEEP IT SAFE they really do mean it, KEEP IT SAFE.
( I am still in the process of republishing the app so I will update my answer with more info once published.)
Google Play allows many apps to have the same title. However, the application package for each app needs to be unique within Google Play. This is the package attribute value that you provide for the <manifest> tag in the AndroidManifest.xml file of your project. The package name serves as a unique identifier for the application.
For example:
com.yourwebsite.yourappname or com.yourwebsite.yoursuitename.yourappname.
Here's the link for Android manifest :http://developer.android.com/guide/topics/manifest/manifest-element.html#package
How do I create a new app with the same name as right now play store
says that the name is already in use.
You cannot use the same name or package name. An app once published cannot be deleted and the package name is forbidden going forward once published to avoid re-publishing of banned/forbidden apps.
Same name can be used by a different developer but not by the same developer who already has an app with that name. (This is my understanding from a time when i entered the same name by mistake)
You will need to use a different package name and app name. But, if it was banned there is a high probability that it will survive with the new package name for long. It will get banned again and probably also lead to banning of the developer account. Be careful.
Is there a way to get info on an Android application (e.g., publisher name) if you know the name of the package? I don't see it in packageinfo or applicationinfo.
If what you want is not in PackageInfo or ApplicationInfo, then it is not accessible via PackageManager. For example, "publisher name" is only something that a marketplace like the Play Store knows -- that is not a piece of metadata that a developer needs to put into the APK.
Is there a way to get info on an Android application (e.g., publisher name) if you know the name of the package?
Checkout
1) get application name from package name
2) Find package name for Android apps to use Intent to launch Market app from web questions.
You may get some details using PackageManager and ApplicationInfo. The first one seems to answer that. Hope this is of some use to you.
Whilst the original question turned out to be about how to get the Play Store information for an application, there is often information to be discovered about the app publisher or developer (not always the same thing) by looking at the apk on the device.
For example, the package name is in a reversed domain name form, such as com.google.android.apps.maps, and thus gives you a pretty big clue that this is a Google published application.
Apks also contain certificate(s) which are available via packageInfo.signatures. These signatures are "unregulated" (they are generally self signed) and thus can contain anything so should not be trusted to be truthful, but in practice often give a good indication as to the developer (even to the extent of many of them containing the personal name of the lead programmer of the app!)
You can use an app such as App Detective to see the signatures contained in your device's installed apps.
I have a problem. I didn't realise the package name of the Android application would be visible to the public when linking to the app listing in the online market.
e.g. https://market.android.com/details?id=com.mycompanyname.android.appname
My client who commissioned the app is not happy with this (they are making a decision as I type this). Is there any way to make a URL that opens the market place listing without using the package name?
It will take hours for me to change the name and retest the app and regenerate several API keys/hashes etc. which will mean I will miss the delivery deadline.
Foiled at the finish line!
Update: You don't need to regenerate keys for the Facebook API, Xtify API or Google Maps API when you change the package name.
I dont think there is any way to avoid showing the package name.