I have an app I am working on that will have over 150 screens with info. Each screen is about a different company and the information may need to be updated in a timely manner. I imagine, if a screen is pulled up in my app and there is new info that I updated on my server, the app will pull that info and update that screen. How does this work? Do you have any suggestions about how to approach this? Is there an easy way of doing this? Or should I just update my app once a month with Apple?

Hey jtommervik, if your app is pulling its data from your server (I hope it is, 150 screens is alot to hard code, even in BT!) and it's getting its content by querying your server (database, right?) each time it opens, then it should be fine. But I may be wrong, especially if you are going to actually create 150 screens in your app. It might be worth looking at a solution where you use a custom html plugin that displays whatever data is being supplied to it. That way you can update (on your server) the details of each company record and/or add/delete companies and it will still be up to date without needing to 'physically' create or delete new screens inside the app. I do something like this with a database of 1000+ records and those records are queried via php, formatted as JSON then passed simultaneously to a map screen and html layout which is 'wrapped' in a BT screen. But there's only one BT screen (actually, two in my case: one for the map, one for the html list details) doing all this inside the app, not 1000! I hope that makes sense? Cheers Paddy

The screens will update in the users app if new info is updated or added to the control panel, as long as the screens are already there, assuming the app is in live mode. No need to submit an update to apple... all info is updated instantly in the users app... one of the perks of using buzztouch :)

The URLS that are in the JSON configuration data for your app have certain values that change with your control panel. There are 'two' modes of configuration; 'Design' and 'Live'. The way it works would be sort of like this: 1) Your app is in 'Design Mode'. a) You make a change in your control panel b) When your app is launched on the device, the 'data' URL of the app contacts the control panel, and if something has changed, it will provide an alert on the device 'The Apps configuration has changed, do you wish to update it?' and will allow the user to update the app. 2) Your app is in 'Live Mode'. a) You make a change in your control panel b1) If you go to the 'publish' screen and press the 'publish' button, the current configuration will be available to 'live' devices. on the apps next launch, the dataURL of the app contacts the control panel and alerts the user by providing an alert on the device, notifying them of the change, and the option to update. b2) If you never 'publish' your changes, they will NOT be reflected in the live configuration, and your app will not get a notification. Summary: In 'design' mode, all devices get all changes. In 'live' mode, only the changes that are 'published' will filter to your devices 'in the wild'. Hope this helps explain things. As long as you change 'the configuration' and not 'the code' you will not need to provide an update of your app to Apple. However, changes to 'the code', whether it is a modification, or a new plugin (that isn't already in your released package) will require a recompile and resubmission to Apple. Cheers! -- Smug

Thank you for your replies. Angry ninja - It's that easy? Do I need to upgrade to member or for right now, will guest do the same thing?

Smug - this clarifies it. Thanks. Paddy - Make sense to me but I think updating the control panel will work for me.

Do I need to upgrade to "member" OR will "guest" be sufficient for now OR does it not matter?

The 'only' limitation as a 'non-member' is the 3 app limit in your control panel. Otherwise, it's all a level playing field. You get it. I get it. Everyone gets it. Cheers! -- Smug Edit: and by the way, a 'key' point to remember is *just* before the final compile, before you release your app to the markets, is to CHANGE your config from 'Design' to 'Live'. You can do this by copy/pasting a new config, or just change the JSON in your BT_config.txt file. Apps are always in design mode. The developer (you) has to manually change it before release. If you do not change this before release, your app will reflect *any* change in your control panel. Not quite what you'll want for app behavior.

Would the "Custom HTML plug in" be the way to go?

Well, it is 'a' way to go. If you're creating an Android app, the Google Play store is fairly flexible in what could be considered 'acceptable standards'. But Apple is a bit more snobbish with their reviews. If things just don't impress them, they may reject your app for a multitude of reasons. A well known rejection reason is 'mobile websites'. If they feel you're just putting an app 'wrapper' around a website, they'll reject your app and suggest you use mobile safari. The 'CustomHTML', plugin is one I tend to shy away from, because I've never liked the code produced by those 'WYSIWYG' java powered editors. I prefer to use my own code in my own HTML. It's really no different than the HTMLDoc plugin with your own page, which is what I normally do. You get most of the same benefits from either one. Again, some plugins are 'similar' but none are exactly the same, because they achieve slightly different results, or the same results in a different way. It all depends on your situation. Cheers! -- Smug

I have over 300 screens in my app that are food menus. I update them as needed usually a few every night. I've just started converting to the HTML Doc plugin on my self hosted server. I create individual html documents for each food menu on my server back end and then use the url for each document in the html doc plugin "document location". The screens are easily updated and can be used on multiple apps if you wanted to. I was using the custom html/text plugin for all of my screens but found the plugin to be a bit quirky when it came to updates and you can only use that screen in the app that its in. Sometimes the screen would not update in the app after changing it in my buzztouch control panel. Dave

Calypso Kid - If someone downloads your app, does it automatically download all the HTML with it? In other words, if someone downloads your app and then goes somewhere where they have no internet or wifi, opens your app - is there a chance the screens with HTML are blank?

The screen does not load unless it's clicked on. I have it set up to cache the screen after it's been loaded so if the user wants to see it later and there is no internet available, it will load the cached screen. The other option is for the screen to automatically update every time it's clicked on. If there is no internet available it will say content not yet downloaded. The only way that I know of to have all of the screens available immediately after downloading from the store is to include the content in the project when you send it to the App Store. I found that it more difficult to update the screens that way. Dave