Hey guys, I had this app query from a client and I am not sure how to handle it. This app is fairly basic but requires a web based "customer" section. This would be a login, each customer would have their own login and access their own individual set of confidential documents. This set up needs to be web based so my client can create new clients and input new documents. I realise that Wordpress is probably the way to go but it would cost a bit too much in development. Do you guys know of a off-the shelf ready made online tool to achieve this? I have been googling this but with no result so I thought I'd ask! Cheers, Farcat

If I were building it, I'd forget about Wordpress or any other 'software in a box' approach. Instead, I'd use php and MySQL to set up a database of user logins and a table linking user ID's to document names or url's.

Thanks Chris! That sounds good. Way beyond my php level but I can learn. I was thinking Worpress as it would give the customer a control panel to upload the file and create new users. I guess that can be written in PHP too?

There are three parts to this. 1) The app itself. It should communicate with the database on the server, ask for permission and get it or not. They should also be able to become members through the app itself, but whether that should be possible and under which conditions -- that is what your client ought to decide before any development began. 2) The PHP script on the server which asks the database whether to allow the entrance or not. 3) The administrative part of the server setup, through which the database administrator would let new users in, erase them from the databse, control whether they have paid or not, and so on. If you have seen the backend of WordPress or Joomla, that would be similar in function, at least in the part where users are concerned. Depending on the breadth of vision, there could be multiple user licences and/or multiple administrators. Finally, all of this should be connected to various types of payments and payment processors, in-app purchases and so on. This type of requirement is both where the real programming starts and where the real money starts, as you will have a kind of a membership site on a mobile device, with possible payments month after month. I will be writing one such system for myself -- starting exactly this week. If anybody wants to cover a part of the expenses, say, by paying 3-500 bucks and getting one such system for their own apps, do let me know.

I would use WordPress. (I have a much easier solution below, scroll down!) It has a multitude of Plugins to accomplish your objectives. Another option is to simply buy a subscription to Google Apps for Business or to Microsoft's Office 365. The answer depends on your situation. -- Niraj

Thanks guys for your advice! I'll dive right into it now. Farcat

Farcat, Try looking for a membership plugin. Most membership plugins allow you assign pages to certain members.

Hi @Farcat, just wondering, what was your solution in the end?

Also, take a look at the App User capability within BT. One user type allows each user to have his own app. The other type allows Users to have their own login within the login screen. Based on the login, show them their own Document screen. No PHP needed nor custom iOS or Java coding! -- Niraj

@Niraj What exactly is this App User capability within BT? I don't think I have seen it so far to function as you have just described.

Mobile App Users are different than Control Panel Users. This is an important distinction. 1) -- Each app can have an unlimited number of App Users. These users cannot log into the control panel. The only purpose for this screen is to enable the Login Plugin that is popular. App Users can log into the app on the device, not into the control panel. Use the Mobile App Users to redirect the unique logged-in User to his own mobile screen. That personal screen would then only list the Documents available to him. 2) -- for Self-Hosts only -- Each app in the control panel has one and only one owner. Admins can work with any apps, Owners can only work with their own apps. So, the Admin > Manager users screen allows you to create new Control Panel Users that can then "own" apps in the control panel. The Client would be the Owner of the app within the Control Panel. The Client would configure the app for: - New Users to give them login accounts for the mobile app (not for Control Panel accounts) - New personal screens in the mobile app for the new Users - Assign documents to the Personal Screens via the Control Panel Can't get any simpler -- no PHP nor Server add-ons needed -- just use self-hosted BuzzTouch! :-) ( I only learned about all this stuff because I gave each Student a BT account in my October BuzzTouch class ) -- Niraj

What exactly is a Personal Screen?

Hello @Niraj I am quite intrigued by your posts, but I don't quite understand some of what you are saying and how it applies to my scenario, which I think is similar to @Dusko's. I am building an app that works together with a web site. The web site provides individual accounts for users to store personal content (I am using Joomla for this part.) The web site has a user registration form, which then provides a login facility. This avoids individuals creating accounts on a self hosted buzztouch control panel. The app (still in development) provides a certain amount of 'generic' content to all users, with a login to give access to the personalised content. What I want to achieve is :- 1) Prevent access to parts of the app that deliver personalised content until a user has logged in. 2) Logging in should provide access to personalised area's on the web site. If they are not logged in, they are prompted until they do. Up to now I used the advanced menu plugin for app navigation to the web site content. Content is accessed as a url with the html doc plugin. Login is through the login plugin. This allowed me to create menus that depend on the login plugin, blocking parts of the app navigation until the user logs in. I was happy until I realised that this does not log the user into the web site and I can't see how to do this in a one-step process. @Niraj - I was intrigued about your first scenario, when you stated "Use the Mobile App Users to redirect the unique logged-in User to his own mobile screen. That personal screen would then only list the Documents available to him. " What techniques allow you to redirect using the login plugin and a personal screen in buzztouch please? Cheers, Alan

My Login Pro plugin will allow you to do this. You'll need some php work done though. Basically you need to look at the current login script on your website to see what it is doing, then create a new script that does something similar for your app. The Login Pro plugin can then point to that new script to handle sending and receiving of data.

@Niraj, I think what you are proposing would only work if everyone saw the same content after signing in. In this scenario, everyone sees different content. So based on their login, they would go to a specific screen. Everyone, we also have the voucher plugin, for iOS only, that could be part of a solution. I am wondering if the best way to get this technology out to the community is to have a plugin like the Voucher plugin that would work for Android as well. With the voucher plugin, the password you give the client is the nickname for the screen. I can see a lot of use for this!