Web app shortcuts or web clips is used to create shortcuts to web pages on the managed device. On clicking the shortcut, the contents of the URL are displayed in the Chrome web browser on Android devices and the Safari browser on iOS devices. Web app shortcut is primarily used to save time by ensuring minimal action by the user to access a web page. These shortcuts can be used for URLs that are regularly accessed by the user such as the organization’s intranet pages.
ZENworks lets you deploy these web app shortcuts to Android and iOS devices, using the existing Bundles feature.
In ZENworks Control Center, click Bundles.
In the Bundles page, click New, and then select Bundles.
In the Select Bundle type page, select Corporate Bundle, and then select Web App.
On the Specify Web App Details page, specify the following details:
Display Name: The name to be displayed for the web app shortcut on the device.
URL: The URL that should be linked with the web app shortcut and whose contents will be displayed on the web browser on clicking the web app shortcut.
Icon: The image to be displayed as the icon for the web app shortcut.The supported file formats are .jpeg, .jpg, and .png. For best results, upload a square image with a maximum of 400 * 400 pixels and less than 1 MB when uncompressed.
Display Mode: The mode in which the contents of the linked URL should be displayed on the web browser. The options differ based on the platform as well as the specified URL:
Standalone: The web app is displayed like a standalone native application. The web app is displayed as a separate window. The browser UI elements such as address bar and navigation are hidden. Applicable for iOS, iPadOS, and Android devices. If an HTTPS URL is specified, then this option is displayed as the default value for Android devices.
Full Screen: The contents of the web app will take up the entire display area. Applicable for iOS, iPadOS, and Android devices.
Minimal: Similar to the Standalone option. However, the user will have access to a minimal set of UI elements for controlling navigation such as the back button, forward and reload button. Applicable only for Android devices, if an HTTP URL is specified.
On the Define Details page, specify the following details:
Bundle Name: Provide a name for the bundle. By default, the name of the web app is displayed. However, this can be modified. The bundle name must be different than the name of any other item (bundle, group, folder, and so forth) that resides in the same folder. The name you provide displays in ZENworks Control Center (ZCC).
Folder: Type the name or browse to the ZCC folder where you want the bundle to reside. The default is /bundles, but you can create additional folders to organize your bundles.
Description: Provide a short description of the bundle's contents. This description displays in ZCC.
Select the Create as Sandbox option to create a Sandbox-only version of the bundle. A Sandbox version of a bundle enables you to test it on your device before actually deploying it.
Select the Define Additional Properties option to display the bundle’s Actions page after the wizard completes.
Click Finish to create the bundle.
For the Android platform, when a web app bundle is created, ZENworks communicates with the Google server to remotely create the app in the managed Google Play console. This process might take a while, ranging from a few minutes to hours. If the app is assigned to users before it is available in the managed Google Play console, you might see a distribution failure in the Distribution dashlet and the following message is logged against the bundle Distribution Failed: The app could not be distributed as it is not available in Google Play Store. As soon as the app is available in the managed Google Play console, on the next refresh of the device, the app will be successfully distributed.
Similarly, if a bundle that is already published, is re-published at a later point in time, and if a device refresh is initiated before the re-published bundle is available in the managed Google Play console, then the latest version of the app associated with the re-published bundle, will fail to install on the device. You might see an installation failure in the Installation dashlet and the following message is logged against the bundle Install State: The latest version of the app could not be installed as it is not updated in the Google Play Store. As soon as the re-published bundle is available in the managed Google Play console, on the next refresh of the device, the app will be successfully installed.
NOTE:For Android devices, this bundle can be assigned to users only. Therefore, you need to note the following when a bundle is assigned to Android device users:
If the bundle is assigned to both users and devices, then the bundle will be effective only if user precedence is selected.
If the bundle is already assigned to a user and is installed on the user’s device and at a later point in time the bundle is re-assigned with device precedence selected, then the bundle is uninstalled from the device.
If the bundle is already assigned to a user and is installed on the user’s device and at a later point in time an Install Bundle quick task is initiated from the bundle deployment dashlet for the device, then the bundle is uninstalled from the device.
Also, before assigning a web app shortcut to Android users, ensure that the Chrome web browser is deployed on their Android devices, without which the users will not be able to view the contents of the web app.
For iOS and iPadOS devices, this bundle can be assigned to both users and devices.
ZENworks distributes web app bundle to devices of Android users by creating and maintaining entries of the app in the managed Google Play console. Hence, multiple instances of these apps might be displayed in the managed Google Play console, which are being managed by ZENworks. Therefore, we strongly recommend that you do not perform any actions, such as to approve or unapprove apps, directly on the managed Google Play console. In a scenario where you unapprove the web app shortcut from the managed Google Play console, then the web app shortcut will be uninstalled from the device, whereas the associated bundle will not be automatically removed from the ZENworks server. You will have to manually delete the bundle in ZCC.