Make any AppSheet app an standalone one for desktop

[SkrOYC]

Never though I would make any tricks since this community is full of very wise people but… here I am.

Make any AppSheet app an “standalone” app for windows desktop users using Chromium-base browsers

Some of you have been struggling with the fact that AppSheet apps run on browser, generally a tab. This is not perfect since your users can still see the bookmarks, url, etc. It’s not a full desktop app UX.
But, if your users are using any Chromium-based browser, you can apply this tip.

First of all, I have to say that I’ve been doing this for some time on linux but I didn’t thought it would behave the same way on Windows. Also, I’m using Brave browser but, again, this works the same on any chromium-base one.

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There are two ways of doing this:

1. Easy way:

1. Open the URL of your app
2. Click of the dots at the right side of the browser:
   
3. Go to More tools → Create shorcut
4. Check “Open as window” and “Create”
   
5. You will see the app opened on a window and you will see also a desktop shorcut on the desktop as well as under the windows menu → “[NameOfYourBrowser] Apps”
   

2. Manual but better (from my POV) way

1. Check for the desktop shorcut for your browser or create one. (Just the browser)
2. Go to properties and copy all of what’s inside “Target:”
   If you are using Google Chrome, this sould look like this:
   “C:\Program Files\Google\Chrome\Application\chrome.exe”
3. Create a new shorcut on your desktop.
4. Under “Type the location of the item:” Paste the text you copied before and add the following:
   –app=https://www.appsheet.com/start/XXXXXXXX-XXXX-XXXX-XXXX-XXXXXXXXXXXX
   It should look like this:
   
5. Give it a meaningfull name (Maybe your app’s name?)
6. Save it

There is a difference between the two methods, you can check it here:

At the left side is method 1. You can still see extensions and other info under the “menu” button that’s beside the windows buttons
At the right side is method 2. There are no extra buttons, it’s like any other desktop app.

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Linux users: This is basically a parameter to the command “YourBrowserName”. Since I’m using Brave Browser, I have brave-browser --app=https://www.appsheet.com/start/XXXXXXXX-XXXX-XXXX-XXXX-XXXXXXXXXXXX as a keyboard shorcut. You can do the same using the terminal.

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PS: As you can see, this should work with any url so have some fun

[SkrOYC]

I’m just adding an update that no one asked but I found useful

Since Method 2 is a little bit hard, you can do the following to change from Method 1 to 2 kinda easy:

Find the desktop shortcuts made by Method 1 and open it’s properties:
Change the:
--app-id=whateveritsayshere
to:
--app=https://www.appsheet.com/start/XXXXXXXX-XXXX-XXXX-XXXX-XXXXXXXXXXXX

That’s it

Hope this helps if Method 2 was a little bit scaring

[ivarshakk]

Well done

[Surdusvacca]

Hi,

Maybe I do something wrong (uses method 2).
When I open the shortcut just created, it opens up like if it was an app, and that is what I want, but after 2-3 seconds its like the window is refreshing making the app looks like when it is a normal browser view.

To me it seems like this is happening after 2-3 seconds when the 'Sync' also starts. Why is that changing from app view to browser view?

My shortcut target is like this:
"C:\Program Files\Google\Chrome\Application\chrome.exe" --app=https:\www.appsheet.com\start\bla-bla-bla-bla"

All the best

[SkrOYC]

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@Surdusvacca wrote:

My shortcut target is like this:
"C:\Program Files\Google\Chrome\Application\chrome.exe" --app=https:\www.appsheet.com\start\bla-bla-bla-bla"

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Look at your slash signs

[Surdusvacca]

OKay I have no idea why my slashes are backslashes when I insert them here.
Ofcourse in my shortcut it looks like this:
"C:\Program Files\Google\Chrome\Application\chrome.exe" --app=https://www.appsheet.com/start/94c4aea7-bla-blaa-bla

Do you know why it is refreshing after a couple of seconds and then shows the default webbrowser version? I would like to run it as 'app' version.

[SkrOYC]

So you want it to look like a phone app?

[Surdusvacca]

Yes I do.
But I found out what was my problem.
I have not deployed the app as I was just testing it.
After the deployment, it remains as an app. Thank you for the guide! 🙂

[SkrOYC]

To be honest, that actually doesn't make sense. The only way to make it look like a phone app is by not using the Desktop Mode preview or having it in a narrow-enough window

[VuHiep]

Thanks for sharing, now that I know this feature, it looks pretty cool like a standalone app.

[Kirk_Masden]

I posted about how to do this on a Mac.  It's very easy (easier than Windows?) and I'm finding it to be quite convenient.

https://www.googlecloudcommunity.com/gc/Tips-Tricks/On-a-Mac-take-advantage-of-the-quot-web-app-quot...

[SkrOYC]

Actually it's the same thing, but the second method used in this post is way more "standalone" looking.
In any case, an experienced user can do the same thing in MacOS

[Kirk_Masden]

Yes.  I'm not a Windows user so I'm not sure but I think the method I'm using on my Mac must be the Mac version of what you described for Windows.  This seems to be new with Sonoma (the latest Mac OS). At any rate, it's extremely easy to do on a Mac now.  I haven't tested it yet, but all the indications I've received are that I should be able to make different desktop apps for different accounts, which would further speed up app development for me.  🙂

[SkrOYC]

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@Kirk_Masden wrote:

I should be able to make different desktop apps for different accounts

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You will need multiple profiles, one for each app in order to keep thep separated.

Think about this method as just some kind of "bookmark" or "shortcut", it's still linked to a profile in your browser, just opened in a new window with less decorations

[Kirk_Masden]

Actually, you don't need multiple profiles.  They are kept separate by the Sonoma operating system.  A separate "app" is saved in the users app folder for this purpose.  I'm using several apps in that way now and it works very well. 🙂

[SkrOYC]

Got it, seems like the Safari way of doing it

[Fabian_Weller]

Thank you very much @SkrOYC  and @Kirk_Masden for sharing this.

I would love if we could open links to AppSheet Views inside of this standalone app.
We use Google Calendar and add the link to the AppSheet view in the description. So we can click on that and the AppSheet App opens on the right spot. But it always opens a new tab. On mobile, it opens the AppSheet App.

[Asadusjaman]

Thank you for sharing. But while trying to replicate the method mentioned in the OP, I found an even easier way if you are using Microsoft Edge.

From your app's website click on 3 dots from the very top right corner>Apps>Install this site as an app.

[SkrOYC]

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@Asadusjaman wrote:

From your app's website click on 3 dots from the very top right corner>Apps>Install this site as an app

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That's actually method 1 mentioned in the OP.

I much prefer method 2 since I'm a little bit more tech savvy, and you can also replicate it using Edge as well