As a Campus Cloud administrator, you may need two pieces of technical information about an app:
- the iOS app link information, as an app scheme or universal URL
- the Android Package Name.
You need this information for tasks like creating a campus guide tile to open a 3rd-party app.
What is (1) iOS app link information? Simply put, it's the name by which an iPhone recognizes an app it has installed. Humans use names (like "Zoom," "Outlook," or "MyLaundry") to refer to apps. An iPhone uses app link information, in the form of an app scheme or universal URL.
An example of an iOS app scheme is:
orgsync://
An example iOS universal URL is:
http://maps.apple.com/?daddr=45.51459,-73.55879
What is (2) the Android Package Name? The Android package name is the same as iOS app link information, for the Android operating system.
Keep a note of the two pieces of information we find in this tutorial, either by copying them and pasting them into a document, or by saving them to a disk.
Get the Custom URL Scheme of an iOS app
Before you start, two caveats:
- Some app developers choose to publish their universal URLs and some do not.
- Not every app has a universal URL. (I.e., It may not be possible to create a 3rd-party app tile in Campus Cloud Studio to launch your app.)
With that said, if a universal URL is available, you can get it by carefully following the steps below:
- We have a short list of Universal URLs and package names, at the bottom of this FAQ. Check this list. If you find your app, copy down the scheme and package name, and you are good to go.
- If your app is not in the list, use Google to try and find the universal URL. Search for the name of your app and some of the following keywords:
- "iOS Universal URL or App Scheme"
- "Custom URL scheme"
- "schema"
- You can try contacting the app developer directly, or searching their online documentation. You might also want to ask communities of people who use that app.
- If that doesn't work, use the software iMazing. For more details, keep reading.
iMazing
iMazing is a piece of software you can download for OS X (Mac) or Windows. Among other things, it lets you find the Custom URL Scheme of an app. Here are the steps to take:
- Install the 3rd party app to your phone.
- Download iMazing from the website and install it on your Mac or PC.
- Connect your phone to your computer and open iMazing.
- Consult this online article to get the Custom URL Scheme of the iOS app:
Verify the Custom URL Scheme
Before you can use a Custom URL scheme, you need to verify it. You need to make sure you got the right link and copied it without any issues.
Here is how you can verify a Custom URL Scheme:
- Copy and paste the Custom URL scheme into an email, and send it to your phone.
- Receive the email on your phone and view it.
- You should see a link you can tap. Tap the link.
The phone should offer to open the link in the 3rd-party app. If this happens, you've got the correct Custom URL Scheme and can advance to the next step.
Get the Package Name of an Android App
It is straightforward to get the package name of an Android app:
- Go to the Play store, find the app and view its page.
- Copy the URL from the browser address bar. Make a note of this as the "Android Fallback URL."
- You'll see a parameter called "id" followed by an equal sign (=). You might see an ampersand on the other side (&). Select everything between the equal sign (=) and the ampersand (&) and copy it.
Paste this into your notes. This is the package name of the Android app.
Example Data
Below, please find the information required to set up App Open tiles for several popular mobile apps.
Microsoft Outlook
- iOS Universal URL: ms-outlook://
- iOS Fallback URL: https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/microsoft-outlook/id951937596?mt=8
- Android Package Name: com.microsoft.office.outlook&hl=en_US
- Android Fallback URL: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.microsoft.office.outlook&hl=en
Canvas
- iOS Universal URL: canvas-courses:// or canvas-student:// or canvas-courses://<your_canvas_url> (eg. readyeducation.instructure.com)
- iOS Fallback URL: https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/canvas-student/id480883488?mt=8
- Android Package Name: com.instructure.candroid&hl=en
- Android Fallback URL: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.instructure.candroid
OrgSync
- iOS Universal URL: orgsync://
- iOS Fallback URL: https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/orgsync/id871531292?mt=8
- Android Package Name: com.orgsync.orgsync
- Android Fallback URL: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.orgsync.orgsync&hl=en
Blackboard Learn
- iOS Universal URL: bblearn://
- iOS Fallback URL: https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/blackboard-mobile-learn/id376413870?mt=8
- Android Package Name: com.blackboard.android
- Android Fallback URL: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.blackboard.android.bbstudent
Blackboard Instructor
- iOS Universal URL: bbinstructor://
- iOS Fallback URL: https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/blackboard-instructor/id1088457824?mt=8
- Android Package Name: com.blackboard.android.bbinstructor
- Android Fallback URL: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.blackboard.android.bbinstructor
Blackboard Student
- iOS Universal URL: bbstudent://
- iOS Fallback URL: https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/bb-student/id950424861?mt=8
- Android Package Name: com.blackboard.android.bbstudent
- Android Fallback URL: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.blackboard.android.bbstudent
Rave Guardian
- iOS Universal URL: raveguardian://
- iOS Fallback URL: https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/rave-guardian/id691246562?mt=8
- Android Package Name: com.ravemobilesafety.raveguardian
- Android Fallback URL: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.ravemobilesafety.raveguardian
Power School
- iOS Universal URL: psportal://
- iOS Fallback URL: https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/powerschool-mobile/id973741088?mt=8
- Android Package Name: com.powerschool.portal&hl=en
- Android Fallback URL: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.powerschool.portal
Moodle
- iOS Universal URL: moodlemobile://
- iOS Fallback URL: https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/moodle-mobile/id633359593?mt=8
- Android Package Name: com.moodle.moodlemobile
- Android Fallback URL: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.moodle.moodlemobile
Live Safe
- iOS Universal URL: livesafeapp://
- iOS Fallback URL: https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/livesafe/id653666211?mt=8
- Android Package Name: com.livesafe.activities
- Android Fallback URL: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.livesafe.activities
Guide EAB
- iOS Universal URL: guideeab://
- iOS Fallback URL: https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/navigate-student/id950433229?mt=8
- Android Package Name: com.eab.se&hl=en_US
- Android Fallback URL: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.eab.se&hl=en
Corq
- iOS Universal URL: corq://
- iOS Fallback URL: https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/corq-by-collegiatelink/id940682997?mt=8
- Android Package Name: com.campuslabs.collegiatelink
- Android Fallback URL: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.campuslabs.collegiatelink