by George Soules
9. May 2011 09:00
In this article I'm going to tell you how you can launch a web page with one touch of an app icon on your iPad or iPhone. This not only saves you the steps of launching Safari and typing a URL (see left image below), but your page will come up in full-screen mode (see right image below). It works with interactive maps, interactive floor plans, or interactive photo Galleries (as shown here) that you create with MapsAlive.
Left: Web page shown in Safari. Right: The same page launched as a web app.
Apple describes this feature as making a web page “web app capable.” Notice how much extra room is available to the map when launched as a web app thanks to the absence of the address bar at the top and the icon bar at the bottom.
Two easy steps
Making a map web app capable only takes a minute. The first step is to allow the interactive map to be launched with one touch and the second is to create an app icon for your home screen. Both steps are described below.
Step 1 – Make the map web app capable
- Go to the Tour Manager screen in the MapsAlive Tour Builder.
- Check the box that says Make Tour Web App Capable.
- Preview and publish your map.
Step 2 – Create an app icon for the map’s URL.
- Launch Safari and enter the URL for the map.
- Wait for the map to load.
- Tap the icon that looks like an arrow coming out of a box. On iPad it’s at the top of the screen (see top image at right). On iPhone it’s at the bottom.
- Choose Add to Home Screen.
- An Add to Home dialog appears (see bottom image at right). Type a short name for the app icon.
- Click the Add button.
- An icon that looks like the map then appears on your home screen.
- On your home screen, touch the new icon and the map will launch with no address bar.
If you want to get rid of an app icon that you have created this way, just press on the icon until it starts to vibrate and an X appears next to it. Touch the X to remove the icon from your home screen.
I hope you have fun with this — enjoy!
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