AdmCloud Connect (Apps & Plugins)
AdmCloud Connect is the directory where AdmCloud companies can publish and discover Apps: packages of customizations (currently, custom reports) built by other users, ready to install into your own company. An App starts life as a Plugin you create under Customization > Plugins, bundling custom reports under a name; from ConnectApps you publish it, set a price (or offer it for free), track its review, and browse everything the community has published.
What is it and what is it for?
When you build custom reports, custom fields or other customizations you'd like to reuse in another company or share with the AdmCloud community, you first group them into a local Plugin (screen Customization > Plugins). AdmCloud Connect is the next step: it lets you publish that plugin as an App visible in the community directory, so other companies can find it and install it, either for free or for a price.
Besides publishing, this area lets you track the review status of your Apps and browse the full directory of what other users have published.
AdmCloud Connect Store is rolling out in stages. Today you can create, publish and track your own Apps, but full public browsing of the directory and installing other users' Apps are still limited while the official store launch is completed.
The three screens in this area
- AdmCloud Connect Directory: lists every already-approved App published by any AdmCloud user, with its owner, publication date, version and price.
- Your Apps in AdmCloud Connect: lists only the Apps you've published, with their current status (Draft, Submitted for Review, Approved, Approved/Hidden or Rejected).
- Detail / New App: the form for one specific App, where you create it, edit its commercial information and manage its review lifecycle.
These screens link to each other and to Customization > Plugins (where you create the local plugin and see the ones you've installed from other users), so you can move easily between "building the plugin" and "publishing it as an App."
How to use it
- First create your Plugin under Customization > Plugins, adding the custom reports you want to bundle.
- Open Your Apps in AdmCloud Connect and click New App.
- Fill in the Name, the Price (leave it at 0 to offer it for free) and the Commercial Text describing what the App does to anyone browsing the directory.
- Add photos or screenshots on the Photos tab of the detail screen, so the App looks appealing in the directory.
- When it's ready, from the App's detail screen click Send for Review. The AdmCloud team reviews the App before approving it for the public directory.
- While you wait, or if you need to fix something, you can send it back to Mark As Draft, or withdraw it entirely with Reject.
- Once approved, you can toggle it between visible in the directory (Mark Approved) and hidden from the public (Mark Approved/Hidden), without losing its approval.
App statuses
| Status | What it means |
|---|---|
| Draft | The App exists but only you (its owner) can see or edit it. It hasn't been submitted for review yet. |
| Submitted for Review | You've marked the App as ready; it's waiting for the AdmCloud team to review and approve it. |
| Approved | The App was approved and appears in the public AdmCloud Connect directory, visible to every user. |
| Approved/Hidden | The App is still approved, but you (its owner) have chosen to temporarily hide it from the public directory. |
| Rejected | You (its owner) withdrew or canceled the App's publication. |
Installing another user's App
From the Directory you can open the detail of an App published by another user and, if it meets the current conditions, install it into your own company with the Install button. Keep these current conditions in mind:
- The App must be in Approved status (not Approved/Hidden or any other status).
- Only free Apps (price at 0) can be installed; paid Apps require coordinating the installation directly with the owner.
- For now, only Apps made up exclusively of custom reports can be installed; if the plugin includes any other kind of resource, installation isn't available yet.
- Installing it copies the plugin and its reports into your company, marked as protected, without affecting the original App or other companies that already installed it.
Key fields
| Field | What it's used for |
|---|---|
| Name | The App's commercial name, shown in the directory and in your Apps list. |
| Price | The App's sale price. Leave it at 0 to publish it as free; only Apps priced at 0 can be installed directly from the directory for now. |
| Commercial Text | The description other users see in the directory to decide whether your App interests them. |
| Owner | The user who published the App. Only the owner can edit it or change its status. |
| Current Version | The published App's version number, taken from the source local plugin. |
| Status | The App's review status (Draft, Submitted for Review, Approved, Approved/Hidden or Rejected). |
| Photos | Images that illustrate the App on its detail page and in the directory. |
| Notes | Private notes for the owner about the App; not visible to other users. |
Validations when saving and managing status
- Only an App's owner can edit it, change its status (Draft, Submit for Review, Reject, Approved, Approved/Hidden) or view its detail while it isn't Approved.
- Once Approved, any user can view its detail from the directory, but the owner is still the only one who manages it.
- Installing an App requires it to be in Approved status, priced at 0 and made up only of custom reports; otherwise the installation is rejected with a message explaining why.
- Companies in an evaluation (free trial) period cannot publish or change the status of Apps; you must activate your subscription first.
Availability
- Publishing and managing Apps requires the Enterprise plan with the "Create Plugins" feature active in your company; if it isn't available, you'll see the not-available-for-this-edition message.
- Requires the Customization permission (add level) in your user group to create or modify Apps and Plugins.
- Public Directory browsing and the Install button are limited while AdmCloud Connect Store completes its official launch.
- Not available for companies in an evaluation (free trial) period.
Tips and common errors
Build the Plugin before coming to ConnectApps. First organize your custom reports as a Plugin under Customization > Plugins; ConnectApps is used afterward, to publish that plugin as an App.
"Only the owner of this resource can edit/visualize it." This message appears if you try to open or modify an App that isn't yours and that isn't Approved yet.
"Currently only plugins with custom reports can be installed." Appears when you try to install an App whose plugin includes a different kind of resource, which isn't installable from the directory yet.
"This option is not available for evaluation companies." If your company is still in its free trial period, you won't be able to publish Apps or change their status until you activate your subscription.