Assume that App exists and works fine. Now we need to make a duplicate of that and customize it differently. How do we "copy" and app in a self-hosted environment? Thanks in advance for any replies.

Hi, this is one of the most discussed topics in the forum, if you search for it, you'll find a lot of threads. You cannot copy an app, there are one of two ways to help you make it easy. You can check the buzzmods.com, there is a copy tool that can copy some plugins, and you can use the jason snipet to help out. But there is not a copy function for this. Cheers,

Hard to believe! We have on the table some 60+ apps that need to be produced that are all copies of the same one, but with some minor changes scattered throughout each to personalize/customize them. We "MUST" be able to copy each app to do the next one. There are 360 screens in each app!!! See the problem?

I have the same problem.... The easiest way will be make the new apps with slight chances in the json file. That's how I translated an app. It was in portuguese, wanted in english as well, changed what needed in the json config file.

OK. Thanks. Did that make the app open in the admin panel so it could be worked on in there, or only a duplicate app in code form?

Wow.... only duplicate in code form.

OK. Thanks. Did that make the app open in the admin panel so it could be worked on in there, or only a duplicate app in code form?

@Herb200mph... every time you refresh, the post is duplicated again. If you are really planning on 60 apps (WOW!), then I 'd recommend using the Self-Hosted control panel anyway. Making 60 apps shows that you're determined, and getting this system set up would be a big bonus to you. You could also have multiple people working on different apps at one time. Another advantage of the Self-Hosted control panel would be the ability to be duplicate apps with a small mod. The only downside of this mod is that you can't duplicate the menu files, however, building the menus is the easiest part. But as I said, you need Self-Hosting for this mod. https://buzztouchmods.com/downloads.php?cat_id=2&download_id=49 Self-Hosting will give you a bunch of other features too. For instance, you can only make a maximum of 50 apps on the buzztouch control panel anyway, whereas Self-Hosted is unlimited.

No, not "planning" have 60 web apps at present that need to go "native." The project is going to involve about 360, perhaps more "native" apps that a private, internal apps distributed under "enterprise" license. We already have the self-hosted control panel installed and a small prototype underway - when the question of "copying" came up. We recognized the 50-app limitation so went to self-hosting immediately. Not sure why the menu files won't duplicate - they don't change; only bits and pieces of content change, re: phone numbers, addresses, etc. What is the "small mod" and where do we get the info about it? P.S. Thanks for the reply.

FYI. The web apps were created in MobiONE - which does not allow pinch/zoom/scrolling of PDF documents or images. JQ and JS will allow us to do it in "one" screen but any other screens will not open at all. Must be several bobcats in a burlap bag with their product, so we have decided to move to BT for more versitility.

Without membership, you are unable to go Self-hosted.

We have a membership. We have a self-hosted installation up and running. We have connected the API, etc. etc. Same question - any ideas on how to "efficiently" duplicate an app? We have several hundred apps to build over the next year with each having 360 pages! We do not intend to rebuild each one from scratch each time when there are only about 6 different items that change in each app. So - back to the fundamental issue ... wondering why a "copy" feature isn't conveniently available ...

The 'copy' feature is a 3rd party modification to the Self-Hosted site. For complex reasons, it's not possible to duplicate the menu plugins. However, the copy feature is much better than nothing, and it is 'efficient'. The reasons why you can't duplicate the menus is because each screen has an Item ID in the JSON. The item IDs for each of the screens will have to change with the new duplicated app (and the JSON will change). But if you duplicated the menu, the menu would not be able to recognise that the Item ID has changed, so it will just show a blank screen with no content. It's probably a really vague explanation, because it's a hell load more complex than this, but I've tried to simplify it. With the link I've given you, there is a download link, with instructions to follow. If you get stuck, give a shout out to us! You will need the FTP access to the Self-Hosted for this.

Actually, that's not a bad thing. The screens will not change so the menu ID's won't get confused, so the menu should be able to recognize things. The only thing that changes is the text within a screen - and we have been using HTML containers to do that. On top of all that, not every screen experiences a need to change - only maybe 150 of the screens and all that changes is phone numbers, etc. So - how does one obtain said plug-in. Do we need to stand under a street lamp with a trench coat, hat, and copy of Village Voice folded up in our arm? Seriously, how do we glom onto the 3rd party mod?

I meant that was the reason why the menus cannot be duplicated. The menus will not be duplicated. The Item ID in the JSON will change, no matter if you change the content or not. Therefore this mod cannot work with menus, in all cases. This is how code works, it's either going to work or not, but no compromise. So to get this mod, you will first need to download it from this link: https://buzztouchmods.com/downloads.php?cat_id=2&download_id=49 After you've done this, it's very simple to implant. Upload folder /copy/ into your BTServer directory. Example: www.mydomain.com/bt-server/copy/

Hey - we ferreted it out and downloaded it and made an install. We will thoroughly test everything when we get our prototype app built and tested. Then, we will play with the "copy" plugin and report back the results. Thanks to all who have guided us through this issue. HERB

I've only used the copy function once, but I believe it to be useful.

You may want to create a control panel link (for your convenience), just so you can find it quicker. I must note that the menu files will copy, but they won't be linked to the other screens. I think that it what I trying to say, but really complicatedly. However, linking screens with menus isn't hard. It's probably the easiest bit. I'm glad you're up and running. Any help, then give us a shout.

@herb200mph Hi, I think I can help you duplicate the apps, or to put it better, to automate creation of many apps from one template app. I have developed PHP backend code which generates Buzztouch apps from HTML files and corresponding images. I have explained it here: http://duskosavic.com/blog/programming/the-kindle-to-android-conversion-process-explained/ From what I read in this thread, it looks like my code could be tweaked so that you could generate the apps you wanted real fast. I'd like to see a sample of your app and its material so that I could further see whether what I have could help you or not. Kind regards, Dusko P.S. I tried to send you a PM through the forum, I could not find the link for your profile.

This is interesting....

Dusko: Sent you a private message with requested information.

Besides Dusko's very cool method, you can simply provide the JSON pieces for each screen with thewly released version 3 of BuzzTouch. The word "simply" does not mean "quickly", it is meant to be "straightforward and less complex". Welcome back to BuzzTouch, Herb! :-) -- Niraj