Tuesday, Apple surprised developers by announcing that iOS and iPadOS 14 would be released Wednesday. Fortunately, as we revealed in our previous blog post, we invested heavily in test automation over the past few months. Over the last 24 hours, we have been able to complete dozens of full test passes on WebFrame Pro, WebFrame, and WebFrame Basic. To their credit, Apple reviewers are rapidly reviewing and approving new releases. We are happy to announce the availability of v3.0.0 of the WebFrame Kiosk portfolio of products.

WebFrame v3.0.0 Includes:

iOS 14 and iPadOS 14 Support

iOS and iPadOS 14 introduced changes in multitasking and how threads update the user interface. We introduced a work-around in the previous release to accommodate our customers using the public betas. v3.0.0 has been updated with the latest OS changes while maintaining compatibility back to iOS 12.4.

QR and BarCode Reader

While mobile Safari includes support for JavaScript-based QR code readers, Apple has not enabled that support for WKWebView-based browsers which includes many popular browsers (Chrome, Edge, FireFox, etc.) as well as other web-based kiosk solutions. To support our customers, we have created native a native QR and barcode scanner that can be called from JavaScript. After a successful read, WebFrame will return the scanned data to a JavaScript callback function that you can implement however you wish. This allows our customers to create product lookup, employee login, coupon scans, etc. For information on implementing WebFrame QR and Barcode reader on your page, please refer to https://www.wireframerate.com/webframe-user-guide#qr-reader

Easier Access to and Password Protection of In-App Settings

When enabled, in-app settings can be accessed with a four-finger double-tap gesture. This provides easier access to settings and allows configuration changes to be made to a device running in Single App Mode. Additionally, in-app settings can be protected by a passcode. As an added convenience, the passcode can be entered by scanning a QR code.

Autonomous Single App Mode (WebFrame Pro)

In addition to Guided Access Mode and Single App Mode, WebFrame Pro supports Autonomous Single App Mode (ASAM). Like traditional Single App Mode, ASAM will lock a device down to a single application with no access to the home screen, even on a reboot. As an added convenience, however, ASAM allows a configured kiosk app to start and stop a single-app session. From the in-app settings menu in WebFrame Pro, an authorized administrator can exit a single app session, access the desktop to use a line-of-business or other app, then go back to WebFrame Pro and resume a single app session.

Create a Web Archive from In-App Settings (WebFrame Pro)

When offline support was added to WebFrame Pro, creating a web archive file required either desktop or mobile Safari. In WebFrame Pro v3.0.0, you can now create a web archive from in-app settings. After creating the archive, WebFrame Pro will prompt if you would like to configure the archive as the homepage URL.

Improved Test Coverage and Bug Fixes

Our investment in test automation has not only paid dividends in our ability to quickly test and release a new build, but also exposed several lower priority bugs and quality issues in our previous releases. As we move forward, this new approach should accelerate our ability to release new features while improving product quality.

Updated User Guide

We have created a new user guide with enhanced navigation and an improved architecture that will allow the page to load faster and allow us to quickly add new content. The URL for the user guide remains https://www.wireframerate.com/webframe-user-guide

Get WebFrame Now

WebFrame Basic Kiosk on the AppStore

WebFrame Kiosk on the AppStore

WebFrame Pro on the AppStore

Happy Holidays from WireFrameRate!

For the last six months, we have been busy building the company and our WebFrame and WebFrame Pro apps, which have each been updated with two feature releases as well as bug fixes. We will now be taking some time off for the holidays, but before we do, we would like to announce public beta programs for WebFrame and WebFrame Pro as well as version 1.3.0 (Beta) of each app, which will be available as part of the beta programs.

Beta Program

The Beta Programs for WebFrame and WebFrame Pro are delivered through Apple TestFlight.

To participate in the WebFrame Kiosk public beta, click here: https://testflight.apple.com/join/70I0ipWZ

To participate in the WebFrame Pro Kiosk public beta, click here: https://testflight.apple.com/join/8Sa8Vn4M

WebFrame Version 1.3.0 (Beta)

The primary update for version 1.3.0 (Beta) is the addition of navigation buttons. While swipe gestures are intuitive for frequent tablet users, for kiosk applications there is still a large audience of potential users that may not find swiping back and forth to be intuitive.

The buttons are off by default, but can be enabled through Settings (WebFrame and WebFrame Pro) or through EMM (WebFrame Pro). They can also be configured to minimize on scroll and to auto-hide when not available (e.g. when you can navigate forward or backward.

If you are managing WebFrame Pro from an AppConfig-complaint EMM product, you can use the following keys to configure navigation button settings:

	<key>com.wireframerate.webframepro.navigation_buttons_enabled</key>
	<true/>
	<key>com.wireframerate.webframepro.navigation_buttons_autohide</key>
	<true/>
	<key>com.wireframerate.webframepro.navigation_buttons_minimize</key>
	<true/>

In addition to the navigation button capabilities, we have added support for multiple authentication types to WebFrame and WebFrame Pro. Most notably, we have added support for HTTP Basic authentication. While we strongly recommend using HTTPS, we recognize that many customers may be using legacy sites or intranet environments where HTTPS is not preferable or possible.

See you in 2019

We will be back in the office in early January with releases to production of both apps. Until then, Happy Holidays from the team at WireFrame Rate.

Video Tutorial

Overview

This guide will provide additional information on WebFrame configuration options and how it can be used in tandem with iOS “Guided Access Mode” to create a locked-down public kiosk with an iPad running iOS 11.0 or later.

Installing WebFrame

WebFrame can be installed from the iOS App Store, through Apple’s Volume Purchase Program (VPP), or through leading MDM products (such as JAMF, VMWare Workspace One, MobileIron, Microsoft Intune, etc.) that support VPP.

If you would like to deploy WebFrame as an internal (Enterprise) app, please contact us for a WebFrame Enterprise quote.

Configuring WebFrame

WebFrame can be configured entirely on-device through the iOS Settings app. Begin by opening the Settings app.

Once in Settings, scroll down on the left pane until you see the settings for the installed apps. Choose ‘WebFrame’ from this list.

WebFrame allows the following configuration options:

Homepage URL

“URL” will be the starting page for WebFrame. The URL must be a valid URL including ‘http://’ or ‘https://’ (‘https://’ is recommended). The URL can also include query string parameters.

For example:

     https://www.domain.com/path/page?param1=value1¶m2=value2

To configure a document (.PDF), include a link to a full path to the file. For example:

     https://www.domain.com/path/document.pdf

To configure a looping YouTube video, use the following link replacing “VIDEO_ID” with the actual ID from the YouTube video. For example:

     https://www.youtube.com/embed/VIDEO_ID?playsinline=1&controls=0&rel=0&loop=1&playlist=VIDEO_ID

For additional information on YouTube URL parameters, please see this page from YouTube. Please note, some parameters (such as ‘autoplay’) do not function or function differently on iOS.

Allowed Domains

“Limit Browsing to Specific Domains” will limit navigation to domains (including subdomains) on the provided list. This will prevent users of a public kiosk from gaining access to broader web access than you would like. For example, if you want to use your own public website as a kiosk, but it contains links to Google or other 3rd party websites, you can limit the kiosk’s navigation to your domain only.

“Allowed Domains” is a comma-delimited string in the format of domain name and top-level domain (.com, .co.uk, .io, etc.). Optionally, you may also include subdomain.

For example:

     domain.com,domain.co.uk,domain.io,domain2.com

Inactivity Timer

“Enable Inactivity Timer” will reset the device to the configured Homepage URL if the device is left unattended for a selected period of time. This will allow the kiosk to be returned to your desired state if a user leaves the kiosk on a page other than your Homepage.

The available timeout values are 1, 3, 5, 10, or 15 minutes.

“Clear Cache on Reload” will delete any cookies or session state information on the device when the Inactivity Timer refreshes the device. Use this setting if users can enter personal data or if session state is maintained on the configured website or web app used as the Homepage.

User Interface Settings

There are three options available for the WebFrame user interface.

“Enable User Interaction” will enable or disable all user interaction. Users will not be able to use any tap, swipe, or other gestures. Disable all user interaction when you are configuring a non-interactive kiosk used as an information display, looping video, etc.

“Enable Back/Forward Swipe Gestures” will enable or disable using edge swipe navigation gestures to navigate backward or forward in the browser window. Disable this setting if you want to force users to use your site navigation instead of browser back/forward capabilities.

“Enable Pull to Refresh” will allow users to reload the current page by pulling down. If your site is not auto-updating, this will allow users to view updated page content on demand.

Next Time

Stay. tuned to WireFrameRate.com for additional tutorials covering advanced configuration topics such as document kiosk, information display, looping YouTube videos, etc.