iOS: Using AirServer To Capture iPad Videos

This is a fairly quick blog post that's come up because we have a user requirement to allow them to record how an application works and then "validate" the recording allowing the application to be released.

The issue came up of how we achieve this without sticking a video camera over someone's shoulder and I stumbled upon the "AirServer" application available here;

http://www.airserver.com/

Interesting I've been using the applicaiton for a while and ended up using Camtasia (for Mac) to capture the video being displayed on my screen. This was a little complicated and very prone to juddering if my Mac was busy doing something else at the time (i.e. running Parallels).

A few months ago AirServer seems to have received an update which allows it to natively record the displayed video (and audio). This seems to work very well, I've updated a video of a short recording I made opening Safari and browsing to a website below;

If you want to see the video on YouTube it's available;

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9GlNCsVW66c

The video, at 45 seconds in length, came to around 14MB (approx. 1/3MB per second - an hour will cost you over 1GB which is about right). The capture is from a retina iPad at 1440x1080.

Setting this up is fairly easy in that you just need to go into Airplay Mirroring on your iPad (providing both are connected to the same network of course!) and turn on Airplay Mirroring;

Then it's just a simple matter of pressing the "Record" button on AirServer once to start it, then again to stop it, and entering the name of the file you want to create.

EasyPush Documentation Summary

The purpose of this post is to bring all the EasyPush blog posts I've written up to this point together into a single place so they're of the most use to people.

Here's an overview of the documentation;

EasyPush Documentation Summary

The blog posts are;

• Quick Start/ User Guide
• Resetting a Users Password (aka Finding A User & Resetting Their Password)
• Setting Up Members
• Installing EasyPush (on an iPad)
• Creating A User
• Admin Interface Overview
• Working With Media
• Working With Screens

Just click on the links to be taken straight to the blog posts.

UPDATE: 30-APR-2013 Creating Members Groups To Control iPad Experience

EasyPush: Quick Start Guide

Getting Started

To start the application locate EasyPush on your iPad;

iOS: EasyPush Icon

And touch the icon.

When you start the application you will see;

EasyPush: Example Homepage

The interactive areas on the screen are the buttons on the left (each grey box with a ">" symbol on the right), the Home button at the top right and the buttons to the left of it, and (on some screens only) the infobox at the bottom right.

Managing Updates

After you’ve logged in at the top-right you may see an “UPDATE” button;

EasyPush: Update Button

If you do an update is available, pushing this button will download and install the update.

Getting Around In EasyPush

Touch the links to the right to be taken to a new page;

EasyPush: New Page Links

Use the links at the top right to move back a page (or direct to home);

EasyPush: Backwards Links

When you’re viewing a document page, touch the document to view it;

EasyPush: Document

EasyPush: Creating A User

NOTE: Just a quick reminder of EasyPush terminology! “Users” are able to administer the system via the back end and make changes. If you are just looking to add someone to the iPad application then you need the EasyPush guide which relates to creating a “Member” (see here).

You might also want to consider how you've structured the data within your EasyPush application as some of the steps below might not be relevant to your organisation. For us we have distinct groups of iPad users spread across Europe. With each group of iPads (i.e. France, Germany, etc) we have a group of local administrators who manage the data. It's important that the administrators in one area can only edit the data for their area but that we, as the IT Service Provider, can see everything.

Creating A Single-Site Administrator

From the “Sections” part of the screen (bottom right);

EasyPush: Sections

Click on “Users”. The navigation view on the left of the screen will change to display;

EasyPush: User Section Options

Right-click the (Second) “Users” item in the navigation view and choose “Create”;

EasyPush: Creating A New User

Enter the users full name (i.e. John Smith) and click “Create”;

EasyPush: "John Smith" - New User

The navigation view on the left has now expanded and highlighted the new users with the properties for that user shown on the right. In the “Sections” part of the properties (at the bottom) there are five check boxes.
Check “Content” and “Media” checkboxes for someone who will be expected to publish changes to the site but not create users or setup members, for a local administrator (IT user) check the boxes for the sections you wish the user to be able to access. Unless you're creating an IT Super-user they shouldn't have everything, usually Content, Media, and Members is enough!;

EasyPush: User Properties

Click on "Choose" next to both the "Start Node in Content" and "Start Node in Media Library" if you want to restrict the newly created user to a specific area within each. Typically we set it so that administrators in each area can see everything in that area but nothing outside. This leads to a slight bit of duplication (each area having it's own PDF Thumbnail image for example) but generally it's a lot easier to manage than allowing cross-area sharing and relying on people to to mess up things for someone else!

When you're done click "Save".

At the bottom right of the screen a speech bubble will appear confirming the details have been saved;

EasyPush: Confirmation Popup

Now right click the “User Permissions” item in the navigation menu and choose “reload nodes” (this refreshes the users – if you don’t do this the user you just added might not appear).
Expand the “User Permissions” node and select the user you wish to modify permissions for.

In the right-hand side part of the web page you’ll see the content available;

EasyPush: User Permissions

Click the triangle next to the item below content in the treeview to expand the list and then select every item that appears directly underneath. When you select an item you’ll see its permissions;

EasyPush: User Permissions

Uncheck ALL the permissions checkboxes and check the “Replace child node permissions”. This revokes all the new users permissions (they will, by default, have got permission to see and do everything).
Click “Save” and a dialog will appear;

EasyPush: Permission Change Dialog

Click “OK”. A speech bubble will appear at the bottom right (after a few seconds) to let you know permissions have been successfully saved;

EasyPush: Permissions Saved Popup

Now un-check all the checkboxes and select just the ones you want the user to be able to administer and configure the permissions are follows;

EasyPush: User Permissions

Basically give them everything except “Send to Publish”, “Translate”, “Create child definition”, and “Import Data”. These are disabled for everyone (including the Global Admin user) as we don’t need/ use them.
Click “Save”, “OK” the dialog and the “Permissions saved” speech bubble will appear again.

This is how we configure users in EasyPush, I'm sure you'll have a different process but overall once you've done it a few times it's pretty simple.

EasyPush: Installing EasyPush on an iPad (via MobileIron)

The EasyPush application is available via the “Apps@Work” icon on standard company iPads;

MobileIron: Apps@Work

When you start Apps@Work it will connect to your company App Store and show you all the applications you are eligible for;

MobileIron: Apps@Work Application List

To install EasyPush touch the “EasyPush” line and you’ll be taken to the application details screen;

MobileIron: EasyPush Application Details

On this screen touch the “Request” button, after a few seconds a popup will appear;

iOS: App Installation Dialog

Push “Install”. You’ll then be taken back to your home screen while the EasyPush application downloads and installs (this should only take a few seconds);

EasyPush: Application Installation

After the application has downloaded run it. A security dialog will appear;

iOS: "Are You Sure?" Dialog

Push “Continue” and the application will start;

EasyPush: Start Screen showing "Update" Button

After a few seconds an “Update” button will appear (highlighted above). Push it. EasyPush will now start downloading configuration files from the server;

EasyPush: Download Updates

Once the download is complete it will display whatever the users have permission to see.

Troubleshooting Installation/ First Run

I can’t find Apps@Work?

First of all swipe to the far-left and use the search to make sure it’s not hidden in one of the users folders. If you still can’t find it then check to see if MobileIron is installed (again use search). If it’s not then you need to install it, if it is open it and check to see it’s connecting correctly with the server. When you open MobileIron you should see something like;

MobileIron: Connection and Device Status

 If you do then go into Settings, and then select “Re-Enroll Device” (push “Re-Enroll” when prompted).

“No Certificate Installed” – error

You should only get this error when you are attempting to open the Apps@Work icon on a new iPad that has only just had MobileIron installed on it. The issue is caused by MobileIron not having installed all the profiles yet – if you open MobileIron, go into Settings, and then select “Re-Enroll Device” (push “Re-Enroll” when prompted).

Pushing “REQUEST” in Apps@Work Doesn’t Install the Application

There is no fix for this problem (that I have found) only doing a factory reset on the device. Go into Settings > General > Reset (at the bottom) > Erase All Content and Settings.

You have to pick “Erase All Content and Settings” just erasing settings does not work. You need to start again with the iPad and re-install MobileIron to fix the issue.

Pushing “UPDATE” in EasyPush just results in the same blank screen

The users settings in EasyPush are incorrect – in essence it’s showing them nothing because they don’t have permissions to see anything.

They need to be added as a Member and granted the appropriate permissions.

EasyPush: Finding A User & Resetting Their Password

Click on the “Users” section (bottom left);

EasyPush: Users Section

This will change the Navigation View to display the user information, expand the “users” item until you can see a list of users and select the user you wish to reset the password for.

Once you’ve picked a user the Main Window will display the users details;

EasyPush: User Details

Click on “Change password” (highlighted above).

EasyPush: Change Password Details

Enter a New Password (twice) and then click on the “Save” icon at the top of the Main Window;

EasyPush: Save Button

The user will now be able to log in using the new password.

EasyPush: Setting Up Members

Log into the EasyPush and click on the “members” section (at the bottom left);

EasyPush: Available Sections

In the “Members” section you have four nodes to the tree view; Members, Member Groups, Member Types, and Export members;

EasyPush: Members Navigation View

Right-click “Members” and a drop-down menu will appear with two options; Create and reload nodes (if only reload nodes is visible then you clicked Members at the very top of the tree view, click the Members directly above Member Groups).

EasyPush: Create Option (For New Member)

Click on “Create”.

EasyPush: Create Member Dialog

One thing it's very difficult to get right (and consistent!) on these systems is naming convention. For example our naming convention is;
•    Name = <Last name> <First name> (i.e. Smith John)
•    Choose Member Type = Default (the only option)
•    Login Name = <first character of First Name><Last name>[<unique id – if necessary>] (i.e. jsmith, or jsmith1, jsmith2, etc)
•    E-mail = The users email
•    Password = Leave as auto-generated

Press [RETURN] to create the entry.

In order to see the entry you’ve just created (and complete the process of setting it up) right-click “Members” and choose “Reload nodes” then expand the “Members” node and the node for the first letter of the Name of the user you’ve just created.

For example, after creating the member “Smith John” the new member will be located under “Members > Members > j”.

Select the new member and the page on the right will show the details;

EasyPush: Member Details

There are three tabs; iPad, Push Notification, and Properties. iPad will be selected by default.

To find the UDID you need either original orders/ packaging, or to connect the device to iTunes (as shown in “iOS- Finding Your UDID, Mobile Data Number, IMEI, or ICCID in iTunes 11” blog).

Once you’ve got the number enter it here, set the Last Update Time to today and click the “Save” icon.

You can ignore the “Push Notification” tab and click on the “Properties” tab;

EasyPush: Member Properties

At the bottom of this tab is the groups this member is in, select the appropriate groups (using the >> and << buttons) and then click the “Save” icon.

EasyPush: Administration Interface Overview

Logging In

The content management system (CMS) for EasyPush is a piece of software called Umbraco. Your login dialog will have been configured by your administrator but will look something like this;

EasyPush: CMS Login page

After you have entered your username and password click “Login”.

First Look

On successfully logging in you will be presented with the following screen;

EasyPush: Start Page

Search Box

Use the search box if you know what you’re looking for and quickly want to be taken to it. For example if you are looking to change the settings for a piece of media and know its name it will probably be quicker to search for it rather than browsing through the Media Section.

Navigation View

This home an expandable tree view showing you the details for the section you’ve selected. Click on the white triangle next to an item to expand it, click on the black triangle to collapse it.

You will only have permission to view your area (if the system has been configured correctly!).

Sections

At the bottom left of the screen is a box headed “Sections”. These are;

• Content = This is how you publish your Media to end-users
• Media = The Media (i.e. files) you intend to publish

Selecting a Section will reset the Navigation View to show what is available for that session but will not clear the Main Window (it will continue to display whatever it was displaying previously until you click on something in the Navigation View).

Other sections are available, but if you are setup as a "normal" user who is going to be publishing documents then it's pretty unlikely you will need any of the other sections.

Main Window/ Details/ Right Panel

All three mean the main area of the website and I'm afraid I'll be using them pretty interchangeably through these blog posts - apologies for that in advance! When you click on items in the Navigation View the details will be displayed here.

Current User

The currently logged in username.

Changing Your Password

After you have logged in for the first time it’s important that you change your password. The easiest way to do this is immediately upon logging in click on the “Change Password” tab (top of the Main Window);

EasyPush: Changing Your Password

This will then change the Main Window to display the “Change Your Password” entry form;

EasyPush: Change Your Password dialog

Enter your new password (twice) and then click “Change Password”.

Alternatively you can change your password by clicking on the “Users” section (bottom left);

EasyPush: Sections (Users Highlighted)

This will change the Navigation View to display the user information, expand the “users” item until you can see a list of users and select yourself. Once you’ve done that on the right the Main Window will display your details;

EasyPush: Changing A Users password

Click on “Change password” (highlighted above);

EasyPush: Changing A Users Password

Enter the New Password (twice) and then click on the “Save” icon at the top of the Main Window;

EasyPush: Saving Changes

Sections: Content

In this section you manage the display of your Media to the end-users. This is the default Navigation View that is displayed when you login.

Navigating Content is similar to navigating a folder structure in Windows Explorer.

You will only have access to the sites you have permission to see. If you need access to additional sites contact your local administrator.

If you click on an item you will see the details;

EasyPush: Content Section

 The first thing you’ll notice is that there are two save buttons. The new button saves and publishes your changes (in one go) – until you publish a change it won’t be visible to your end users.

Depending on the type of item you select the details in the Main Window will change;

• Standard Screen = Newsticker, General, Defaults, Infobox, and Properties
• Assets Overview Screen = General and Properties
• Documents = General, Settings, and Properties

Right-clicking an item in the Navigation View brings up an additional menu;

EasyPush: Right-click Additional Actions Menu

See additional documentation for how to work with content in the blog post Working With Screens.

Sections: Media

This section allows you to manage the Media (videos, PDF’s, etc) that you would like to deploy to users (via the Content section).

When you click on Media you are presented with a Navigation View for the Media Library stored on the server;

EasyPush: Media Library

In the Content Library it is possible to grant permissions to users to be able to see individual folders but in the Media Section you can automatically see everything at or beneath the level to which you have access.

More information on publishing Media items is available in the blog post Working With Media.

EasyPush: Uploading Multiple iOS Devices (Using CMS Import)

As I'm sure you can imagine in any corporate environment where the decision has been made to deploy iPads (and/or iPhones) keeping track of them can be a real problem. Luckily we have MobileIron which allows us to export details of all the iPads in a territory but how do we go about getting that information into EasyPush? Sure you could entered them individually but that could take weeks or months. Much better to do a batch upload.

This functionality is burried with the "Developer" section of EasyPush (look at the bottom left of the screen);

EasyPush: Sections

 Clicking on the "Developer" section changes the Navigator view to give you the Developer options;

EasyPush: Developer Section

It is the bottom option you're after, CMS Import, you need to expand this and then click on the "Import Data" node which is directly beneath it. The main part of the screen now displays the Import Data Wizard;

EasyPush: Import Wizard Intro

Click "Next" to continue;

EasyPush: Import Wizard > Select Datasource Type

By far the easiest way to get your data in (and the one I'll be dealing with here) is Excel. As I'm importing iPads I've selected "Member" as the import data type.

Click "Next";

EasyPush: Import Wizard > Select Datasource

Now you need to pick the Excel datafile you wish to import. This can either be a remote file on your machine or a file on a remote server.

Click "Next";

EasyPush: Import Wizard > Select a worksheet

 Now you are presented with a drop down list of the worksheets within the Excel file. You can only import data from a single worksheet, select it here and then click "Next";

EasyPush: Import Wizard > Select member type and roles

On this page you can select the type of member and the roles you wish to assign to them. As you can see all the members in the file get the same roles so if you are looking for finer granularity than that split the file up into different files each for a different set of roles - this is what I did and it meant I had to run through this process a few times but that was still a lot easier than going back through the iPads after they've been loaded and resetting the permissions then!

As the UUID is the key if the member already exists I have selected to Udpate the record. I'm not auto generating the password and as my file doesn't contain emails I'm not sending credentials.

Click "Next";

EasyPush: Import Wizard > Create Mapping

Now you need to map the column headings in Excel to their corresponding fields in EasyPush. UDID was done by default, the others I had to pick. When you're done click "Next";

EasyPush: Import Wizard > Confirm

You are now presented with a summary of the options you've selected. Click "Next" when you're happy they're correct;

EasyPush: Import Wizard > Import Finished

This summary shows you the number of records insert and the errors. The records have now been successfully created in the system.