IMatch 6 App Manager

[Mario]

To 'select' apps in IMatch 6 (to run them, load them into an App panel, create a Favorite...) we need an some sort of App Manager again.

Since scripting is so powerful in IMatch 6, I decided to implement the App Manager as an app as well (written only in JavaScript and HTML).
IMatch has an endpoint that allows an app to retrieve information about all available apps. This makes this very easy to implement.
If you write your own scripts/apps, they will show up in this list as well.

This is the first feasibility prototype:



Fee free to comment.

[ben]

Hi Mario,

visually it looks really nice. 

If we get more than 3-4 apps, then it would be important to have a list of the apps that provides a good overview.

• Improvment: Let us create groups that are expandable and collapseable
• Improvment: Let us edit the apps directly from the app manager -> Editor can be outside of iMatch
• Improvment: Let us sort the apps and add custom icons

Ben

[Mario]

I'm not sure that all apps will end up there. More likely you will select them from a drop-down "list" directly in the App Panel / App Window. Like we now select apps.

The layout is responsive, which means it wraps around and uses the screen space as efficient as possible. Even the icon size adapts, depending on the screen resolution.

Apps are sorted by their localized name. All the info about an app is contained in a app.json file.
Adding custom sort orders would require IMatch to maintain a state for each app and store that somewhere. Doable but I don't know if the effort is worth it.

I think about adding "tabs" where you can add your own or frequently used apps. Similar to the tabs in the category panel.

Besides, we will be able to create Favorites from Apps, to launch them directly by mouse-click or keyboard shortcut.
This will work super for apps which open their own window. Not sure yet how to do that for apps which require an App panel. Probably when you start an app it will use the "active" or first app panel. Still thinking about this.

You can use your own icons for your own apps of course.
For the standard apps I will include (more or less) cool icons of my own design 

[Mario]

I recommend you add a feature request to the IMatch FR board. Just that your suggestions remain accessible (just link back to this topic if you want, or copy/paste).

[Mario]

After pondering about adding a "User" or even "Favorites" or "Recent" tabs to the App Manager, I decided not to. To complicated and barely needed.

I decided to add a simple and intuitive drag & drop reorder feature instead. I wanted to learn how this is done in HTML anyway (e.g. for the new CSV Import app) and now I know it 

- Most users will never create their own apps
- A user will use a few apps, if at all
- Thanks to the reorder he can move the apps he uses often to the top.
- And he can create Favorites from apps too.

Here is a small video of how it looks and works:

https://www.photools.com/media/im2017-appmgr.mp4