can you install an iphone app with an invisible icon?

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+2 Q:

can you install an iphone app with an invisible icon?

Hello All,

So I am working on a bundle of applications for my company for the iPad and am trying to figure out if it is possible to install an app but hide the icon. It will not need to be launched from the desktop directly. Instead, I have created a launch desktop that controls login and the launch of the actual apps via custom URL schemes. We decided to do this so we can have many people developing different apps at the time time that quickly and easily connect to a single login and launch desktop. We are trying to make all of the services we offer interconnected.

Does anyone know if this is possible? Or am I going to have to redirect to the login app if the user launches any of the individual apps. That is what we were trying to avoid. It would be incredibly annoying and clunky for the user. Any help would be greatly appreciated! Thanks!

+1 A:

No is the short answer, you can't install an app and hide the icon.

Even if you could, your architecture sounds pretty clunky. If your services are interconnected, then would it not be better to have everything in the same app? There are plenty of ways to share coding between many developers without everyone having their own, separate app.

Stephen Darlington 2010-09-09 15:31:28

Well the thing is each one of the individual apps is pretty huge. They are easily big enough to be stand alone apps and when you try to cram all that stuff into one app, it starts to get very confusing not to mention HUGE. Plus this is similar to how the desktop package is handled. It would help keep a similar feel to the interface...

gabaum10 2010-09-09 15:35:52

You could make the icon grid the first screen in the app? Take a look at the Facebook app.

Stephen Darlington 2010-09-09 15:43:18

That's sort of what we are going for. I'll look into that...

gabaum10 2010-09-09 16:08:35

Could you programmatically make a desktop folder and group the apps that way??

gabaum10 2010-09-09 19:03:55

No. You have no control over Springboard (the "desktop" application on the iPhone).

Stephen Darlington 2010-09-09 21:04:32

Crap, so incredibly annoying. So even when you distribute them, you can't pre-package them into a folder?

gabaum10 2010-09-10 13:52:14

Decided to make a tabbed application instead. Thanks for all your help.

gabaum10 2010-09-10 19:03:43

Maybe.

There used to be a trick where if you installed so many apps that you filled up every page, any apps installed after that would not have a visible icon (but you could run them via a Spotlight search).

If this behavior still exists, then fill up your iPad's launcher/springboard with apps (download 100's of free games, etc.), then install the apps that you want to be invisible, then delete all the games, and your chosen app might remain with an "invisible" icon.

hotpaw2 2010-09-09 17:40:09

Haha oh man, that sounds so hacky. I am pretty sure that would not fly. Here is another thought: could you make a folder on your desktop that has all the apps? I know blackberrys do something like that...

gabaum10 2010-09-09 19:00:36

The current release of the iPad OS does not support folders. Maybe after November that will change.

hotpaw2 2010-09-09 20:49:50

Alright, well so much for that, looks like we are going lots of little apps for now. Thanks!

gabaum10 2010-09-10 13:52:40

ansaurus

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can you install an iphone app with an invisible icon?

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