Windows team gives devs pointers on publishing apps to a limited audience

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Published onMay 23, 2016

published onMay 23, 2016

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Another blog that’s aimed at helping developers has been written by the Windows App Team. TheDev Center Tipblog series was initiated to give some insight and tricks on how to customize and develop for Windows 10. With their push to encourage developers to convert from alternatives to using Universal Windows Platform, the blog series has released a fifth installment today.

The series already covered how topublish or updatepublicly made available applications, buttoday’s postfocuses on the opposite. Some developers choose to have their applications limited to a specific audience whether for beta or privacy reasons. They can do this by one of two ways:

Deep Link – These links make it possible to give specific users a way to download the app without being too restrictive. Publishing an app as hidden and providing a deep link limits the users that will be able to access the app, but not by much. If a developer chooses to provide the deep links, others can share and spread the link giving more users access to the application privately.

Prevent Acquisition – To avoid any sort of sharing of the app, developers can hand out individual promo codes that will be useful for only one user at a time. Although, providing the promo codes can come at a cost. Users with the code will have access to the app without it being able to be removed by the developer themselves. Also, the codes will not have access to the app submission until it’s publishing status is changed to ‘In The Store’.

Both of these methods can be accessed via the “Distribution and Visibility” section of the application submission menu. Each has their pros and cons, so it’s suggested by the Windows App Team to take into consideration the application’s publishing needs.

If you’d like to catch up on the other Dev Center Tips published in the series, visit the Windows App Teamblog.

Radu Tyrsina

Radu Tyrsina has been a Windows fan ever since he got his first PC, a Pentium III (a monster at that time).

For most of the kids of his age, the Internet was an amazing way to play and communicate with others, but he was deeply impressed by the flow of information and how easily you can find anything on the web.

Prior to founding Windows Report, this particular curiosity about digital content enabled him to grow a number of sites that helped hundreds of millions reach faster the answer they’re looking for.

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Radu Tyrsina

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Windows team gives devs pointers on publishing apps to a limited audience