Managing Esper Enterprise Applications for Android

Esper applications (previously called Enterprise applications) are applications you provide to Esper. These can be applications created by your organization, or APKs provided by third-party developers. 

For iOS app management see Managing iOS Applications.

In this article:

• APK File Requirements 
• Uploading an APK 
• Managing Android Esper Applications

APK File Requirements 

Android applications you upload to Esper will have an APK file extension. APK files will need to adhere to certain conditions to successfully upload and install:

• The APK must have a unique version name and version code.
• The APK cannot be larger than 500 MB.
• The APK file itself must have the .apk extension.
• The APK file must include signature verification.
• The application cannot set itself as the default launcher. 
• The application must adhere to the latest Android APK standards (currently we allow APKs without icons).

If you attempt to upload an APK file that has a V2 or V3 signature, but not a V1 signature, it will be rejected. Older Android platforms—those running Marshmallow (6.0) and earlier—require V1 signatures.

Uploading an APK 

Once you've verified that your APK follows the upload conventions, it's time to upload it to the Esper Cloud. 

Step 1: Navigate to Apps > Esper Android Apps and click on Upload Apps in the top right corner of the screen.

Step 2: In a popup box, you can click Select APK to browse for the file or drag and drop the file into the selection box. 

Step 3: A screen will display the message, "The application’s upload is in progress."

Step 4: When the upload completes, you will notice an automatically generated release tag and an option to add a description. Here you can add text describing the application and then click Save. On clicking the edit icon, you will get an option to edit the release tag. Then click Save.

Step 5: Then click Close. Once successfully uploaded, the application will appear in the list. You can click on View Details to see more information. 

Managing Esper Android Applications 

After you’ve uploaded an application, you’ll be able to manage it from the Console. Go to Apps > Esper Android Apps and locate the application. Then click View Details.

You’ll be able to see the:

• Application name.
• Package name.
• Application icon.
• Version name: The version name, sometimes referred to as the user-facing version of the application. It is a string value in Android Studio and allows users to easily identify the application. 
• App installed on: The number of devices the application is installed on.
• Version code: The version code corresponds to the integer value in Android Studio. It is used to differentiate between versions and must be unique.This was previously known as build number in the Esper console.
• Release tag: An optional tag used to identify application versions, such as in a blueprint. For example, "Dev" and "Prod" versions can be identified this way. Tags may be up to 10 characters long.

• Size of the application.
• Compatibility with Android SDK version.
• Uploaded on: the date and time the application was uploaded to the Esper Cloud.
• Application description: an optional field for you to add a description or release notes.

From the Actions dropdown, you’ll be able to: 

• Delete the application version from the Esper cloud.
• Edit the description.
• Edit the release tag.
• Download the application version locally.