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Twixl Publisher - App migration strategies and app migration

 
 



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0. Going from a different publishing tool to Twixl Publisher



    Migration strategies

    Migration of single-issue and multi-issue kiosk apps that was created using a
    different publishing tool, e.g. from Adobe DPS, Mag+, Aquafadas,...
    to Twixl Publisher.


    Different strategies for migration:

      Old app vs New app:

      • Old app for old content.
      • New app for new content.
      • Publish new issues in both apps and invite readers
        to switch from the old app to the new app.
      • Stop new subscriptions in old app and guide to new app.
      • --> Very expensive.
        --> Confusing, risk to loose readers.

      Convert the app:

      • Preserve subscriptions and in-app purchases.
      • Define how many old issues you will convert.
      • Publish older issues as PDF.
      • Option to take over entitlements.

      • --> Easiest approach, no confusion.
        --> Less expensive, likely within the DPS budget.
        !! Start in time, at least 2 months upfront.

      What are the other options?

      • Mag+ / Aquafadas / App Studio:
        • need to re-create all content from scratch.
        • complete different creation process.
        • PDF solution is not possible or not as easy as with Twixl Publisher.
        • subscription cost is much more expensive.

      • Platform-based solutions:
        • same arguments.
        • creation cost more expensive.
        • not all solutions are able to migrate to/from the current app.

      • PDF-based solutions:
        • reading experience cannot be compared.

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    Migrating from Adobe DPS /AEM - Twixl Importer for Adobe InDesign

    What is the Twixl Importer for Adobe InDesign?

    The Twixl Importer is a free plugin for Adobe InDesign that allows you to convert
    Adobe DPS Folio Overlay properties in a document to their Twixl Publisher counterparts.

Twixl Importer - Dashboard - Picture

    Twixl Importer is a non-destructive plug-in that comes with Twixl Publisher
    i.e. it does not alter any existing Adobe DPS properties.

    Requirements

    The Twixl Importer plugin works with Adobe InDesign CC
    and runs both on macOS (OS X) and Windows.


    Installation

    Twixl Importer installs automatically as a plugin to Adobe Indesign with
    the installation of the Twixl Publisher plug-in.


    In Adobe InDesign,
    you should find the extension under "Window" in the submenu "Extensions".


    How to use Twixl Importer?

    Open the InDesign document containing the Adobe DPS Folio Overlays.

    Now open the Twixl Importer plugin from the Extensions menu under Window.

    In the main window of the plugin, click on the "Import DPS Overlays" button.
    The plugin will now go through all items in the document and convert
    all Folio overlays to their Twixl Publisher equivalents.
    It will leave the document in an unsaved state once finished
    so that you can revert if something went wrong.
    Note that the original Folio overlays are retained and not altered in any way.

Twixl Importer - Adobe DPS Folio to Twixl - Picture

    Which interactive information in Adobe DPS Folio Overlay will be converted ?

    Note!: Twixl Publisher does not support pinch & zoom in
    PDF exports of InDesign-based documents!

    For InDesign-based documents, Twixl is convinced that the Twixl software
    has enough tools to create pixel-perfect designs
    (combined with some pinch & zooming when needed in
    Scrollable Content, Images and Slide Shows).
    After all, you want your readers to be able to read your content right away,
    without the need to pinch & zoom first!


    Hyperlinks

    • navto:// hyperlinks are converted into the equivalent tp-pagelink:// urls.

    Audio

    • Auto Play

    Video

    • Auto Play
    • Play Full Screen
    • Stop on Last Frame

    Slideshow

    • Auto Play
    • Tap to Play/Pause
    • Interval
    • Delay
    • Swipe to Change Image
    • Stop at First and Last Image
    • Cross Fade
    • Cross Fade Speed

    Web Content

    • URL (only http and https)
    • Transparent Background
    • Scale Content to Fit
    • Allow User Interaction

    Scrollable Frame

    • Show Scroll Indicators

    Image Sequence

    • Load Images
    • Play in Reverse

    Panorama

    • Load Images
    • Initial Zoom
    • Min and Max Field Of View
    • Limit Vertical & Horizontal Pan
    • Vertical & Horizontal

    Pan & Zoom

    • On & Off

    Nested Interactivity

    • Certain types of nested interactivity that are not supported
      by Twixl Publisher will not be converted.

    HTML resources

      In Twixl Publisher, HTML resources used for embedded content in
      web viewers are placed in a folder called ‘WebResources’.
      You can create this folder manually and place it at the same
      location of your InDesign book or document, but the plug-in will also
      create it automatically when you define a Web Viewer for the first time.
      Note that the contents should not be zipped, and should be placed there as is.


    Automated batch conversion of DPS projects

      The Twixl Importer plugin does not have an option to batch process
      the conversion of multiple documents. However, you should be able
      to write a JavaScript that does this for a series of documents.
      For a typical sample of such a JavaScript,
      see Twixl User Guide, Migrating from Adobe DPS / AEM



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    Migrating single-issue apps from Adobe DPS / AEM to Twixl Publisher

    Step-by-step guide on how to move a single-issue app from Adobe DPS to Twixl:

    1. Migrate the app
    2. All existing app content needs to be converted to
      a Twixl Publisher .publication file.

      If you were previously using Adobe DPS,
      then the free Twixl Importer plug-in will make that a fairly easy process;
      although depending on the complexity of your content,
      some manual tweaking may be required.

      If you were using a solution like Mag+, Aquafadas, etc.
      you will have to manually redefine the interactive content in
      the Twixl Publisher plug-in panel in Adobe InDesign.


    3. Create a new Twixl app
    4. Create a new app from the Twixl Publisher plug-in,
      and you will have an Adobe InDesign book file.

      Put all your existing articles in the book with the sort order you want.

      Once you have the complete content in the book,
      choose "Export publication" to create the export file
      that will have the .publication extension.


    5. Build a new app
    6. Using the Twixl Publisher app, create an app with the same
      provisioning profile as the original (DPS) app.

      For Android apps, you will need the keystore
      that was used for the original app.
      Otherwise, if you don't use the same provisioning profile or keystore,
      you will not be able to submit the new Twixl-based app
      as an update of the DPS app.


    7. Submit the new Twixl-based app
    8. When you ready to replace the DPS app,
      add a new version in iTunes Connect and/or Google Play,
      and upload the binary for the Twixl-based app.

      For iOS, the .ipa file is uploaded using Apple's Application Loader,
      for Android you use the web interface.


    Important note:
    On iOS, if you are updating an existing DPS app to a Twixl app,
    make sure that, if you were previously publishing a hybrid
    iPad/iPhone version of the app, you'll also need to have a hybrid
    iPad/iPhone Twixl app.
    Otherwise, if you want to replace a hybrid app by an iPad or iPhone only app,
    the only option is to remove the old app from sale and publish
    the Twixl app as a new app.



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    Migrating multi-issue / kiosk apps from Adobe DPS / AEM to Twixl Publisher

    Step-by-step guide on how to move a multi-issue app from Adobe DPS to Twixl:

    1. Migrate the issues.
    2. All existing content (each issue) needs to be converted to
      Twixl Publisher .article or .publication files.

      If you were previously using Adobe DPS,
      then the Twixl Importer plugin-in will make it
      a fairly easy process to migrate your designs.

      If you were using a solution like Mag+, Aquafadas, etc.
      you will have to manually redefine the interactive content
      in the Twixl Publisher plug-in panel in Adobe InDesign.


    3. Add new app to the Twixl Distribution Platform.
    4. In the Twixl Distribution Platform, add a new app to your account
      using the same application identifier as the original app
      (e.g. com.mycompany.myfancymagazine).


    5. Upload app content.
    6. Add the same issues as in the original app to the Twixl Distribution Platform,
      again using the same product identifiers for each issue as in the original
      (e.g. com.mycompany.myfancymagazine.mar2015 etc.).


    7. Build a new app
    8. Using the Twixl Publisher app, create an app with the application key
      from the Twixl Distribution Platform and the same provisioning profile
      as the original (DPS) app.

      For Android apps, you will need the certificate and private key
      that were used to create the original app
      (see also the article about the Android Keystore).


    9. Subscriptions (optional)
    10. If you were using subscriptions previously, define the same subscription
      with the same product identifier as in the current app.


    11. Entitlements (optional)
    12. If you were using entitlements previously, integrate entitlements in
      the Twixl Distribution Platform and make sure that every subscriber
      will have access to the same issues as with the current app
      (requires the Entitlements option to be enabled on
      the Twixl Distribution Platform).

      For all of the above steps,
      no changes whatsoever are required in iTunes Connect or Google Play.


    13. Submit the new Twixl-based app
    14. When you ready to replace the DPS app,
      add a new version in iTunes Connect and/or Google Play,
      and upload the binary code for the Twixl-based app.


    Important note:
    On iOS, if you are updating an existing DPS app to a Twixl app,
    make sure that, if you were previously publishing a hybrid
    iPad/iPhone version of the app, you'll also need to have a hybrid
    iPad/iPhone Twixl app.
    Otherwise, if you want to replace a hybrid app by an iPad or iPhone only app,
    the only option is to remove the old app from sale and publish
    the Twixl app as a new app.



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