Adobe Experience Manager Mobile v2016.9 Release: New Features, Enhancements, and Bug Fixes

Adobe Experience Manager Mobile Version 2016.9, released July 20, includes new and improved features, and several bug fixes.

Features

Custom Cordova Plugins Now Supported

Add custom Cordova plugins to an AEM Mobile app to access custom device-level functionality. Create custom plugins or use plugins available from the Cordova/PhoneGap community. Examples of custom plugin usage include enabling mobile barcode scanning, accessing geofences, and leveraging mobile databases in an app. The core Cordova plugins made available in a previous release are still available for use, including Geolocation, Camera, and Contacts.

Apps that use custom Cordova plugins are built differently than the standard method for building apps and require using the updated AEM Mobile Developer Tool to specify which Cordova plugins will be used. For iOS apps, the Developer Tool is used to modify the downloaded .ipa. For Android apps, the Developer Tool is used to create an .apk file, which is then uploaded using the new Custom App Shell tab that appears when creating or editing an Android app.

For now, AEM Mobile apps can only use these custom plugins at the article level, in open articles.

AEM Mobile Developer Tool

The AEM Mobile Developer Tool has been updated for both iOS and Android. This updated developer tool allows users to build and test apps that include custom Cordova plugins.

Custom Authentication Enhancements

Custom Authentication provides support for generic identity providers, including a setAuthToken API. Add custom authentication without having to use SAML or OAuth. Generic identity providers allow two alternate authentication use cases, including:

Providing a custom UI, such as an HTML form, instead of using the standard username and password prompt.
Building a sign-in experience within an article rather than through the standard authentication process.

Enhancements to custom authentication allow for the use of multiple authentication methods within the same app, for example.

Search Enhancements

The Search feature is no longer in beta. In-app searching allows for quick access to an app’s content. In-app searching includes language support and is available for all platforms: iOS, Android, Windows, and Desktop Web Viewer.

Bug Fixes

This release also includes numerous viewer and service bug fixes. For the complete list, see Adobe’s Bug Fix Release Notes page.

Images: Adobe

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Note: Information contained in this post is current at the time of posting. Visit the Technology for Publishing News & Events blog for the latest info on Adobe software releases and functionality.

Tagged with: Adobe, Adobe Experience Manager Mobile, Adobe Experience Manager Mobile update

Posted by: Monica Murphy

Monica Murphy has worked in the publishing industry for over 30 years supporting publishing operations of various sizes. In her role as Technical Product Manager for Technology for Publishing, she shares her publishing application expertise supporting a broad range of publishing clients in InDesign best practices, cross-platform content workflows, and InDesign Template strategies. Her weekly tip and blog posts have a committed following in the InDesign community, and as a long-time participant in the InDesign pre-release community, she regularly analyzes and provides feedback for upcoming features. Monica manages the authoring and publication of Technology for Publishing’s handbooks on InDesign, InCopy, and other associated titles.