Installing TPF as a Progressive Web App

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Another really cool Discourse feature: Discourse provides a Progressive Web App. That means the Forum can be opened in a window independently of the browser, with its own menu system and icon on desktop Windows or Mac (pictured):

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To install:

Go to thephilosophyforum.com in a browser. A small icon appears at the far right of the address bar (where the URL is).

  • It usually looks like a computer screen with a down arrow or three squares and a plus sign.

  • If you hover over it, it says “Install [App Name].”

  • Once you click it, a pop-up asks if you want to install the app. Click to proceed.

After installation you can pin the thephilosophyform.com icon to the Dock (Mac) or Taskbar (Windows.)

Dock

You can also save thephilosophyforum to the desktop of your iOS devices:

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  • To add it to iPhone or iPad, the site needs to be opened in Safari Browser (just for that session). Then select “Add to Home Screen”.

  • On Android, you can do the same thing by tapping the three dots in Chrome and selecting “Install app” or “Add to home screen.”

  • Once it’s saved as a PWA, it gets its own entry in the App Switcher (Cmd+Tab on Mac or the swipe-up gesture on iOS).

  • Notifications. You’ll see the characteristic “red badge” on the app icon or receive banners for new replies, just like a native app. (Note: On iPhone/iPad, ensure you are on iOS 16.4+ and select ‘Allow’ when prompted).

    Ref PWAs Turn Websites Into Apps: Here's How

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Quick Guide to Posting on TPF
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Thanks for that. On my Mac the icon was absent, but File → add to dock installed the stand alone app neatly. Checking it out.

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I think it’s just an alias to access the webpage, similar situations with many sites

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No, it’s a seperate app.

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I truly do not think so. I have it and it operates through chrome

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Quite common.

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@AmadeusD’s point is that a PWA is installed as just an instance of your browser, stripped down and separated off so it feels like an app—but in the end it’s basically just the browser.

EDIT: There is no native Discourse app for phones and tablets, i.e., an app written with platform-specific code for iOS or Android and available in the app store.

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Ok. That’s not what he said. Thanks for being clear. It functions as a seperate app to Safari, which is what is salient to our previous discussion. It’s not just an alias.

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Yes, that’s right. An alias is a shortcut. The “app” is shortcut.

Lol.

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Fucksake. No, it runs quite separately to Safari. It is not a shortcut to safari.

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Yeah, to be fair, a PWA is not the same as an alias or shortcut. A PWA is a bit more than that.

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“Fucksaake” indeed mate lol.

It literally functions as an alias in Mac terms. Whatever.

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It runs on the Safari browser software, just not via your full Safari browser interface or in the same process.

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Yep. So it can be open independently of Safari.

I kinda know, on account of I’m using it that way right now. Safari is not open. It might well be parasitic on Safari, but it is not a shortcut to or within Safari.

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Actually, it depends how you define “Safari”.

But I’m not up for software ontology right now, so I’ll bow out. :person_bowing:

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definitely works as a standalone app on my devices. Helps not being yet another browser tab open.

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Thanks for sharing this. Keep the new ideas coming!

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Very useful, thanks!

I just added the browser to the Dock. I didn’t need to install the app.

Yeah.

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19 degrees! Not bad.

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For those of a meticulous (if not overbearing and insufferable) nature (and aren’t all philosophers worth their salt cast as such by the world around them):

It differs from a pure web shortcut in that it offers notifications consistently visible straight from every single base and rudimentary view (the icon, wherever your device may display it). This is basically, speaking as a programmer, the only true utility aside from simple convenience. But it is highly useful for those who desire such.

Your dedication to not only TPF but pursuit of wisdom, and perhaps enlightenment and elevation of all mankind is to be revered, @Wayfarer.

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They can also work offline, depending on what the website offers.

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