Documentation

Introduction

Please carefully read this guide in order to fully configure this template, and rememeber to test it on a Real Device - the iOS Simulator may fail sometimes and it doesn't support Push Notifications nor Camera.

Quick Start

You may just run this app on your own device via Android Studio and test it, it has some demo data that are stored in the demo database. Anyway, since the demo database gets often cleaned, I strongly recommend you to create a FREE account on back4app.com, and a Parse App.
Then replace the following strings with your Parse App's App ID and Client Key in the Configurations.swift file:
    let PARSE_APP_ID =     "pwkmVrsiHTp2wN3q3UXUBiOwiE5C31atCq2CihPy"
    let PARSE_CLIENT_KEY = "ugVWfJTY4azulDWoXmHVnkHkidlDzw6koSzrEVha"

Great, Your app is now connected to your own database! Now you can run the app via Xcode and test it out.

General

Xcode
This template has native Apple Swift code, so you can edit it only with Xcode running on a Mac computer. If you don't have it, download it for free on the Mac App Store.
PLEASE NOTE that you'll need the latest official version of Xcode, NO BETAS, because Betas are always buggy and never work properly.


App Name and Bundle ID
You must change the Display Name and Bundle Identifier into the new ones in the General tab in Xcode:


Archive App for App Store Publishing
Once your app is ready to be submitted to the App Store for review, you need to Archive your Xcode project.
Click on Product and select Archive. Xcode will archive your project and automatically open the Organizer window, where you'll find a button to submit your binary to your App Store Connect account.

Info.plist - Privacy Alert text
You should check the Info.plist file - you can find it in the files list on the left-side panel - and set the text you wish in the Value column of the Privacy rows.
Those values are the explanations that will be displayed in the Permission Alerts that show up to access the Camera, Photo Library or Location Service, so you may edit them as you wish based on your language or what you exactly want users to see in those Alerts.
Apple reviewers check those texts out all the times, and if the message is not so clear to them, they may reject your app while in Review, so please type a short but exhaustive text in each row in order to make clear what Permission the users should allow.


Reskin the UI design of the app
This project has a Storyboard file called Main.storyboard and you can find it in the list of file that are shown in left-side panel of the Xcode window.
You can edit all the UI elements of this app from the Storyboard, Colors, Fonts, Buttons, Views positions, etc.
The strings of the Alert Controllers are located in the code, so they can be edited only in the .swift files.


Terms of Use and Privacy Policy
Select the tou.html file form the left-side panel's list in Xcode - it's located into the Intro_Login_SignUp folder - and edit it accordingly to your own Terms of Service and Privacy Policy. Also replace the APP_NAME words with the new name you assigned to your App.
Please also pay attention to this line:
"mailto:[email protected]">[email protected]

There are a few identical lines like that in the tou.html file, so you must replace [email protected] with a valid email adress where people can contact you for any question, feedback or in case they want to delete their account.

Delete a User's account upon request
Accordingly to GDPR Terms, you have 24 hours to delete an account after receiving a deletion request. In order for you to delete an account, you first need to identify the user's row in the User class of your Parse Dashboard, keep a note of its objectId value, select that row and click Edit -> Delete this row.
Then, just search for that objectId value you've previously noted in all the other Classes of your database, check out all the rows until you'll find that objectId and delete it - this is in case it appears into some Array type columns.


Configurations

The Configurations.swift file
Open this file in Xcode and keep reading this guide, you'll have to perform some edits in this file in order to get your template ready to run:

App Name
Replace this string with the new name you want to give to this app:
    let APP_NAME = "bCards"

Parse Server Keys
As explained in the Quick Start section of this guide, you must replace the strings of the 2 variables below with your own App Id and Client Key that you will get from the back4app website after creating your own Parse App:

    let PARSE_APP_ID =     "K7SCPO9S6zywk3DMoEskABkJCOOWNkwx6Lfew2hy"
    let PARSE_CLIENT_KEY = "kC36ZLG7UWs31cPpLUN3M8RkS6K6BK544MFYm3hD"

AdMob Ads
Replace the string of the variable below with your own Interstitial Unit ID - you have to create such Unit ID on apps.admob.com, just follow the instructions on the AdMob's website in case you don't know how to generate a Unit ID:
 let ADMOB_INTERSTITIAL_UNIT_ID = "ca-app-pub-3940256099942544/1033173712"

You also have to replace the string into Info.plist with your own App ID:

You can get both App ID and Unit ID strings from your AdMob Unit page, after creating it:
Sometimes Apple reviewers reject apps because of Ads, the reason why is not clear yet, but a new submission on the App Store will fix the problem and get your app approved - just in case you'll get a rejection because of IDFA issue.
Anyway, after clicking the Submit For Review button on the App Store Connect page of your application, you’ll get something that looks like the picture below. Mark the options shown below and everything should go smoothly on the next review you'll get of your app:

Custom Colors
You can edit the RGB values of the following variables as you wish, change the numbers before /255. The main color of the app and some UI will be affected by your change:
    let MAIN_COLOR = UIColor(red: 72/255, green: 207/255, blue: 174/255, alpha: 1.0)

PLEASE NOTE that NOT all Views in the app will change accordingly to the new RGB values you've set in the above variable, you will still need to adjust some colors in some Controllers in the Storyboard.

Custom fonts
This App uses some custom fonts, and such fonts are stored into the OpenSans folder.
In case you want to add a new font, you have to first drag your .ttf or .otf font file into the left-side panel in Xcode and click the Finish button in the popup that will show up: Then select the Label, Button, TextFiled or textView you want to change font to, click the [T] icon on the right-side Attributes inspector panel and select the font you want in the dropdown list:
Admin Email address
You have to replace the email address of the variable below with your own one - the one you want users to get in touch with you:
   let ADMIN_EMAIL_ADDRESS = "[email protected]"

Minimum distance from your Location
You can set the minimum distance form your location to search for business cards:
   var  DISTANCE_FROM_YOUR_LOCATION:Float = 10

List of Categories
Check the following array:
    let categoriesList = [
      "Cleaning",             // cat0
      "Insurance",            // cat1
      "Finance",              // cat2
      "Real Estate",          // cat3
      "Events - Catering",    // cat4
      "Legal",                // cat5
      "Creative",             // cat6
      "Writing - Translating",// cat7
      "Repairing Skills",     // cat8
      "Moving - Storage",     // cat9
      "Domestic Help",        // cat10
      "Beauty - Health",      // cat11
      "Computer Skills",      // cat12
      "Babisitter - Nanny",   // cat13
    // YOU CAN EDIT OR ADD CATEGORIES AS YOU WISH, JUST MAKE USRE TO ASSING THE PROPER IMAGES TO THE CATEGORIES
    ]
You can edit the items of that array as you wish, or add new ones.

In case you'll add new Categories, you'll also have to add their images in the CATEGORIES folder in the Assets.xcassets folder in Xcode. Just keep in mind that the image names have a suffix number that indicates the index of the Category names in the above array, so, for instance, let's pretend you add an item like this below the "Babisitter - Nanny", // cat13 item in the categoriesList:
   "Artistic stuff",   // cat14
The // cat14 comment is just to remind you that your image Set name must be cat14, so create a new .jpg image, a new cat14 Image Set in Xcode, and assign it your 3x and 2x images (check the existing ones to get their size).
That's it, run the app and check your brand new Category!


Utility Extensions
Unless you are familiar with iOS programming, you should leave the code of this section as it is since it includes useful functions to show alerts and perform other things in the app.


Parse Dashboard Classes and column names
This section is a list of strings that the app calls to perform queries to the Parse Server database - aka Parse Dashboard - and it contains a few useful custom global variables and functions.
Do not edit those variables and instances unless you're an experienced iOS developer, otherwise the app will not work properly.

Database

You should perform the following configurations BEFORE running the app!
The backend of this template is Parse Server hosted on back4app.com.
After performing the configurations mentioned below, you will run the app and see no content, the Intro screen will show up and you'll be able to Sign Up in order to create a test account and start testing the app.

Due to the high-performace code of this template and the FREE back4app plan's limits, you will be able to test this template for a while, but it may happen that you'll receive an email from back4app telling you that you have reached the monthly plan's limits and you should upgrade your plan.
I suggest you to do that and just subscribe for a Starter Plan - it' only $4.99/month - so you will get more Database Storage and API requests/second/month than the FREE Plan. This paid subscription will also increase the loading speed of the app and can be enough for a good amount of users using your app. Check out the pricing table here
So, follow these steps to setup your own database:
  1. Unless you already have an account on back4app.com, create one - it's FREE!
  2. Enter My Apps and click on Build new app:

  3. Type your App name and click CREATE:

  4. Wait for the website to create your app - it'll take just a few seconds - then you'll be redirected to the Dashboard (the database interface, which looks like an Excel file):

    You'll see it empty, but don't worry, it'll get data while you'll start using your template.

  5. Click on Server Settings from the left side menu:

  6. Click on SETTINGS in the Core Settings box:

  7. In the following page, you'll have to copy the App Id and Client Key, and replace the strings into Configurations.swift - as mentioned already in the Quick Start section of this guide:

        let PARSE_APP_ID = "pwkmVrsiHTp2wN3q3UXUBiOwiE5C31atCq2CihPy"
        let PARSE_CLIENT_KEY = "ugVWfJTY4azulDWoXmHVnkHkidlDzw6koSzrEVha"
    


  8. Click the BACK button on the bottom of the page to go back to your App Dashboard, then click SETTINGS in the Cloud Code box:

  9. Click on + ADD and navigate to the folder you've downloaded from codecanyon in order to upload the main.js file to back4app.
    Once main.js has been uploaded in this section, you can check it out by simply clicking its name from the cloud directory - if you can see its code in the blue area on the right side, it means the upload has been successful.
    Click the DEPLOY button and wait for a success alert, then go back to your App Dashboard by clicking Server Settings from the left side menu.

    main.js is a.swiftscript file that is absolutely useful for this app, since it allows it to perform some custom functions, so don't forget to upload it into the Clod Code section ;)
  10. Good job, your app is now connected to your own database and you can finally run and test it.

    PLEASE NOTE: If you already bought the Android verison of this template, you don't need to create a new Parse App, nor upload the main.js file in the Cloud Code section.
    Just add the App ID and Client Key strings into Configurations.swift and you'll be fine.
    The power of Parse Server is that you do not have to manually create tables and columns in the database - like you would have to do in MySQL - because the SDK will automatically create Classes and columns in your Parse Dashboard while using the template!
    In case you want to use a custom CMS admin panel to manage your database instead of the Parse Dashboard, watch this video to see how to create a FREE FOREVER Admin panel on Adminca.com for your Parse App:

Facebook login

  1. Enter your Facebook Developer page at https://developers.facebook.com/apps/
  2. Click + Add a New App

  3. Type the name of your app and your contact email address in the popup window that just showed up.

  4. Click the Create App ID button and pass the Security check that Facebook will promt out.
    After that, the browser will show your Apps Dashboard.

  5. Click on Settings -> Basic in the left-side menu.
  6. In the Privacy Policy URL type your website's URL.
    If you don't have any Privacy policy page loaded in your own server or website, don't worry about it, you may either create one and upload it to a free hosting server like 000webhost.com or just place any URL, even "http://example.com/", is ok, Facebook staff doesn't make ay check for it yet. of course it would be good to create and upload a Privacy Policy HTML or PHP page someday in your own server and change that URL with the one of your page :)
  7. Select a Category, upload a 1024x1024px or 512x512px app icon image and click Save Changes on the bottom of the page.
    Ignore the Business Use and Data Protection Officer Contact Information sections in case you're not doing any business in Europe (this is intended for companies, not indiviual developers or people).

  8. Scoll down and click + Add Platform, then select iOS:

  9. Copy the Bundle Identifier you have set in the General tab in Xcode and paste it in the Bundle ID field of the iOS section.
    Switch Single Sign On option to Yes and click the Save Changes button.

  10. Click the OFF switch on the top-right corner of the page.
    Click the Confirm button in the alert that shows up - you can ignore its message, the Facebook Login will still work in your template:

  11. Now go back to your App Dashboard on back4app, scroll down and click SETTINGS in the Facebook Login box:

  12. Paste your Facebook App ID in the text box and click the + button to add it to your Parse App.

  13. Enter Xcode and select Info.plist from the files list on the left-side panel.
    Expand the URL types row, the Item 0 row, the URL Schemes row and replace the App Id string in that row with the one of your Facebook App - the App ID you've copied before.
    PLEASE NOTE that the new App ID you'll paste must start with fb, check the existing demo one as an example.

    Paste your Facebook App ID into the FacebookAppID row too, this time you don't have to put the fb prefix.
    Lastly, type the name of your app in the FacebookDisplayName row.

  14. Great, you're done with the Facebook Login settings!
    PLEASE NOTE that if you already bought the Android verison of this template, you don't need to create a new Facebook app.
    Just add the iOS platform to your existing Facebook App, perform the settings explained above and copy the same APP ID.

Useful stuff

F.A.Q.

Parse Server hosted on back4app
Parse Server is a powerful JSON backend based on Node.js, and its hosted on back4app.com.
Click here to learn more about this backend

Can I host Parse Server on my own server?
Yes you can, but I do not provide support for it, because it's hard to get Push Notifications and Cloud Code jobs done, that's why my templates use back4app.
You should refer to the official Parse Server Guide at parseplatform.org

What kind of support is offered?
Free support is offered in case of bugs encountered in the original template, either in the code or the UI design.
In case you have edited the code - and so created bugs because of your editing - I may apply some fee to fix your bugs by a remote connection through TeamViewer, or by you sending me your source code for verification.

Should I use Xcode to edit this template?
Yes, you must always use the latest stable officlal version of Xcode to edit this application.
Download the latest version on the Mac App Store from your Mac.

I've performed all configurations mentioned in this Guide, but something is wrong. What should I do?
• Double check all your configurations, probably you have missed something.
• Make sure you've uploaded the main.js file in the Cloud Code section on back4app.
• Always check the Console Log in Xcode in case the app crashes. The Console Log helps you debugging your app, it's really important:

How do I remove AdMob ads?
It's super easy, just open the Find tool on the left-side panel in XCode and search for this line:
   showAdMobInterstitial
Xcode will show you a list of swift files where such code is located. Click on each row and just comment that line of code in each the swift file:


Support | Requests