iOS can lite and paid apps share user data?

[sharik14]

Hello,

I've been searching everywhere and am stumped by this, and the SDK docs have been no help.

I'm interested in developing a "free" or "lite" version of my ap as well as a paid version. I'd like for users to be able to upgrade without losing their user data that they created with the free version.

If I understand right, the paid version is a different app -- Apple approves it differently. Here's the question -- is there any way to make it share the same Application sandbox user directory as the lite version?

Some apps seem to claim they can do this. I looked at one that has an 'export' feature which exports from one to the next. ??? I have all kinds of disgusting ideas (e.g. encode the data and pass it in a URL scheme from one to the next, or upload to an intermediary website). I hate all of them. Is there a way to do this?

Thanks in advance!

Regards, Ben.

 

[TEG]

I know Aurora Feint does this, but they do it by having a server with most of the user data stored, then tie it to a user name, password, and device ID. Beyond that, it doesn't appear that you can do that according to the SDK.

TEG

 

[mccannmarc]

No,

Each app has its own sandbox and thats that, only other real way would be to store preferences on a server somewhere or (and its a long shot but possible) try and encode it into an image file (say a 2d barcode) and save it in the iPhones image directory, all apps have access to that

 

[admanimal]

You could also have the full version of your app support its own URL type that the Lite version can open, using a URL that encodes your data somehow.

EDIT: Whoops...I see you had figured this one out yourself.

 

[sharik14]

Yeah -- unfortunately those ideas were the best I could come up with. I don't have an associated online storage component, so that won't work -- and the data is a little long for the URL (or Keychain) schemes.

The image is an interesting idea. Maybe I'll toy with that.

Thanks to you all for the replies! Very much obliged.