activate & publish

Intro to distribution

Updated: December 16, 2020

There are three different methods for distributing your apps and workbases to others. Choosing the right method depends on a number of factors:

Do you only want your audience to be able to use the app and not edit it? (see shareable link);
Do you want to allow other legal professionals to duplicate the app (either for free or not) and edit it? (see publication);
Do you want to create a branded portal where your audience can re-use their data? (see client portals).

When to use shareable link

After you activate your app (by clicking the activate toggle in the App Builder, thereby taking the app out of test mode), you get a "shareable link", a URL that can be used to distribute the app to end-users or with which to create a button/link on your website.

You must use this shareable link when distributing your app or creating a link/button on your website. You can't simply copy the URL from a web browser.

After you activate your app, you can find the shareable link here:

When to use publication

Publication allows others to duplicate your work. Meaning, if you publish an app, other people can duplicate it and get their own version of the app in their Afterpattern account. You can publish apps and databases.

Learn more about publication.

When to use a client portal

Client portals allow you to essentially package your apps and workbases into a web portal where others can create personal, private accounts. A client portal is a good fit when:

You want to put your brand front and center. Users of your portal don't need to know how the App Builder works or even what Afterpattern is.
You want to allow users to easily re-use their own data. For example, you may have an intake app that collects basic information and then subsequent document assembly apps that re-use that data; this is best accomplished in a client portal.

Learn more about client portals.