Question

I am building a web-based tool for internal purposes for my company that runs on an ipod touch. It’s working fine, but there are a few quirks such as not being able to auto-focus on a text field when a page loads without the user actually tapping the screen (I can “focus” the field, but the keyboard is not active). Additionally, I cannot programmatically trigger sounds to play (I am using the jPlayer library). What it seems to come down to is this:

Is there some way I can trick the browser on an ipod touch 4 to thinking the user has actually tapped a specific div on the screen? If I can do that, I can solve every other issue. Since this is for internal purposes, I am free to make any modifications needed. However, I need to able to do keep the “app” code in HTML5 and JavaScript for a myriad of reasons. Perhaps an app with a modification to safari to allow this, then I can run my site in that app?

Answer 1

Perhaps an app with a modification to safari to allow this, then I can run my site in that app?

Yes, you could write a really simple app with just a UIWebView in which you display your HTML5 based app. If you need extra things such as back button etc. you would have to implement that (it’s also not very difficult). The UIWebView should behave mostly exactly like Safari, so it should be a de facto “app with a modification to safari”.

You could then give the right element focus and call

[webView becomeFirstResponder];

The sounds could also be played programmatically by simply requesting the appropriate URL.

I think with this setup the additional effort in terms of coding beyond your existing web based tool is minimal. However, this assumes you have Xcode, know some basic Objective-C and are familiar with the procedures of ad hoc or company distribution of “real” apps.