App store doesn't recognize existing Boinx software

Hello,
I have a lot of Boinx applications that were purchased and installed prior to the release of Apple’s app store. The app store doesn’t recognize any of these applications as being installed. I’m just wondering if there will ever be any integration between my existing software and the releases available on the app store.
Any info’ is appreciated,
Gary

Hi Gary,

I am very sorry for this inconvenience.

Apple doesn’t seem to have any plans for letting customers migrate existing apps to the App Store. However, presumably to prevent customers from buying the app twice, they try to determine wether an app has been purchased through other channels and mark it as “Installed” if it has.

This mechanism relies on the “Bundle Identifier” which is unique to every app. Ignorant of this feature (which was not revealed before the launch of the Mac App Store), we made a decision to give the App Store versions of our products a different Bundle Identifier than the non-App Store versions in order to be able to differentiate between the two. This made sense, as the code of FotoMagico Home for the App Store and FotoMagico Home for the other channels differs in some important ways. For example, for the App Store version, the App Store figures out wether there is an update available that needs to be installed. The non-App Store version has a system called Sparkle to check for updates and install them if necessary. But the App Store version is not allowed to have the Sparkle code in it.

Unfortunately, this means, that the Mac App Store thinks (technically correctly) iStopMotion Home purchased on the Mac App Store and iStopMotion Home purchased elsewhere are actually two different applications and does not mark the former as “Installed”.

We realize that, since the core functionality from the users point of view of the App Store version and the Non-App Store version are identical, you shouldn’t have to care about these differences and that it is quite inconvenient for you.

Regrettably, as far as I know at this time, there is no way for us to fix this. So all I can do is say that we are sorry for this inconvenience. We will certainly fix it when an opportunity to do so presents itself.

Best,

Oliver.

Hi Oliver,

Hey, thanks for the quick and detailed explanation. As long as I’m able to keep my existing applications updated and current I’ll be happy. My concern is/was that I’d have to repurchase items I already own in order to get updates. It sounds like you’ll be maintaining two versions (app store and non-app store). Is that correct? In any case, I really appreciate the response. Good customer service goes a long way with me.
Thanks again,
Gary

Gary, yes, you will be able to keep your existing applications and we will update them going forward.

Enjoy! :slight_smile:

Best, Oliver.

Nice!
Thanks Oliver!