My app is already approved and live on both Apple App Store and Google Play. I duplicated the project in Adalo to build out new features and an improved user flow, working on it separately from the live version. Now I’d like to replace the live app with this new build same Bundle ID/Package Name, same certificates, so it publishes as an update rather than a new app listing.
The new app’s database is a snapshot from when I duplicated it; the live app has had real user activity since then. Does swapping projects mean I lose that gap, or is there a way to keep the live database while updating the app. I found something similar on the community forum but it looks like I would be losing data from the live app??? Thanks, Liz
Honest answer: no, this is not a simple swap, and if you do it the way you are describing you will lose the data gap you are worried about.
In Adalo, the database belongs to the project. Your duplicate has a frozen copy of the data from the day you duplicated it, and nothing that happened in the live app since then exists in it. Publishing the duplicate as an update with the same Bundle ID and Package Name will send all your users to that empty database. Everything they created in the meantime does not magically follow. There is no “point the new app at the old database” button.
I would recc forget the duplicate as a shipping vehicle and rebuild your new features inside the live project. Yes, it is annoying to redo the work. But your data stays untouched, there is zero migration risk, and you just publish a normal update.
My gut was telling me this but i did not want to believe it. Well, I have a funky weird bug in the new version of the app that I can’t figure out so maybe in the rebuild that will disappear- trying to find a positive note on this. Thanks for the guidance Liz
Adding to the points from @aletorre: You can save design versions instead creating separate apps which is easy. : Design Versions | Adalo Resources
There’s no OTA publish feature yet (but coming soon with the new AI builder, probably in next month) so for UI updates, you need to push a new build.
Glad it helped, even if it was not the answer you were hoping for. Your instinct was right, and catching it before you swapped saved you the worse version of this.
Good call from @Dilon on Design Versions too, that is the right way to keep iterations inside a single app instead of spinning off a separate project, and it sidesteps the whole database-swap problem you were worried about. Worth doing that going forward so you never end up with a diverged duplicate again.
And yes, a rebuild in the live project is a real chance to leave that funky bug behind. If you want, describe the bug (what it does, on which screen, and what you expected) and I am happy to help you track it down so it does not follow you into the rebuild.
Dilon I learn something new from you all the time! I am constantly thinking of ways to improve the app and this mistake will NOT be repeated. Another lesson learned. Liz
It is a filtering issue. Everything works fine filtering wines by liked and disliked, by reds liked or reds disliked However if I swipe out of the app and go back into the app the filter by liked or disliked breaks and doesn’t work. The other filters work. If i add a new wine to the list the filtering by liked and disliked start working again. Its odd. I don’t have this issue with the published app. So maybe when I rebuild it will work its way out. I have made some frustrating human errors building the app - Dilon found a couple of white spaces that kept my app from passing review at apple! Liz
