Downloading and Installing Apps

Once you have found an app you wish to download and use, click on the name of the app to display its detailed information screen.

Figure 9.8: Detailed App Information

On this screen, there are a number of items to assist in learning more about the app.

In the center of the screen is the primary information about the app:

• Description - In the center display you see a set of screenshots along with a description of the app. In addition, the set of tags associated with the app are displayed.
• Information - On the right, below the icon for the app, are a set of links to the Author's profile page, and a link to follow the author (and receive updates from this specific author when actions occur in the future). In addition, small colored icons are shown, indicating what kinds of individual components make up this app: Portlets, Hooks, Themes, Layout Templates, Web Plugins, or EXT plugins.
  

In addition to basic information, you will also find information on:

• Latest Version: The latest released version of this app
• Compatibility: The version(s) of the Liferay Platform that this app is compatible with (see Compatibility and Versioning for more detail)
• Support: Who to contact if you need support for this app
• Demo URL: If this app has an online demo available, you will find the link here.
• Developer Web site: The main web site where development or support for this app can be found
• Report issues/abuse: Helpful links to report additional issues related to this app

In the lower section, you will find Reviews and Ratings for this app. Check here to find out what other people are saying about this app. In addition, on a separate tab, you will find the history of versions for this app, where you can download other versions (for example, if you are using an older version of the Liferay Platform, you may need to download a specific version of this app that is compatible with the version of the Liferay Platform you are using).

Figure 9.9: Detailed App Information

Downloading and Installing

You've chosen an app, read the reviews, and want to download and use the app! There are two ways to install the app. Ultimately, both methods result in the same outcome: the app you've chose is installed onto your local running Liferay instance.

Installing through Control Panel

The easiest way to install an app is to do so from your Liferay Administration console (control panel). This requires that you have already setup a Liferay install on your local machine, and that you can login as an Administrator.

Once you are logged in as an administrator, click the Manage menu at the top of the screen, and choose Control Panel. You are presented with the Liferay Administration console, a.k.a. Control Panel.

Figure 9.10: Marketplace from the Control Panel

Click on the Marketplace link at the upper-left. Before you are able to access the Marketplace via the control panel, you will need to associate your liferay.com login credentials with your local administrator account. You will be presented with a series of login screens.

Figure 9.11: Marketplace Login Screen

VERY IMPORTANT: The local admin user you associate with your liferay.com account will be THE ONLY USER who will be able to access and install apps from the Marketplace. Be sure you are logged into your local Liferay install using the account you wish to designate the Marketplace Administrator. Once this linkage is established, there is no way to undo this, short of re-installing Liferay.

Once you've successfully linked the accounts, you will be presented with the same Marketplace screens as you would have if you were directly accessing the Marketplace. You will be able to browse, search, and install directly from the Marketplace. Browse to the app you wish to install, and click the INSTALL button. The app will be downloaded and deployed to your local Liferay install.

All apps that you have installed are listed on the Purchased tab of the Marketplace Control Panel. Clicking on the tab will show you a list of those apps which you have downloaded in the past, including apps you may have purchased/downloaded while using other Liferay installations.

Figure 9.12: Purchased Apps

For those apps which you downloaded and installed on the currently running instance of Liferay, these apps will show an Installed state. For apps which you have previously downloaded or purchased on other Liferay instances, these will show as Purchased. You will need to re-download/re-install these apps if you wish to use them on your currently running instance of Liferay. Other options on this tab are related to the management of apps on they are installed, and are described in the later section Managing Apps.

Downloading through liferay.com

The second way to install an app is to download it first, then in a separate step, deploy it to your running Liferay instance. This is especially useful in situations where you do not wish to deploy the app directly to your production environment, or in cases where the target Liferay instance that is to receive the app is behind a corporate firewall or otherwise does not have direct access to the Marketplace.

In this case, using your browser, you will find the app on liferay.com/marketplace. Once found, click on the Purchase/Free button when viewing the individual app. This will cause the app to be placed in your Purchased list on your Profile page. Navigate to your profile page, click on My Marketplace and visit the Purchased tab. Each app is listed. Find the app that you just purchased and click Download. The app is downloaded to your local machine in the same way that any other file would be downloaded. This file can then be hot-deployed to Liferay by copying it to Liferay's hot deploy directory. See the Administration Guide for more details on Hot Deploy.