2021-02-02, 01:44
(2021-01-31, 11:24)DaveBlake Wrote: What we want to be able to do is have a beta channel at Windows Store that users can opt-in to using at the store and receive the v19 Release Candidate version. Microsoft announced in a 2016 slideshow that such a feature was "coming soon", however it does not seem to have happened.
It looks like all that is possible is "flight packaging" for a known group of users, which means that we at Kodi have to get users to subscribe and then manage a list of users at the store. That is a tedious approach for an app with millions of users (and possibly testers) to administer securely, and at the moment we do not have any team members with the time spare to do that.
But no one among the active team members that is deeply familiar with app publication on Windows Store, maybe we have missed something? While we can manage the basics of a full release to all users, doing "beta" is less clear. User requests really don't help at all, skilled volunteers might.
What about unskilled volunteers who are willing to learn and explore this for the team? Lol
On a serious note I did do some digging and found this page with a possible solution.
Windows Beta testing
There appears to be an option for a targeted distribution just using a URL to the apps location in the store. That would be easy to publish on the Kodi site
Quote: . No customers will be able to find the app by searching or browsing the Store, but anyone with the direct link to its Store listing can download it on a device running Windows Phone 8.1 or earlier, or on Windows 10. Keep in mind that in order for your testers to download the app at no cost, you must set its price to Free.
