iApps Helper

iApps Helper is a Windows application for managing which iPhone apps (iApps) get sync’d to your device and which do not. It is intended to replace the similar (but much weaker) feature in Apple’s iTunes program.

Because you will use iApps Helper instead of iTunes to manage the iApps on your PC, it’s best to configure iTunes to sync ALL your iApps. (It won’t even see ones you will disable in iApps Helper.)

Assuming your PC runs Windows XP or later and has iTunes 8 installed with at least one iApp downloaded from the iTunes App Store:

1. Download iApps Helper to your PC and install it.
2. Run iApps Helper. You should see a resizable table listing all the iApps you have downloaded to your PC.
3. Check/uncheck rows to enable/disable iApps. If you want, enter information about each iApp and the information will be remembered by iApps Helper.

One thing to watch out for: if you disable one or more iApps and then sync your iPhone (or iPod touch) with your PC, iTunes may ask you to re-upload those iApps to your PC from your device. You should say “no” to that offer, or you will end up with two copies of these iApps (one enabled and one disabled). By unchecking them in iApps Helper, you have specifically chosen to not sync them to your device and to remove them form the device if they’d already been sync’d to it. Don’t worry: these apps will remain on your PC and you can use iApps Helper at any time to re-enable them so that they will be sent back to your device next time you sync!

That’s about it! Hopefully it’s pretty self-explanatory.

If you want more detail, here it is:

• The table is sortable by any column (just click the column’s header), and the columns are resizable and movable. Besides the name of each iApp’s file, you are shown its revision (as best determined from the filename), its size, and its modified date. These fields are gathered from the files on your disk and cannot be changed. However, you are also given several other fields into which you can enter information to be saved.
• Each row has a checkbox that tells iApps Helper whether or not you want iTunes to “know” about that iApp. If you UNcheck a row, the corresponding iApp will be moved to a different folder so that next time you run iTunes it won’t know about it. (You can always run iApps Helper again and REcheck a given row to make iTunes see it again next iTunes is run.)
• Several columns, such as Description, Rating, and I Paid, permit you to enter information about each iApp. iApps Helper will save this information in its database so you’ll see it next time — even if you uncheck an iApp or get a new revision (as long as the main portion of the filename stays the same).
• The Display Name column is where you can enter the name that the author of the iApp uses on the iPhone and within iTunes. It’s usually pretty close to the filename, but not always. We have pre-entered short names for over 600 commonly used iApps to help save you time. We will also soon have a web page where anybody can share information about the Display versus File names for any iApp out there.
• You can save your changes by clicking the “Apply Changes” button at the bottom. If you attempt to exit the application without applying your changes, you will be asked if you want to save them.
• Before iApps Helper actually moves any files around on your hard disk, it will tell you how many iApps you have chosen to disable (by UNchecking them) and to enable (by checking them) and ask for permission to move the files. Don’t worry: iApps Helper will remember all your iApps, whether they are enabled or disabled. They will all show up in the table every time you run iApps Helper.