Advanced iOS Push Notifications

Iterable can customize your push notifications with action buttons, animated GIFs, images, sounds, and deep linking.

# In this article

# Adding a push notification extension

The following sections describe the technical setup necessary for various iOS push notification customizations in Iterable.

For marketer-specific information about how to configure these features in Iterable when sending a campaign, read Creating a Push Notification Campaign.

# Configure support for rich push notifications

For push notifications to contain images, animated GIFs, video, or action buttons, you must create a Notification Service Extension.

Iterable's iOS SDK provides a Notification Service Extension implementation that handles media attachments and action buttons. To use it:

• Install IterableAppExtensions in your iOS app.

  For more information, read the installation instructions in Iterable's iOS SDK.

• Create a new target of type Notification Service Extension in your Xcode project.

• If you are calling Iterable SDK from Swift, edit the NotificationService class generated by Xcode so that it extends ITBNotificationServiceExtension.

• If you are using Objective-C, use delegation instead of inheritance.

Swift

import UserNotifications
import IterableAppExtensions

class NotificationService: ITBNotificationServiceExtension {}

Objective-C

// File: NotificationService.m 
#import "NotificationService.h"

@import IterableAppExtensions;

@interface NotificationService ()

@property (nonatomic, strong) ITBNotificationServiceExtension *baseExtension;
@end

@implementation NotificationService
- (void)didReceiveNotificationRequest:(UNNotificationRequest *)request withContentHandler:(void (^)(UNNotificationContent * _Nonnull))contentHandler {
    self.baseExtension = [[ITBNotificationServiceExtension alloc] init];
    [self.baseExtension didReceiveNotificationRequest:request withContentHandler:contentHandler];
}

- (void)serviceExtensionTimeWillExpire {
    [self.baseExtension serviceExtensionTimeWillExpire];
}

@end

# Adding sounds to iOS push notifications

To add sound to iOS push notifications, follow these instructions:

1. Put the necessary sound files in the iOS project's Library/Sound folder, or in the top-level directory of the Xcode project.

   NOTE

   See Apple's UNNotificationSound documentation for a list of supported sound formats.

2. Navigate to Content > Templates and open the push notification template.

3. Click Edit details and scroll down.

4. Enter the path to the custom sound file in the Custom sound field.

   

   NOTES

   • To use the default push notification sound, set this field to default.
   • Whether or not a device plays the sound or vibrates depends on the user's device settings.

# Adding deep links to iOS push notifications

Iterable push notification templates make it possible to set deep link URLs for iOS and Android.

To learn more about using Iterable's iOS SDK to handle deep links, read Deep Links in Push Notifications.

If your app is not using Iterable's iOS SDK, it can still handle a deep link contained in an Iterable push notification. Iterable provides the deep link URL in the defaultAction object included in the notification's payload. When this object's type field is set to openUrl, the data field will contain the deep link URL.

When using the SDK, code executing after an app has opened in response to a user's interaction with a push notification can use IterableAPI.lastPushPayload to access the push notification's payload.

# Further reading

For more information about push notifications in Iterable, read:

• Iterable's iOS SDK
• Mobile: Frequently Asked Questions
• Sending Push Notifications
• Push Notification Testing and Troubleshooting
• Apple's UserNotifications framework documentation
• Setting up Android Push Notifications