App Requests Made Easy: Just Share the Link

By: Laura Anthony, Deployment Success Engineer

As the school year begins, teachers and staff are setting up their classrooms, planning lessons, and gathering the tools they’ll need for teaching and learning. For IT teams, this means an influx of app requests – everything from productivity tools to subject specific resources. Managing these requests efficiently can help schools get the right apps into the right hands faster, with less back and forth and fewer errors.

A simple way to streamline this process is by having teachers share direct App Store links for the apps they want. On an iPad or Mac, this can be done by selecting the share icon, choosing the arrow menu, as shown above, and copying the link.

What is App Store Linking?

App Store link sharing allows users to send a direct link to the App Store listing for an app. The link contains all the details IT admins need, including the app’s unique identifier (the ID number in the URL), to quickly locate it in Apple School Manager’s Apps and Books section.

Why it matters

With a direct App Store link, IT admins can quickly locate and license the exact app in the Apps and Books tab in Apple School Manager. This streamlines the app identification process and ensures accuracy, even when multiple apps have similar names or complex titles. With the precise App Store link, IT admins can confidently select and deploy the correct app on the first attempt. This simple step accelerates deployment timelines and guarantees that teachers receive exactly the educational tools they requested.

Here's how it works

• On iPad or Mac, open the App Store app and search to find your desired app.
• Tap or click the Share button.
• From the Share menu, choose the arrow icon for more sharing options.
• Select Copy Link.
• Paste the link into your IT department’s app request form, support ticket, or email. Example: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/notability-smarter-ai-notes/id360593530

Your IT manager can then paste your link right into the Apps and Books tab in Apple School Manager to find and deploy your new favorite app. It’s a small change that makes a big difference in keeping classrooms running smoothly from day one.