OpenArch for iPhone and iPad
OpenArch for iPhone and iPad has the Mac’s sidebar: spaces in their colors, favorites, pinned folders and today tabs that go to the archive on their own. Your Mac’s spaces come over by sharing them and scanning a QR code, and then follow the Mac. Pages run on WebKit, since iOS allows no other engine. Chrome extensions and the AI features are only on the Mac.
The screen
Section titled “The screen”On the iPhone, the page fills the screen with a bar below it:
| Button | What it does |
|---|---|
| Sidebar icon | Opens the sidebar over the page. |
| ‹ | Back. |
| the address | Edits the address or searches. With no tab open it reads Suchen oder Adresse. |
| + | A new tab. |
| ⋯ | The page’s menu (below). |
On the iPad, the sidebar sits beside the page, as on the Mac; the sidebar button shows and hides it. The bar there also has a › for forward.
With no tab open you see the start page: the space’s icon, the address field, your favorites and Zuletzt with the newest of today’s tabs.
On a page, swipe from the left or right edge to go back or forward, and pull
down to reload. Links that open a new window become a today tab. mailto:,
tel: and links to other apps open those apps.
The page’s menu
Section titled “The page’s menu”The ⋯ in the bar has Neu laden, Vorwärts (when there is a page to go forward to), Seite teilen … (the system’s share sheet), Link kopieren, and, depending on where the tab is:
- a today tab: Anheften (pin) and Zu Favoriten
- a pinned tab or favorite you have navigated away from: Zur gespeicherten Adresse (back to its saved address) and Diese Adresse speichern (save the new one)
Then Tab schließen (or Seite schließen for a pinned tab or favorite, which closes only the page) and Einstellungen.
The sidebar
Section titled “The sidebar”Swipe sideways in the sidebar to change spaces, or tap one of the icons in the bar at its bottom. From the top:
- The space’s name with its ⋯ menu: Space bearbeiten … (name, color, and a symbol or emoji), Space teilen …, Neuer Ordner, Neuer Space and Space löschen.
- Favorites, four in a row. The iPhone has one set of favorites for all spaces.
- Pinned tabs and folders. Tap a folder to open or close it. A dot beside a pinned tab means its page is open.
- Heute, the line above today’s tabs, with Aufräumen to send them all to the archive, and Neuer Tab.
- Today tabs. Swipe one to the left to close it, to the right to pin it, or drag it to another place in the list.
Touch and hold a tab for Teilen …, Link kopieren, Umbenennen, Anheften or Lösen, Zu Favoriten, In Ordner verschieben and Schließen (today) or Löschen (pinned); a favorite has Aus Favoriten entfernen. A folder has Umbenennen, Neuer Unterordner, Ordner teilen …, In Ordner verschieben and Ordner löschen.
The bar at the bottom has the settings (the gear), your spaces, and + for Neuer Space, Neuer Ordner, Code scannen and Geteilten Link einfügen.
The address field
Section titled “The address field”Tap the address, or + for a new tab. Type an address or a search; the field suggests searches from your search engine, and lists the open tabs, pinned tabs and favorites that match (Zu Tab wechseln) and tabs from the archive. With nothing typed, it lists the space’s today tabs.
Your Mac’s spaces on the iPhone
Section titled “Your Mac’s spaces on the iPhone”Each space comes over on its own:
- On the Mac, click the … beside the space’s name and choose Space teilen …. Leave Aktuell halten on and click Link erstellen.
- Scan the QR code:
- in OpenArch on the iPhone: + at the bottom of the sidebar › Code scannen, or
- with the iPhone’s camera. That opens the link’s page on
openarch.app; tap Open in OpenArch there.
- OpenArch shows what the space holds. Keep Space under Hinzufügen als and tap Hinzufügen und folgen.
The space then follows the Mac: it checks for changes every five minutes while OpenArch is open, when it comes to the front, and when you open the sidebar or pull it down. Only the Mac can change the space; what you change on the iPhone is overwritten by the next update. To keep your own copy instead, tap Als Kopie hinzufügen. Folders come over the same way.
More on links, passwords and following in Share folders and spaces.
Sharing from the iPhone
Section titled “Sharing from the iPhone”Folders and spaces on the iPhone are shared the same way as on the Mac: touch and hold a folder and choose Ordner teilen …, or choose Space teilen … in the space’s ⋯ menu. You get a QR code, Link kopieren and Link senden …. A live share can be changed only from the iPhone that made it.
To add a link someone sent you, copy it and choose Geteilten Link einfügen, or tap it in a page in OpenArch.
Settings
Section titled “Settings”Tap the gear at the bottom of the sidebar, or Einstellungen in the page’s menu.
| Setting | What it does | Default |
|---|---|---|
| Suchmaschine | Google, DuckDuckGo, Ecosia, Bing or Kagi. | |
| Suchvorschläge | Suggestions from the search engine while you type. | On |
| Archivieren | When today tabs you have not looked at go to the archive: after 12 hours, 24 hours, 7 days, or never. | Nach 12 Stunden |
| Archiv | The archived tabs. Tap one to open it again, swipe to remove it, or Leeren (empty). | |
| Teilen | Your shares and the ones you follow; swipe for Beenden (end) or Nicht mehr folgen. With Code scannen and a button to paste a link. | |
| Teilen-Server | The relay for new live shares. Leave it empty for share.openarch.app. |
Empty |
iPhone Duo
Section titled “iPhone Duo”On iPhone Duo, the page goes to the display’s edges as in Safari. The controls float beside the status bar’s symbols and shrink to a single button while you read; scroll up or tap it to bring them back. While the phone is partly folded, neither the page nor the sidebar lies across the fold.