I am trying to archive my MonoTouch app and to supply it to our testers using Apple's/Xcode's organizer.
Can somebody tell me how to do that? In ObjC projects I can archive an application. But how can I achieve the same in MT/MonoDevelop?
My starting point was this documentation:
http://developer.apple.com/library/ios/#documentation/Xcode/Conceptual/iphone_development/145-Distributing_Applications/distributing_applications.html
René
The archive that Xcode provides is in the form of an .ipa file. This is a glorified zip file with a certain expected file structure.
The .ipa is made up of the following components:
A folder named "Payload", which contains the compiled
(release/iPhone) .app
a 57x57 .png icon file (which is displayed while the app is being
downloaded)
a 512x512 .png file of the icon once again - however this has to
renamed itunesartwork with no extension
iTunesMetadata.plist - this contains information about the app,
such as copyright name, genre, itemname, softwareIconNeedsShine (you
can google what information this needs).
The way I package up our .ipa, is I have a folder called "App Packaging" which has all of these components already in, and I simply update the .app file whenever we do an upload, "Compress..." then rename the file to x.ipa (OS X will ask if you want to use this extension, make sure you select ("use .ipa" !).
You can then send the file to the testers to install via itunes. If the testers are all testing on devices that are iOS 4.0+ then it is possible to distribute this over the air as well but I can go into that only if you would like me to?
EDIT - Over the air distribution
It is possible to do over the air distribution of apps as well. We use it for distribution of an enterprise app we develop but it is possible to use it for testing purposes as well. It should be noted here that in order for the app to installed, the device needs to be included in the provisioning profile you signed the app with (but you knew that already!).
In order to do over the air, you need 3 things:
the .ipa file we created earlier.
a 57x57 .png icon file (same as the one included in the .ipa preferably)
a file called "Manifest.plist"
The Manifest plist contains the following structure/information:
You'll then want to upload all of these files to your website/intranet etc. In order to download the app, you'll need to create a page that points to the Manifest.plist file and then then iOS takes care of the rest and downloads the app from the location specified in the manifest.
There is now a much much easier way. On the Project menu in MonoDevelop, choose Publish to TestFlight.
You'll need a free TestFlightApp.com account, but it works great!
Related
maybe I am blind or I don't understand something right. I have created some HelloWorld-App and now I would like to test in on my device directly. (not via Visual Studios' Remote Tools)
So created my app package in VS but selected "No" for "Uploading to Windows Store" since I want to try it out localy.
The build an verification is successful and all but at the end I got a folder ("HelloWorld_1.0.1.0_Test") in the "AppPackages"-Folder. There are a couple of files. .appxbundle, .appxsym (for each architectiure one)
But if I want to install an app via the device manager it requires an .appx file. Where do I get this one?
I googled a lot, but I only found the descriptions for using the Windows Store.
Isn't it possible without it or am I missing something?
Kind Regards
Pavel
I don't know which device manager you install it through, but an appxbundle should be the fine. It's a ZIP file which includes several appx files (for several display scales, languages, ...).
But generally, inside the AppPackages folder there should be a folder like "AppName_1.0.0.0_Test". VS creates not only the appxbundle there, but also a Powershell script Add-AppDevPackage.ps1. Run it as admin and it installs the app if sideloading is enabled. This should be the easiest option to test apps on other machines without Store submissions.
For a project I am currently working on, I need to create a setup application for an existing desktop application. The setup application will be downloaded from a website, and will download required files to the correct locations. When the application is started, it will look for newer versions of these files, download them if any exist, then start the application.
I am using Visual Studio Online with TFVC, linked to Azure. I have a test application set up so that when I trigger a build, Release Management finds the build directory, and moves the files to Azure Blob Storage, but prepends a GUID to the file names being transferred. So what I have in my storage container is:
{Some GUID}/2390/Test.exe
{Some GUID}/2389/Test.exe
{Some GUID}/2387/Test.exe
...
What I want in my container is the latest version of Test.exe, so I can connect to the container, and determine whether I want to download or not.
I have put together a NullSoft installer that checks a website, and downloads files. I have also written a NullSoft "launcher" that will compare local file versions with versions on the website (using a version xml file on the website), and download if newer, then launch the application. What I need to figure out is how to get the newer files to the website after a build, with automation being one of the goals.
I am an intern, and new to deployment in general, and I don't even know if I'm going about this the right way.
Questions:
Does what I am doing make sense for what I am trying to accomplish?
We are trying to emulate ClickOnce functionality, but can't use ClickOnce due to the fact that the application dynamically loads a number of DLLs. Is there a way to configure ClickOnce to include non-referenced DLLs?
Is there a best practice for doing what I'm describing?
I appreciate any advice, links to references, or real-world examples.
You are mentioning ClickOnce, which you investigated but can't use. Have you already tried an alternative: Squirrel? With Squirrel you can specify which files should be part of the installation, allowing you to explicitly specify which files to include even if you load them dynamically.
Link: https://github.com/Squirrel/Squirrel.Windows
Squirrel is a full framework for creating an auto-update application and can work with Azure Blob Storage hosting (and also CDN if you need to scale up)
I created my iPhone app with MonoTouch and deployed it to the AppStore. Now I want to add a free lite version of the same app. What is the best way to do this with MonoTouch/MonoDevelop?
So far I created a new Provisioning Profile for the lite version. I can change the build options to use the full or the lite profile. But what else do I have to change and how? I think at least the app name should be changed, but how???
Thanks,
Christian
The way I do these things is to create a new project, then add the existing c# files from the first project as a link. You will see this option on the "add existing file" dialog. Keep in mind all your Icon/Splash screen files will have to be copied though, MonoDevelop doesn't handle these right if they are linked.
Just a side note, you can get by with less provisioning profiles. Create one as com.yourcompany.*, then name your apps com.yourcompany.yourapp1, yourapp2, etc.
So I have a profile for Development, AdHoc, and AppStore, but I have several apps deployed.
Rather than link files, I prefer to make three projects: A library project which will have all the UILogic called X.Touch.Core and two more which will have a reference of the Core. X.Touch.Lite and X.Touch.Premium. This way you don't need to have linked files, it can be painful. You can put a file called settings.xml and perform some feature toggling there.
Our firm has begun building MonoTouch iPad/iPhone apps for enterprise deployment.
How do I take the app and create a *.ipa file for upload to our MDM server?
An .ipa file is basically a glorified .zip file. There are a couple of routes you can go down:
Export the project to xcode and under "Build" click "Build and Archive" - fill in the appropriate details and the project should create the .ipa for you as expected.
If this isn't an option, (which it isnt for us, so this is the method I've used, to great success) you can simply create all the components that go into the .ipa and right-click, "Compress..." in Finder.
The .ipa is made up of the following components:
A folder named "Payload", which contains the compiled (release/iPhone) .app
a 57x57 .png icon file (which is displayed while the app is being downloaded)
a 512x512 .png file of the icon once again - however this has to renamed itunesartwork with no extension
iTunesMetadata.plist - this contains information about the app, such as copyright name, genre, itemname, softwareIconNeedsShine (you can google what information this needs).
The way I package up our .ipa, is I have a folder called "App Packaging" which has all of these components already in, and I simply update the .app file whenever we do an upload, "Compress..." then rename the file to x.ipa (OS X will ask if you want to use this extension, make sure you select ("use .ipa" !).
With the current Monodevelop (2.8.6.5) and Monotouch (5.2.5) it is as easy as right clicking on your project -> options -> iPhone IPA Options -> check Build ad-hoc/enterprise package (IPA) for the desired configuration.
We created a special configuration called Distribution which builds using the Distribution Certificate and In House Distribution Profile.
Luke, I like your answer and have given you the credit. I am adding some more details for my own, and others, notes.
Use SpotLight to find one of your own MonoTouch apps. Search on ".ipa".
Rename it to SomeThing.Zip
Unzip it.
You can then use the structure of the unzipped folder to edit then rezip.
Just another way to get an IPA that made it easy for me, drag your .app file onto your itunes library and sync your device. ITunes then creates a copy of the app as an .ipa file in the user/music/itunes/itunes media/mobile applications. This can then be distributed much easier than the .app file.
When I am building my app,Xcode generates it in .app format. Usually when I install app from AppStore they are in .ipa format. How does this format get generated? Will it be done by guys at AppStore while reviewing app or what? In which format should I compress my .app file?
Thanks
An .ipa file is simply a zipped archive of a .app bundle. Previously, you would simply zip up the compiled application bundle (by right-clicking on it and choosing Compress "xxx.app") before submission, but newer versions of Xcode now do this for you with their Build and Archive or Archive options.
In fact, you might be able to learn things by unzipping other application .ipa files you get via the App Store and inspecting their contents (like Info.plist settings or bundled resources). I know I have.