Submitting iPhone Apps To The Apple App Store – A Step by Step Guide
Here’s a quick step by
step guideline that you can print and keep hand, to use when your app is ready
for submission. I am assuming that the reader of this article has an iPhone
Developer License.
Here’s a quick step by
step guideline that you can print and keep hand, to use when your app is ready
for submission. I am assuming that the reader of this article has an iPhone
Developer License.
====== Step 1 ======
Certificate is an
essential element to submit or test an application on iphone. It comes with
code sign(Signatures) which would verified when an application is submitted on
apple store or when tested on iphone.
One can bypass these if an application is
installed on jail-break iphone or when submitted on Cydia but this is not
possible when one wants submit it to Appstore.
One has to through 2
step procedure to create a certificate from developer portal. I simply copied
those two from “iphone developer portal”
[1] Generating Certificate
Signing Request
[2] Submitting a
Certificate Signing Request for Approval
Generating a Certificate Signing Request:
[3] Open the Utilities folder and launch Keychain
Access from the Applications folder.
[4] Set the value of
Online Certificate Status Protocol (OCSP) and Certificate Revocation List (CRL)
to “off” in the Preferences Menu.
[5] Select Keychain Access
-> Certificate Assistant -> Request a Certificate from a Certificate
Authority.
[6] Fill in your email
address in User Email Address Field. Confirm that this email address is same as
provided at the time of registering as iPhone developer.
[7] Fill in your name in
the Common Name field. Confirm that this name is same as provided at the time
of registering as iPhone developer.
[8] It is not necessary to
have an Certificate Authority (CA). The ‘Required’ message would be eliminated
after finishing the following step.
[9] Click the ‘save to disk’ radio button if
prompted, choose ‘Let me specify key pair information’ and proceed.
[10] If you choose ‘Let me specify key pair’
option then one has provide a file name and click ‘Save’. Select ‘2048 bits’
for Key Size and ‘RSA’ for the algorithm in next screen and proceed.
[11] CSR file would created
on the desktop by Certificate Authority.
Submitting a Certificate Signing Request for
Approval:
[1] Once CSR file is created log in to the iPhone
developer program portal and go to ‘Certificates’> ‘Development’ and select
‘Add Certificate’.
[2] Click the ‘Choose
file’ button, select your CSR and click ‘Submit’. The portal will reject the
CSR if Key Size is not set to 2048 bit at the time of CSR creation.
[3] This will followed by notification to Team
Admins by email of the certificate request.
[4] The change in the certificate status would
informed by email on approval or rejection of the CSR by Team Admin.
Download/Installing Certificate on your
machine
[5] Once the CSR is
approved the Team Members and Team Admins can download their certificates via
the ‘Certification’ section of the Program Portal. Choose ‘Download’ next
to the certificate name to download your iPhone development certificate to your
local machine.
[6] Once this is done double-click the .cer file to launch
Keychain Access and install your certificate.
On installation of
certificate on your MAC the next step is to create an App ID.
Note: You have to follow this step only once
and late you don’t have to make certificates for your other applications.
====== Step 2 ======
Follow the following steps to create an App
ID:
[1] Go to ‘App IDs’ and click ‘App ID’ after
logging in to iPhone developer program portal.
[2] Populate the ‘App Id
Name’ field with your application name (that is – iPhone app) and in ‘App Id’
enter something like com.yourdomain.applicationname (i.e com.edumobile.iphoneapp) and click submit.
[3] Please do note down the “App Id” as this would
be utilized in Info.plist, bundle identifier tag.
====== Step 3 ======
Next step would be to create a Provisioning
file for our Xcode and is the last step for creating binary which would submit
it to Appstore.
[1] After you navigate to ‘Provisioning’>
‘Distribution’ click ‘Add Profile’ in iphone developer program portal.
[2] Choose “App Store” in
“Distribution Method”.
[3] In “Profile Name” enter your application name
(i.e iphoneapp) which will be your provisioning profile name as well.
[4] In “App ID” select the app name(i.e.
iphoneapp) which you created in Step 2.
[5] After downloading the Provisioning profile
copy it to your/YourUserName/Library/MobileDevice/Provisioning Profile.
====== Step 4 ======
Now everything is step
up, open your project in Xcode
[1] Click “i” Info button after selecting your
project from “Group & File” in left side bar.
[2] Navigate to
“Configuration” tab and select “Release”. Click the “Duplicate” button from
bottom, name is “iphoneDistribution”.
[3] Click on “Build” tab
and choose “iphoneDistribution” and enter in “Search in Build Settings” filed
‘Base SDK’ and select the current selected Device and change to what
gadget your application is targeting (I prefer
“Device-iPhone OS 2.0)
[4] Now in “Search in
build setting” field enter “code signing identity” and choose the provisioning
profile created earlier in Step 3. Apply the same to the child property “Any
iPhone OS Device”.
[5] Once this done close
the Info screen and select the “Target”> “Your App” from “Group & File”
in left side bar and click on “Info” button again from Xcode.
[6] To be on the safer side repeat step 3 and 4.
[7] With the Info screen
still open click on “Properties” tab and enter “App Id”(i.e.
com.edumobile.iphoneapp) in Identifier field.
[8] Now that all is done, click
on “Build” (cmd+B) from Xcode>Build.
[9] You will find your
binary file created on right clicking on “Product”> “Your App” and selecting
“Reveal in Finder”. Zip this file.
====== Step 5 ======
The next step is to
submit the binary file created to itunes connect.
[1] In your browser type https://itunesconnect.apple.com/ (this website is very
slow over https) and login using your iPhone developer account.
[2] Click on “Manage Your
Account” > “Add Application”
[3] On replying to a
simple question from apple you can sumbit your application to app store. You
also need few things in your system before you submit your application.
a) Application Name (must
be unique)
b) Application
description
c) Application Category
d) URL for your
application feedback.
e) Icon of your application in 512 x 512 size.
f) Main picture of your
application in 320 x 480 or 320 x 460 size. (You have option to submit up to
4 more pictures of your application).