Building a mobile app with PhoneGap and Dreamweaver: Submitting to the Apple App Store

When you've created and tested a release build of your PhoneGap iOS application, you are ready to publish it to the Apple App Store. This tutorial shows you the final few steps you'll need to prepare your app and get it into the Apple App Store.

First, you need to create a distribution certificate for signing your app before you submit it to be reviewed by Apple. Only the Team Agent (as defined by the iOS Developer Program) for your team will be able to create this certificate. As long as the account being used is the account that paid the iOS Developer Program fee, you should be set.

1. Log into https://developer.apple.com/devcenter/ios/index.action and go to the iOS Provisioning Portal. Minimize your browser.
2. In the Applications folder on your Mac, open the Utilities folder and double-click Keychain Access.
3. After Keychain Access launches, choose Keychain Access > Certificate Assistant > Request a Certificate from a Certificate Authority.
4. In the Certificate Information dialog box, type the email address you used to register with the iOS Developer Program. In the Common Name field, type the name that the account is under.
5. Select Saved To Disk. If present, select the Let Me Specify Key Pair Information option and click Continue (see Figure 1).

1. Select a location to save the certificate signing request (CSR) and click Save.
2. If the Key Pair Information dialog box opens, make sure Key Size is set to 2048 bits and Algorithm is set to RSA. Click Continue.
3. Expand the browser window that you minimized earlier and navigate to the certificates sidebar in the iOS provisioning portal.
4. Click on the Distribution tab. Click Add Certificate.
5. Select the CSR file you just created to upload and click Submit.
6. Approve the iOS distribution certificate in the same screen (Certificates > Distribution).
7. Next, control-click the WWDR Intermediate Certificate link and select Saved Linked File To Downloads to start downloading the certificate. After it is downloaded, double-click the certificate to launch Keychain Access and install it.
8. In the same area of the Provisioning Portal, click on the name of the iOS Distribution Certificate to download the certificate (the .cer file). After it is downloaded, double-click the .cer file to launch Keychain Access and install it.

Creating your distribution provisioning profile is similar to creating a developer provisioning profile except that it is used to submit your application to the Apple App Store. Apple won't accept apps made with the developer provisioning profile that you made in Creating a release build for iOS.

1. In the iOS Provisioning Portal, select Provisioning in the sidebar and click the Distribution tab.
2. Click New Profile if you have pre-existing distribution provisioning profiles.
3. For the Distribution Method, select App Store.
4. Type a name for your Distribution Provisioning Profile.

The Distribution Certificate that you just created should be displayed.

5. Select the App ID that you created in Creating a release build for iOS. For example, I created the App ID dwtest (see Figure 2).

6. Click Submit.

You should now see your newly created Distribution Provisioning Profile.

7. Click Download to save the .mobileprovision file to your local machine.
8. Double-click the .mobileprovision file to launch Xcode and install the Distribution Provisioning Profile.

Now you are ready to use Xcode to build your application for distribution. In these next steps, you will:

• add a configuration for the app distribution
• match up the distribution profile you just created to a distribution configuration
• edit the build scheme for distribution

Add a configuration for the app distribution

1. Open your project in Xcode.
2. Select your project in the left panel and in the next panel to the right. Make sure your actual project is highlighted, not one of the targets (see Figure 3). In the main window, make sure Info is selected and not Build Settings.

3. In Xcode, choose Editor > Add Configuration > Duplicate Release Configuration.
4. In the Info screen in the main window, name this new configuration. I named it Distribution (see Figure 4).

Match up the distribution profile you just created to a distribution configuration

1. Click the Build Settings tab in the main window and scroll down to the Code Signing section.
2. Expand Code Signing Identity and select Distribution. Match the Distribution Provisioning Profile you made in the previous section with the new Distribution configuration.
3. Staying in the Build Settings tab, scroll down to Deployment.
4. Expand Skip Install and select Yes for the Distribution setting.

Edit the build scheme for distribution

1. Next, click in the top bar beside the Stop button and choose Edit Scheme (see Figure 5).

2. In the Edit Scheme dialog box, make sure Run is selected in the left side panel and select the Info tab in the center panel.
3. Change the Build Configuration setting to Distribution.
4. Select iOS Device as the Destination (see Figure 6).

5. Click Archive in the left panel.
6. Select Distribution for Build Configuration.
7. Select the Reveal Archive In Organizer option.
8. Click OK.
9. Choose Product > Archive to create a binary of your application to submit to iTunes Connect.
10. To view your archive, choose Window > Organizer and click Archive.

You have made it to the final stage of submitting your application to the Apple App Store. Follow the steps below using iTunes Connect to submit your application.

1. Visit https://itunesconnect.apple.com and sign in with your Apple account.
2. Click Manage Your Applications and Add New App.
3. Type your app name, a unique number to represent your app's SKU, bundle ID, and bundle suffix if applicable. You can find the bundle ID in Xcode by clicking on your project under Targets and then clicking the Summary tab. Click Continue.
4. Complete the remaining questions and click Save. Note, you will have to upload a 512 x 512 icon and screenshots, as well as specify a support URL, version number, and more.
5. Click Ready To Upload Binary button and answer any of the questions you get asked about your application.
6. Click Save. You'll be redirected to the application loader page.
7. If you have iOS 3.2 SDK or higher, you already have the application loader installed. If you don't, follow the link supplied in iTunes Connect to download and install it.
8. On your Mac, open your utilities folder and double-click Application Loader to launch it.
9. Sign in with your Apple ID and follow the on-screen instructions. You should be uploading the binary you created in the previous section. Click Send to begin uploading your application.
10. Click Done to close the Application Loader window once complete.
11. You can go back to the Manage Your Applications page on iTunes Connect to view the status of your application. The Apple review process can take quite a bit of time, but a decision on most applications is received in a week or two.

Now that you've submitted your first application to the Apple App Store, submitting additional applications will be straightforward.

For more information on setting up your Distribution Provisioning Profile, see the Apple App Store Resource Center.

Now that you have submitted your app to the App Store, you may want to step through the following articles:

• Creating a release build for Android
• Submitting to Android Market