AppStore app downloaded to my xcode folder - macos

I bought my own application from the Mac AppStore. The app was not saved in the Applications folder, but instead in /Users/nathan/Library/Developer/Xcode/Archives/2011-06-14/Release PackageTracking 6-14-11 12.09 PM.xcarchive/Products/Users/nathan
Is it just for me because I am the developer? Or are all my users going to have to hunt down that file? Why didn't it download it to the correct location?

You have to find and delete (or hide) absolutely every copy of your application (all debug copies, archive copies, anything with the same bundle ID) from your system before doing a test purchase.
You can try using Spotlight to find apps.
One way to hide apps is to compress them using gzip. Or move them to a disk drive that can be unmounted.
Users with no previous copies of your app won't have this problem. Users who have previous copies of your app and who put these copies in strange places might encounter this problem.

I would hazard a guess that it is because you already had a version of the app in that location from when you built it using the Archive option in Xcode.
The App Store would have detected that it has the same bundle ID and updated it in-place.

Related

How to specify the folder in which the applications should get installed on Mac?

I find that when I install applications(.dmg files), they all are installed into the folder /Volumes.And some days ago, they were installed into the folder /Applications. I don't know my macbook had suffered what kind of attacks, improper use or something like these. Anyway, it changed. I don't know how to resolve it. Is there anyone who ever had that kind of problem like me?Anyone who know how to make my macbook back to install applications into /Applications folder by default?Or anyone who know how to specific the installing folder if the default installing folder is not I want?
You need to begin by understanding the difference between installing and application and running it from a disk image. The whole disk image situation is understandably confusing for users, but considering that this is a programming Q&A, here are the important points.
Macintosh applications are stored in special directories with the extension .app. Because of the extension, these files are known by the Finder and treated as special Bundles, which are shown to the user as a single icon which cannot easily be opened further (there are other types of bundles as well, but the .app bundles deal specifically with applications.
Because Macintosh applications are actually directories full of files and other directories, they cannot be downloaded as a single file through the Internet without some kind of packaging. Recently there has been a move to package these in standard zip files, because they are understood well by many platforms. For many years prior to this, though, Macintosh applications were distributed on mountable Disk Images (.dmg format files), which themselves were multi-file containers which could support a variety of files and directories.
The key problem in both cases is that applications, once downloaded, don't necessarily move themselves to the most obvious location (the Applications folder on the boot volume, where Apple-installed applications are stored). Zip files usually automatically decompress, but are left inside of your Downloads directory, and Disk Images are usually downloaded to the Downloads directory and then mounted on the desktop, showing up as a new volume under /Volumes and appearing in the Finder as a disk.
In most cases, applications can be run from any of these locations, leading to the particularly confusing situation of:
Download a disk image
Disk image file goes to the Downloads folder
OS X mounts the disk image
User runs the application just fine from the disk image
User reboots the Mac
Application appears to have disappeared
In this case, the application isn't gone, but the disk image was uncounted by the reboot, and so it isn't obvious to most users where the application has gone.
The most straightforward solution for users is to copy the applications to their Applications folder in order to make sure it is easy to find.
Obscure note: This works well for Disk Images (which can subsequently be deleted), but may cause some confusion for Applications decompressed from zip files if the Application was downloaded on a disk other than the boot volume. I this case, copying the Application may lead to having two copies of it, one in the downloaded location and one in the Applications folder. This can be very confusing if you delete the application as the Finder will still locate it in the Downloads folder. It can also be confusing when you download an update for the application manually, as it may result in multiple copies of the application in your Downloads folder. These will usually be named "My app", "My app 1", "My app 2", etc.

XCode: Go from compiled app to corporate license or install-CD

This is my first release on Mac. While we will sell the app on App Store to users and small schools, but on larger schools they don't want to give the students money and ask each one to buy and install the app on App Store. (Have we misunderstood that?)
I'm guessing that it's possible on Mac as it is on Windows etc. to have a network admin system install apps and updates over the network. How does this work, and how do we create a deliverable once the app is finished and working in XCode? Just burn the Archive onto a bootable CD and give to the network admin is enough? Do I need to make compile settings to make the Archive stand-alone?
Bundle any custom frameworks and make sure the Installation Directory for them is a path relative to the executable in the bundle (see Framework Programming Guide)
Archive, Show in Finder, show package contents and navigate to the .app file
Copy it to a CD.
(I'm about to try this, but it should be correct. So if you're hovering on the down arrow, comment first instead. :))

Replace / Update Files in Mac OS X App Bundle

when deploying software on Windows, it is relatively easy to update files in a program folder by running a setup program (e.g. generated with NSIS) with admin rights. Is there an analogous way on Mac? Is it possible to exchange files in an installed app bundle and how is it done?
Thanks!
If it's an app distributed via the App Store or signed (or both), you can not replace files within an application bundle without breaking it (where it won't launch on subsequent attempts).
You didn't provide enough information in your question to explain what you are trying to do. Is this for an application you are writing or is this for applications with site licenses or apps you don't control at all?
If this is for an application you are writing, Apple recommends installing resources in ~/Library/Application Support/ or ~/Library/Cache/ or other directories, and then -- in most cases -- you'd have to create some mechanism within your app to fetch and save updated resources. There may be some stuff that the MacOS provides, like NSCache.

How do I include one application inside another?

Our .app download includes a tool (another, smaller, app) with it that we'd like to allow users to run from the "Applications" folder, but we don't want them to have to download more than one file.
Is there a way to include one .app inside another that will result in the OS automatically adding both of them to the Applications folder when the user drags and drops it in there from the dmg file we distribute? Or would we have to use a package that extracts two separate applications?
Thanks for your help.
I don't think that apps bundled inside other apps (i.e. helper apps) would show up in Mac OS X's (Lion) Launch Pad. Much less from the Finder for end-users.
Apple distributes Xcode through the Mac App Store and it has many apps : Xcode, Intruments, Quartz Composer, etc. Perhaps downloading an installer from the Store (as is done with Xcode) would be an option for you.
I realize it's an extra step for the user but I don't see how you can bundle multiple distinct apps in the App Store.
Aside from that, perhaps offer each software as a seperate download. Or revisite if the apps actually do need to be their own islands. Good luck!

So, I lost the entire Xcode Project for my app

So I did something really stupid... I got a new MBP, and gave my old one to a friend. Before I did that, I transferred all of the contents of my big folders (Documents, Downloads, etc...) to my new Mac, and then I deleted the user on my old Mac. Unfortunately, I neglected to transfer the folder that contained the entire Xcode Project for my app that is currently on the App Store, as it wasn't in one of those folders, and I'm the only one who had it. The only way of being able to retrieve it that I thought of was that since I had to upload the binary to iTunes Connect to submit the app, Apple might still have it. Otherwise, I guess I'll have to completely start from scratch if I ever want to update it again. I just contacted Apple via iTunes Connect, but I was wondering if anyone has any idea of what I am able to do now, mainly, if Apple will actually give me all the files back. Thanks.
Any chance you've got a backup via timemachine?
Timemachine can't help you in the case of a fire (see http://github.com for what you can do about fires, hurricanes, tornadoes, volcanoes, or thieves), but maybe it can save your bacon right now. :)
Yeah, you pretty much lost it. I'd recommend looking at some source control - for example Github. It's built into XCode, and Github is pretty cheap for Private Repositories, and free for public ones.
You (nor Apple) won't be able to retrieve it from the binary.
No revision control system?!
You wiped your data or only simply deleted?
Because, here is a possibility retrieve data from the HDD (or at least some parts) when only simply deleted them. Delete usually does not wipe the data.
If you can get your old HDD, you should:
- insert it into external usb-HDD enclosure
- attach to your new MAC
- make an image from it to one big file (with the command "dd") (assuming than your new HDD is bigger than your old)
- and with several tools you can "try" recover some data
every use of the old HDD drastically lowering the chance recovering something from it.

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