Submitting your own app

Before any app can be submitted to an app store, it must be signed using certificates and provisioning profiles from each app store. GTxcel can provide unsigned app builds to customers who do not grant GTxcel access to their app store credentials, provisioning profiles or certificates.

iOS

Gather needed data

The following data must be collected before an app can be signed. Both the Bundle ID and App Version must match exactly what was built by GTxcel since GTxcel’s APIs use this data to determine what features and configuration settings are available to the application.

1. App Bundle ID – The Bundle ID created in the App Store must match the Bundle ID GTxcel used during the app creation process. This can be found in MyApp.app/Info.plist in the key Bundle identifier and will have the form com.texterity.texterity.MyApp.
2. App Version – The app version can be found in Info.plist in the key APPVersion.

Create the app in iTunes Connect

Create your app using the instructions from Apple in iTunes connect ensuring the bundle identifier and app version match exactly the data gathered from the GTxcel app. You’ll also want to make sure you’ve enabled push notifications for your app and created/downloaded the appropriate certificates.

Sign the app

GTxcel provides the compiled app binary in a zip file for download.

1. unzip MyApp-live-7.0_unsigned.zip
2. mkdir Payload
3. mv MyApp.app/ Payload/
4. cp MyApp.mobileprovision Payload/MyApp.app/embedded.mobileprovision
5. /usr/bin/codesign -f -s “iPhone Distribution: Company Name” Payload/MyApp.app/
6. zip -qr “Application.resigned.ipa” Payload

Enabling New Issue Notifications

To ensure users receive push notifications each issue, a push notification certificate must be uploaded via the Publisher Dashboard.

Google Play

Gather needed data

GTxcel will provide the package name, which is required when you upload the .apk file to Google Play.

Create the app in Google Play

1. Sign in to the Google Play Developer Console
2. Click ‘Add New Application’
3. Input app ‘Title’
4. ‘Prepare store listing’ by entering required metadata (icons, screenshots, description, etc.)
5. See steps below on signing your Android app

Sign the app

GTxcel provides an APK file signed with our own license. To submit the APK to Google Play,

1. Change the extension of your .apk to .zip
2. Open the .zip file and remove the folder META-INF
3. Re-zip the directory
4. Change the .zip extension to .apk
5. Use the jarsigner and zipalign with your new keystore per Google’s instructions.
6. Upload .apk to Google Play developer console and ‘Publish’

Amazon App Store

Gather needed data

GTxcel will provide the package name, which is required when you upload the .apk file to Amazon.

Create the app in the Amazon App Store

1. Sign in to the Amazon Developer Console
2. Click ‘Add a New App’ >> Android
3. Input app title, required metadata, images, etc. >> ‘Save’
4. See steps below on signing your Amazon Kindle Fire app

Options for signing the app

Option 1 – Amazon DRM

Amazon can automatically sign the app during the upload process if you select the Apply Amazon DRM option during the upload. This option will remove any existing signatures from the binary and replace it with the appropriate Amazon signature.

This method is advised for new apps that are being submitted to Amazon for the first time. To replace an existing app in the Amazon store with a GTxcel built app, option 2 is advised.

Option 2 – Publisher Signed

Publishers who choose not to use option 1 must provide GTxcel their app’s API key. The GTxcel app build process will output an APK file using that API key which can then be uploaded to Amazon.

Once the .apk has been properly signed, it can be uploaded to the Amazon Developer Console and submitted for Amazon’s review.