Certificates on Apple Simple question

Getting Started Newbie Questions
#1

Hi Everyone…

Apple has 18 lines…

1 - Certificates

   2 - All

   3 - Pending

   4 - Development

   5 - Production

6 - Identifiers

   7 - App IDs

   8 - Pass Type IDs

   9 - Website Push IDs

  10 - iCloud Containers

  11 - App Groups

  12 - Merchant IDs

13 - Devices

   14 - All

15 - Provisioning Profiles

   16 - All

   17 - Development          [iOS App Development]

   18 - Distribution             [App Store]         [Ad Hoc]

Once I have a certificate of my name

and my company name

that is 2 certificates total…

Do I need to create another 2 for each of my new apps?

so, if I have 3 apps, Do I need 6 total certificates?

#2

You can get away with one certificate:  distribution  if you use the AdHoc profile for testing.  Both “Distribution AdHoc” and “iOS App Development” profiles can be installed locally on your devices and can be used for testing.  The difference is the AdHoc version is stripped of debugging information, which is closer to what the customers will download, but you can’t run tools like Instruments to profile your app.  I personally rarely use the Developer version.  You can always go back and create it if you need it.

So start with a Production certificate setup.  You can go add the Development one later if needed.

Next, each app will need an AppID.  This is where you get your com.yourname.yourapp ID that’s needed everywhere.  The other items in that area are only needed if you are using them.  Most of the time you won’t need any of the other IDs.

Devices is an area where you declare which devices you want to test on.  Each device you want to test needs to be added here.  You will need the UDID from the device and a description.  All of these steps kind of need to happen in order too.

One you have a certificate and your AppID has been created and your devices added, next you setup your provisioning profile.  If you skipped the Developer certificate, then you will need just two profiles:  App Store (used for the build that goes to iTunes Connect) and AdHoc your testing profile.  When setting up the AdHoc version, you select your AppID and the devices you want to run this.

Once done, you download that profile and put it into your ~/Library/MobileDevices/Provisioning Profiles folder or let Xcode manage that for you.

You can have multiple apps use the same certificate.   I only have two:  My developer one and my distribution one.  All my apps uses those certificates.  Certificates have to be renewed every year.

Rob

#3

Thanks Rob for answering… I am so confused.

last June I put one app in the app store.

Today I can not even put it on my iPad to test it.

is it something that I am doing wrong?

or it is because all the new updates, and upgrades, and changes on Apple and Corona.

I am going really slow and 1 step at a time.

Sorry for putting too many short post… I had one long post before, I guess nobody read it…

I will follow all your instructions, and pray for me please…

thanks

Okay Rob… two questions

“Once done, you download that profile and put it into your ~/Library/MobileDevices/Provisioning Profiles folder or let Xcode manage that for you.”

Could you explain a little bit more on this… how can Xcode manage that for me? how do I do that?

and

When I am doing my Provisioning Profile for Development

when I have to select a certificate…

I see 2 certificates, with the same name ( I think here is the BIG problem)

I created one back in June

and one on September

I don’t know which one is which, the top one is the oldest?

do I select both of them?

or only 1?

if only one,which one the top or the bottom?

#4

This is the hardest thing about Apple development.  And unfortunately without any ability to see your screens, it makes it really hard to help you.  There are tons of tutorials on this on the Internet.  The things you do on the Apple provisioning portal are not unique to Corona SDK.  Perhaps you could take some screen shots of what you’re actually seeing.  You also need to run the “Keychain Access” app on your Mac and make sure you don’t have any expired keys and certificates there too.

I don’t know what your June certificate is, what your Sept. certificate is.  If they are both the same, you should pick the newest one and get rid of the oldest one.

When you say you can’t put it on your ipad to test, why can’t you?  Are you getting an error?  What is the message?  What does your Corona SDK build screen look like? 

#5

Okay Rob… Thanks for your help… I just did another try step by step and same error

– The application does not have a valid signature.

I open a sample app from Corona JungleScene, build that one, using the newest provisioning, and same error.

I know you want to help, and I am sure we’ll pass this problem, I have faith in you…

I went to Safari, Developer Console and register an App ID

App ID Description – Test App 7A

App ID Prefix – 7MCN2WB2PM(TeamID)

App ID Suffix: Explicit App ID – com.dlucamusic.testapp7a

Wildcard App ID – nothing

App Services: nothing, only the default, Game Services, and In-App Purchase, I don’t have that, but I can not get rid of it.

Submit: Registration Complete

I see the name in my Developer Console, I have 3 names

-------------------- NEXT STEP

What type of provisioning profile do you need?

iOS App Development

Select App ID: I selected the: Test App 7A (7MCN2WB2PM.com.dlucamusic.testapp7a)

Select certificates: I selected the TOP one out of those two

              [here might be the problem, one is June, the other one is September

               I don’t know which one is the newest, I see 2, in Certificates, development

               I see the date, the old is the one I used for the App that is in the App store now

               and the other one is the new one I created a week ago.

               When you say – “Get rid of the oldest one” should I click “revoke”

               would that affect my app that I have in the app store now?]

Select devices: I selected my iPad

Name this profile and generate: I just named it – testa7appdevelo

Your provisioning profile is ready

Download and Install

I clicked Download button, drag it to my desktop, an put it in a folder on my desktop

I double clicked on the file, and Organizer in Xcode Opened.

I went to the top window, Editor > Provisioning Profiles > Import Profile

When I click Import Profile I saw nothing – Should I see something there, where did the file go?

I went to Corona Build, and I saw it there

I build my app using that line, name…in the Code Signing Identify

Your application is ready to install on your device

When I drag the file created by Corona build into the green light of my app in Organizer

ERROR…

– The application does not have a valid signature.

What else am I missing?

What am I doing wrong?

Where can it possible be the problem?

I do really need all your help on this, we’ll make it happen.

thanks Rob

#6

You can revoke old certificates without impacting your existing apps.  Try it with your new one.

Rob

#7

Hi Rob…

A lot of praying works for me…

I have my App in my iPad now…

I kept thinking what can be wrong last night… I found this yesterday, also from corona

http://forums.coronalabs.com/topic/33811-your-application-does-not-have-a-valid-signature/

And then you told me to revoke…

So I cleaned everything… I revoke the new ones I made, I just left the first one from june

Build on Corona…

And it WORKS!!!

Thank you very much…I hope who ever see this later will also help.

Thanks one more time

Victor

#8

You can get away with one certificate:  distribution  if you use the AdHoc profile for testing.  Both “Distribution AdHoc” and “iOS App Development” profiles can be installed locally on your devices and can be used for testing.  The difference is the AdHoc version is stripped of debugging information, which is closer to what the customers will download, but you can’t run tools like Instruments to profile your app.  I personally rarely use the Developer version.  You can always go back and create it if you need it.

So start with a Production certificate setup.  You can go add the Development one later if needed.

Next, each app will need an AppID.  This is where you get your com.yourname.yourapp ID that’s needed everywhere.  The other items in that area are only needed if you are using them.  Most of the time you won’t need any of the other IDs.

Devices is an area where you declare which devices you want to test on.  Each device you want to test needs to be added here.  You will need the UDID from the device and a description.  All of these steps kind of need to happen in order too.

One you have a certificate and your AppID has been created and your devices added, next you setup your provisioning profile.  If you skipped the Developer certificate, then you will need just two profiles:  App Store (used for the build that goes to iTunes Connect) and AdHoc your testing profile.  When setting up the AdHoc version, you select your AppID and the devices you want to run this.

Once done, you download that profile and put it into your ~/Library/MobileDevices/Provisioning Profiles folder or let Xcode manage that for you.

You can have multiple apps use the same certificate.   I only have two:  My developer one and my distribution one.  All my apps uses those certificates.  Certificates have to be renewed every year.

Rob

#9

Thanks Rob for answering… I am so confused.

last June I put one app in the app store.

Today I can not even put it on my iPad to test it.

is it something that I am doing wrong?

or it is because all the new updates, and upgrades, and changes on Apple and Corona.

I am going really slow and 1 step at a time.

Sorry for putting too many short post… I had one long post before, I guess nobody read it…

I will follow all your instructions, and pray for me please…

thanks

Okay Rob… two questions

“Once done, you download that profile and put it into your ~/Library/MobileDevices/Provisioning Profiles folder or let Xcode manage that for you.”

Could you explain a little bit more on this… how can Xcode manage that for me? how do I do that?

and

When I am doing my Provisioning Profile for Development

when I have to select a certificate…

I see 2 certificates, with the same name ( I think here is the BIG problem)

I created one back in June

and one on September

I don’t know which one is which, the top one is the oldest?

do I select both of them?

or only 1?

if only one,which one the top or the bottom?

#10

This is the hardest thing about Apple development.  And unfortunately without any ability to see your screens, it makes it really hard to help you.  There are tons of tutorials on this on the Internet.  The things you do on the Apple provisioning portal are not unique to Corona SDK.  Perhaps you could take some screen shots of what you’re actually seeing.  You also need to run the “Keychain Access” app on your Mac and make sure you don’t have any expired keys and certificates there too.

I don’t know what your June certificate is, what your Sept. certificate is.  If they are both the same, you should pick the newest one and get rid of the oldest one.

When you say you can’t put it on your ipad to test, why can’t you?  Are you getting an error?  What is the message?  What does your Corona SDK build screen look like? 

#11

Okay Rob… Thanks for your help… I just did another try step by step and same error

– The application does not have a valid signature.

I open a sample app from Corona JungleScene, build that one, using the newest provisioning, and same error.

I know you want to help, and I am sure we’ll pass this problem, I have faith in you…

I went to Safari, Developer Console and register an App ID

App ID Description – Test App 7A

App ID Prefix – 7MCN2WB2PM(TeamID)

App ID Suffix: Explicit App ID – com.dlucamusic.testapp7a

Wildcard App ID – nothing

App Services: nothing, only the default, Game Services, and In-App Purchase, I don’t have that, but I can not get rid of it.

Submit: Registration Complete

I see the name in my Developer Console, I have 3 names

-------------------- NEXT STEP

What type of provisioning profile do you need?

iOS App Development

Select App ID: I selected the: Test App 7A (7MCN2WB2PM.com.dlucamusic.testapp7a)

Select certificates: I selected the TOP one out of those two

              [here might be the problem, one is June, the other one is September

               I don’t know which one is the newest, I see 2, in Certificates, development

               I see the date, the old is the one I used for the App that is in the App store now

               and the other one is the new one I created a week ago.

               When you say – “Get rid of the oldest one” should I click “revoke”

               would that affect my app that I have in the app store now?]

Select devices: I selected my iPad

Name this profile and generate: I just named it – testa7appdevelo

Your provisioning profile is ready

Download and Install

I clicked Download button, drag it to my desktop, an put it in a folder on my desktop

I double clicked on the file, and Organizer in Xcode Opened.

I went to the top window, Editor > Provisioning Profiles > Import Profile

When I click Import Profile I saw nothing – Should I see something there, where did the file go?

I went to Corona Build, and I saw it there

I build my app using that line, name…in the Code Signing Identify

Your application is ready to install on your device

When I drag the file created by Corona build into the green light of my app in Organizer

ERROR…

– The application does not have a valid signature.

What else am I missing?

What am I doing wrong?

Where can it possible be the problem?

I do really need all your help on this, we’ll make it happen.

thanks Rob

#12

You can revoke old certificates without impacting your existing apps.  Try it with your new one.

Rob

#13

Hi Rob…

A lot of praying works for me…

I have my App in my iPad now…

I kept thinking what can be wrong last night… I found this yesterday, also from corona

http://forums.coronalabs.com/topic/33811-your-application-does-not-have-a-valid-signature/

And then you told me to revoke…

So I cleaned everything… I revoke the new ones I made, I just left the first one from june

Build on Corona…

And it WORKS!!!

Thank you very much…I hope who ever see this later will also help.

Thanks one more time

Victor