Creating the iOS and Android vb5 apps

Collapse
X
 
  • Time
  • Show
Clear All
new posts
  • Maltair
    Senior Member
    • Feb 2009
    • 575
    • 5.7.5

    Creating the iOS and Android vb5 apps

    Where are the latest instructions for creating these?
  • Wayne Luke
    vBulletin Technical Support Lead
    • Aug 2000
    • 73981

    #2
    Go to https://members.vbulletin.com.
    Click on the link for the Mobile Publisher. If you have created them before there will be links to Edit the Android and the iOS apps. Follow the instructions on the screen. Please note, that your site needs to be running under SSL for the Apps to build. These are requirements from the App Store publishers.

    When you have completed the build, the instructions to submit to either Google Play or the Apple App Store will be included in the download package.
    Translations provided by Google.

    Wayne Luke
    The Rabid Badger - a vBulletin Cloud demonstration site.
    vBulletin 5 API

    Comment

    • Maltair
      Senior Member
      • Feb 2009
      • 575
      • 5.7.5

      #3
      I was able to complete and submit the Android app, which has been live for a couple of weeks.


      On the iOS one:

      1) When I get to the steps that ask me to

      On your MAC, in the "Applications" folder, open the "Utilities" folder and launch "Keychain Access".
      Under "Keychain Access" menu, click on "Preferences" then set "Online Certificate Status Protocol (OSCP)" and "Certificate Revocation List (CRL)" to "Off".

      I don't see any such "Preferences" options on my KeyChain access.

      Note: vbulletin told me to ignore this step.

      2) I can get as far as the iTunes "Prepare for Submission" step, but iTunes store is rejecting the images in the Upload folder as either wrong size or rejected because they contain "alpha channels or transparencies" so I can't get to the final point of submitting the app.

      To clarify: iTunes rejects every single image that the vbulletin creation app has created, as being the wrong size. And then for any image that I resized with a simple image size change and then Save As in Photoshop CS6, iTunes rejects any such resized image as containing "alpha channels or transparencies."

      Comment

      • Wayne Luke
        vBulletin Technical Support Lead
        • Aug 2000
        • 73981

        #4
        The images that we create haven't changed so Apple must have changed their requirements. You will need to review their developer guidelines and set the images to the sizes that they require at this time. You'll have to consult the Adobe Photoshop instructions on how to save images without transparency.
        Translations provided by Google.

        Wayne Luke
        The Rabid Badger - a vBulletin Cloud demonstration site.
        vBulletin 5 API

        Comment

        • Maltair
          Senior Member
          • Feb 2009
          • 575
          • 5.7.5

          #5
          I determined that the 1242 x 2208 images that you supply are actually okay, for the 5.5 inch iPhone. Then I created using PhotoShop re-sized images that are 1125 x 2436 for the iPhone 5.8 inch (optional) and 2048 x 2732 for the iPad 12.9 inch (required), and then opened these resized images with Graphic Converter and removed the Alpha Channels, re-saved, and then all were accepted.

          I did not see any area to upload the other images you supply, such as 640 x 960 , 640 x 1136 , or others I had created such as 1668 x 2224. I did not upload any images to the iMessage area, and did not upload any images for the Apple Watch.


          When I got to the step for the XCode (version 9.3) application loader, I got the error:

          ERROR ITMS-90022: "Missing required icon file. The bundle does not contain an app icon for iPhone / iPod Touch of exactly '120x120' pixels, in .png format for iOS versions >= 7.0."

          but I don't know where to upload a 120x120 app icon - as the only one supplied that I uploaded at iTunes was 1024 x 1024.

          Supposedly this is an XCode issue. I am using XCode 9.3
          Last edited by Maltair; Fri 27 Apr '18, 4:50pm.

          Comment

          • Maltair
            Senior Member
            • Feb 2009
            • 575
            • 5.7.5

            #6
            P.S. A programmer is telling me that this missing 120x120 app icon is not an XCode issue, that it is in fact missing from the .ipa

            Comment

            • Wayne Luke
              vBulletin Technical Support Lead
              • Aug 2000
              • 73981

              #7
              Please create a bug report about the improper images so the mobile team can look into it. Support has no access to review or resolve this issue.

              Translations provided by Google.

              Wayne Luke
              The Rabid Badger - a vBulletin Cloud demonstration site.
              vBulletin 5 API

              Comment

              • Maltair
                Senior Member
                • Feb 2009
                • 575
                • 5.7.5

                #8
                vbulletin iOS app
                Contains improper sized images. Required images are currently 1242 x 2208 , 1125 x 2436 , 2048 x 2732
                Last edited by Maltair; Tue 1 May '18, 3:39pm.

                Comment

                • Maltair
                  Senior Member
                  • Feb 2009
                  • 575
                  • 5.7.5

                  #9
                  I have been able to submit my app to Apple review, and so far, they are taking a hard line that:

                  1) App must work for iPad
                  2) App must have means within the app itself to block content/ other users.

                  The vbulletin iOS app does not work with iPad, and does not have the means within the app itself to block content / other users.

                  I am trying to appeal this ruling by Apple.

                  Comment

                  • Wayne Luke
                    vBulletin Technical Support Lead
                    • Aug 2000
                    • 73981

                    #10
                    Will pass it on. If they are taking this line now, then you will have to wait for a new version.
                    Translations provided by Google.

                    Wayne Luke
                    The Rabid Badger - a vBulletin Cloud demonstration site.
                    vBulletin 5 API

                    Comment

                    • Wayne Luke
                      vBulletin Technical Support Lead
                      • Aug 2000
                      • 73981

                      #11
                      This is what the Mobile team responded with -
                      - The iPad support requirement is either new, or the reviewer is just taking an unnecessary hard line since the app doesn't claim to support iPad.

                      - "App must have means within the app itself to block content/ other users." This issue was resolved before by pointing out that we have the Flag Report & Ban User options. Customer might have to provide a temporary Mod account to Apple Tester to see the Ban user option though.
                      Translations provided by Google.

                      Wayne Luke
                      The Rabid Badger - a vBulletin Cloud demonstration site.
                      vBulletin 5 API

                      Comment

                      • Maltair
                        Senior Member
                        • Feb 2009
                        • 575
                        • 5.7.5

                        #12
                        I just got off the phone with Apple. The reviewer says that she got the app to work on iPad, so she is waiving that issue. (We skated on that issue somehow!) However, she said that while Apple guideline 2.4.1
                        https://developer.apple.com/app-stor...ew/guidelines/
                        uses the term "should" as in, "To ensure people get the most out of your app, iPhone apps should run on iPad whenever possible," she said that this means must, and that any app that does not run on iPad (i.e. solely for iPhone) will not be approved.

                        However, she says that the app must have within itself the ability to block content/ other users. Unfortunately, I had not read this thread here before I took that phone call, so I will send a message to the Apple reviewer now. However, the "test" account that I gave Apple was an admin one, so that admin user would already have had the ability to ban a user. I am not sure if "banning" will be enough for her to approve the app, but I will try.

                        The reviewer said that flagging is not the issue, she can see how the app allows people to report content, etc., but the issue is that she wants a mechanism to make it so that another user is put on "ignore" and none of the offending user's content becomes visible. I explained that this is available at the vbulletin forum itself, but she said that's not enough, it must be within the app itself. She even went so far as to say that if any versions of this app were approved in the past without that "ignore" feature built in, they were approved in error....
                        Last edited by Maltair; Wed 16 May '18, 2:07pm.

                        Comment

                        • Wayne Luke
                          vBulletin Technical Support Lead
                          • Aug 2000
                          • 73981

                          #13
                          Then Apple has increased their requirements. They do this from time to time. It takes a new version of the apps to comply.
                          Translations provided by Google.

                          Wayne Luke
                          The Rabid Badger - a vBulletin Cloud demonstration site.
                          vBulletin 5 API

                          Comment

                          • Maltair
                            Senior Member
                            • Feb 2009
                            • 575
                            • 5.7.5

                            #14
                            Spoke to Apple again just now:

                            1) The App MUST work on iPad not just on iPhone. (However, they think it does work on iPad...but if the app crashes again on iPad in the future when re-submitting, will be a big problem).

                            2) The App must have, within the App itself, means for users to block / ignore other users. (I tried to explain that the app already has the means to ban a user, but she said that is not sufficient unless the ban automatically removes all posts of the user at the same time. I tried to explain that yes, when a user is banned his posts may be removed at the same time, but she said this is insufficient, there must be a means for a user to ignore other users unless the app functions to ban and remove all posts automatically at the moment of the ban.)

                            So that is where we are at...I cannot get the app approved by Apple until the above 2 are addressed.

                            Comment

                            • Wayne Luke
                              vBulletin Technical Support Lead
                              • Aug 2000
                              • 73981

                              #15
                              1) What was the error that caused it to crash on the iPad? What version of iOS?

                              2) Ignore User functionality will probably have to be added to the app. This will most likely require an update on the App and in vBulletin Connect.
                              Translations provided by Google.

                              Wayne Luke
                              The Rabid Badger - a vBulletin Cloud demonstration site.
                              vBulletin 5 API

                              Comment

                              widgetinstance 262 (Related Topics) skipped due to lack of content & hide_module_if_empty option.
                              Working...