I am trying to make a launch screen that is very similar to the first screen on the app. However, I notice that the iOS 5 & 6 navigation bar "textures" are slightly different.
Is there a way to perhaps show different launch images based on version, or indeed another way around this?
Answer is 'no'.
Ideally you should be able to set 'UILaunchImageFile' key value in info.plist. But since there is no such predefined key to get the current os version of the device, you will not be able to specify any dynamic file name.
Related
I have been stymied figuring out how to release an application from Xcode5 that supports IOS7 AND IOS 6+ in the same build, with assets (icons and splash screens) that load correctly for both, AND still render the assets for IOS 6 correctly. The major hangup I had was trying to make IOS 6 still render the icons without shading or highlighting since the "prerendered" option is no longer even available in Xcode 5's GUI. Any ideas how to get all of the content and the icon to render correctly AND support multiple OS versions?
Andrew
Apple has clear guidelines on requirements for IOS 7 apps but even then, I ran into errors making a single app support multiple OS versions. After getting it to work, I thought I would point out a few areas that were hangups for me to aid others in the future.
I first updated the whole of my app to support IOS 7 cleanly and then went back and enabled previous versions but that process is not necessary.
Just ensure you first set the correct deploy target
Once you set the deployment target, Xcode5 nicely changes the list of default assets it requires to support the multiple OS versions. Ensure you reupload the correct versions of icons at the required resolutions and required filenames (shown below for IOS6-IOS7 support)
Do the same for the launch images, note that you will have to rename your launch images to new names, Xcode tries doing this for you if you let it. Note the new sizes below, as IOS7 expands the launch image background behind the status bar.
Finally, manually add the two .plist flags below and you should be set to have your icons render across IOS versions consistently, with no gloss (explanation follows)
IOS7 in its new flatness removes the postprocessing the previous versions did where they added a highlight and gloss effect to icons. That effect is no longer done for IOS 7 apps but if you load an app from Xcode5 on IOS 6, it will reapply the default gloss effect. This is infuriating because there no longer is a "prerendered" GUI flag in Xcode to disable that postprocessing. As mentioned above, you need to add the flag manually to your application's plist. In my case, I had to add the flag in two locations to force IOS 6 to stop applying the effect. You can access the plist by either opening the file directly or navigating to the settings in your project overview. You may need to uninstall the app from your simulator and then rebuild the app to force simulator to lose its cache of the old icon.
If you setup the asset catalogue you can open it select the image and then go to the inspector and tick this box
Just use "asset catalog" (you can select that from general on your target).
That would create an images.xcassets on your project there you can easily drag your icon designs for pre iOS 7 and for iOS 7.
UPDATE:
So after the formal release of iOS 7 I can now write this:
On the asset catalog itself select the Appicon set that you want to set as pre-rendered then go to Attribute Inspector and just mark "iOS icon is pre-rendered". you can also set there of course which OS and devices you want to support (it would create all options so you can just drag& drop to set).
Important thing to note is that for some reason if you use several targets and several sets inside this catalog you must add the Target Membership manually. To do this just mark the "asset catalog" file, go to file inspector and mark all targets where you want to use it. I think Apple should do that automatically when you select the "asset catalog" from the target settings but till then I decided to mention that here (took me an hour to figure this out).
I went through this recently. Seems by default it only shows the following.
Easy fix is add a new AppIcon
To give you all these options.
My experience with this:
When creating a new empty app, it will create a "default" app icons / launch images asset catalog that is incomplete as stated by #Smick.
The annoying part of this new "catalog" is that it doesn't show the image sizes.
To work around the issue, select the project on the project navigator, and on the "General" you will notice 2 areas - App Icons and Launch Images. Those will point to an asset catalog. You can change it to "don't use asset catalog." After that, the interface will change to a list of files / dimensions.
However there are several issues with this interface:
It should only ask for the retina versions of the images (and compute the normal, or have two links, one for normal and another for retina).
Several images (the launch ones) need to be renamed for them to work (the system does this for you).
Two images are not assignable due to errors (iPad Portrait iOS 7, and iPad Landscape iOS 7, both in normal resolution) - you can specify an image for them, but the image will not stay on and will become de-selected when you insert the next image.
The image dimensions specified are slightly different from the ones stated on the HIG manuals.
I've a strong dislike of the "new" notation of images with points (as they are device dependent and so not exact).
If you don't want to see iOS 6 reapply the "highlight / lighting" on the icons, you need to add a key on the app plist (project manager | project | info. There, you can add a key "Icon already includes gloss effects". You may need to add it also on iOS 5 icons if required.
For Xcode 6
For LaunchImage you must make sure you check iOS 6.0 and Prior
iPhone (Portrait ) or iPad // depend on your project configuration
Sizes
Default.png (320x480)
Default#2x.png (640x960)
Default-568h#2x.png (640x1136)
The same to AppIcon
When trying to upload a binary to App Store, I get the following response in an email:
"iPhone 5 Optimization Requirement - Your binary is not optimized for iPhone 5. As of May 1, all new iPhone apps and app updates submitted must support the 4-inch display on iPhone 5. All apps must include a launch image of the appropriate size. Learn more about iPhone 5 support by reviewing the iOS Human Interface Guidelines."
Also, the status of the app is "Illegal binary".
I've read that I must include a launch image called "Default-568h#2x.png". Question is: My app was not intending to have a launch image at all. Am I really required to have a launch image now?
Yes you must include one. Not only does the launch image give the hint to the OS about the app's iPhone 5 (4" screen) support, but launch images in general are required:
From Apple's Interface Guidelines
To enhance the user’s experience at app launch, you must provide at least one launch image. A launch image looks very similar to the first screen your app displays. iOS displays this image instantly when the user starts your app and until the app is fully ready to use. As soon as your app is ready for use, your app displays its first screen, replacing the launch placeholder image.
Furthermore:
Generally, design a launch image that is identical to the first screen of the app.
So really, making a launch image that is about the same as the first screen of your app (e.g. if the first screen is a UITableViewController with a toolbar and navigation bar, perhaps the screen looks like an empty navigation bar, an empty toolbar, and an empty table view, which then suddenly all become populated as soon as your app really gets going), is the way to go for the best user experience.
If really you don't want or need this, then make the default images just be black.
Yes, as stated, as of May 1, 2013, all new apps and app updates must provide support for the new iPhone 5 4-inch display.
The way to indicate that your app supports (has been tested with) the new iPhone 5 resolution is to simply include the launch image for that device.
You can simply create a black .png image (which is what your other default launch images are anyway) that is 640 x 1136 pixels and use that as the launch image for that device.
Simply including the new splash screen image (Default-568h#2x.png) is not enough
You must re-build your project with the iOS 6.0 SDK (or newer) - which supports iPhone 5
So if you're still using an older SDK, update your XCode in the App Store first
Yes. from 1st May, you can't upload application with out including Default-568h#2x.png in your application.
It is my understanding (i have seen it) that some apps can be opened and viewed in an iPad. Although, the iPad keeps the screen small, or pixelated if doubled the screen size.
I am attempting to do the same thing with my app, however when I attempt to run it on an iPad it crashes with the error
'Could not find a storyboard named 'MainStoryboard_iPad'
This is obvious, as I do no have a storyboard for the iPad, but currently I don't want one. I just want the iPad to run the app as an iPhone app in a smaller version. So my question is, how do I stop it from looking for the iPad storyboard? Its my understanding I must adjust something in the plist.info but I don't know how to access that in xcode. its my understanding you select the project in the navigator then select 'info' but I don't see any information that people say should be in the plist.info.
Thanks
You seem to have made your application universal. You want to set your "devices" to iPhone. This can be done on the target summary page (No need to interact with your .plist directly).
Only target iPhone platform, and do not call any iPad interface objects in your code. You should look in your Main xib file to make sure there are no references to an iPad interface object.
iPhone only apps should natively run in double-pixel mode. In order to resolve the pixelated / grainy issue you see, use #2x (for iPhone) size images. This will reduce the pixelation you see, but will still contain some.
Ok, I found the final issue. After editing the summary to 'iPhone' I also had to go into the Info tab and change the line that says
'Main storyboard file base name (iPad) to MainStoryboard_iPhone. It was currently set to MainStoryboard_iPad. That second step fixed the issue.
Thanks guys!
my iOS application has the option to change the background image, there are 3 different background patterns available, and the user can select any of them.
The problem is the launch image, reading the iOS HIG it is supposed to be an image similar to the GUI (first 'window') of the application. Is it possible to load a different image depending on a user prefference (the background pattern selected)?
Thanks!
It is not possible to do so - you can only have one default.png, and you can't alter it programmatically before the app starts. I'd recommend simply creating a splash screen different from the app's background. Note that the iOS HIG is a Guideline not a requirement.
It is not possible. Default.png needs to be set when you compile.
You cannot change the Launch Image during app launch (or anytime during App execution). The way to handle this (realizing that you might be violating the HIG) is to present your own image directly after applicationDidFinishLaunchingWithOptions, and leave the Launch Image as either an intermediate image or blank.
I'm a bit confused on whether it is necessary to provide a plist setting for Icon file. Some references say just to set the default one (Icon.png). Others show to use every file you include in the bundle. Still others say it's not recommended to specify all of them. The technical Q&A article at: http://developer.apple.com/library/ios/#qa/qa1686/_index.html would indicate you need to provide plist settings for every icon though its just not clear whether that is how most do it.
What's the real deal here?
I think that you can either specify the single icon for your app, or use the array to specify each type of icon. It really depends on the app you're creating.
If your app is iPhone only, then you can probably get away with specifying the single icon (I believe if you have a Settings bundle as well, iOS will automatically scale your icon down, unless you specify the smaller settings icon as well).
However, if you are creating a Universal app then you should specify multiple icons - the iPhone and iPad sizes at a minimum.