Once your app design has been setup and content has been added to the Twixl platform, you are ready to build your app and upload it to the stores. This Getting Started article will guide you through the different steps to distribute your app.
Distributing apps on Apple's App Store and Google Play Store is a bit different as both stores have different requirements.
- For the App Store: make sure you have an Apple Developer Account and your signing certificates.
- For the Play Store: make sure you register for Google Play App Signing.
To build apps with an Apple Silicon Mac, first register your device on the Apple Developer Portal.
The Twixl building process is handled via 2 different Twixl components:
- The Twixl platform
- The Twixl Publisher macOS application
The Twixl platform
In the Twixl platform, you will need to create a Build Setting where you will define your app icon, launch image; enter your bundle ID(s), Apple Team ID and other settings (e.g. if you want to use Push Notifications, Google Analytics...).
Check Twixl platform > Menu > Build > Build Settings
The Twixl macOS App
Once you have defined a build setting on the Twixl platform, you can create builds via the Twixl Publisher macOS Application. A folder will be created on your Mac with 2 subfolders (iOS and/or Android, depending on your selection) containing the builds to upload to the Stores.
The macOS App also allows you to preview and share InDesign content on your device or in a simulator.
You can only build Twixl apps on a Mac as creating iOS builds requires the use of Xcode, Apple's Integrated Development Environment. You'll need to sure you have Xcode installed and set up on your computer (but don't worry, you don't need to be a programmer).