System preferences panel (install)

Question

I am about to submit my app to Mac App Store. My client wants the settings to reside in "System Preferences" panel. I created the bundle, but I have 3 questions:

1. Is having settings in System Preferences allowed in Mac App Store?
2. How can I install this bundle when the application is first run?
3. Do I send the source code of both the bundle and application to apple?

Thanks.

Answer 1

Unless your application has no GUI of its own and affects the entire system, its preferences should definitely not go into System Preferences. Unlike iOS, Mac apps should contain their own preference-setting interface. The Preference Pane Programming Guide has this to say about System Preferences:

System Preferences is the standard location for presenting system-level preferences. The preference panes shipped with Mac OS X include panes affecting hardware (such as the Sound, Mouse, and Display panes), software integrated into the system (such as the Dock and Screen Saver panes), and behavior applicable to every application (such as the International and General panes).

When your preferences apply to the system or to the user’s environment as a whole, make the preference pane available to System Preferences. This may include panes for the following situations:

• additional input devices such as tablets, multi-function mice, and microphones
• configurable internal hardware such as processor upgrade cards
• light-weight faceless server applications such as a file server
• system-wide utilities such as keyboard macros

Unless your preference pane clearly belongs in System Preferences, use a custom preference application instead.

If you were to put your application's settings into the System Preferences, you would create a Preference Pane, as described in the above-linked guide (it sounds like you may have already done this?). In order to make it easy for your users to install both the app and an item into /Library, you will probably want to use Package Maker, which will create an installer for you.