Run App Store and Ad-Hoc builds side by side

Question

I want my testers to be able to have App Store and Ad-Hoc versions of my app on the same device. The app requires an explicit App ID, which in turn means that the Bundle ID must be fixed, too. (I.e., if I just append "-test" to it, signing will not work.) Am I right to assume that I must create a separate App ID (say, "com.mycompany.myapp-test") to achieve this? Or is there another way?

When archiving the app, Xcode initially uses the App Store provisioning profile, as that's what the "Distribution" build configuration is set to. When I click "Distribute…" in the organizer and select "Save for Enterprise or Ad-Hoc deployment", I am subsequently asked to select a code signing identity. Will selecting the Ad-Hoc profile's identity here erase the previously applied distribution profile from the archive and re-sign it with the Ad-Hoc profile? Or do I have to select the correct profile when creating the archive already, thus keeping separate archives for App Store and Ad-Hoc distribution?

Answer 1

The Bundle ID of an application identify it uniquely. Only one application with a given BundleID can be installed on the same iPhone, as two applications with the same BundleID are considered to be the same applications (and the one with the most recent version will replace the older one).

So yes, to have both the AppStore and AdHoc version of the same application on the same device, each variation of your application (AppStore and AdHoc) much have its own Bundle ID.

Answer 2

Am I right to assume that I must create a separate App ID (say, "com.mycompany.myapp-test") to achieve this?

Yes

Answer 3

You can use a Wildcard instead "com.mycompany.*" then you can use com.mycompany.whatEverYouWant

Thats nice for debugging various versions but In-App Purchase, Game Center and Push Notification are unavailable for Wildcards.

Answer 4

To answer the second part of my question: If I don't resign the archive during the exporting process, (even if it has already been signed with the Ad-Hoc distribution profile), iOS refuses to install the app (saying something like "Error: The app cannot be installed at the moment."). It does, however, install the embedded Ad-Hoc distribution profile!?