Home > Articles > Home & Office Computing > Entertainment/Gaming/Gadgets

This chapter is from the book

Using the iOS Provisioning Portal

As you already know, the iOS Provisioning Portal is used to request and download developer certificates, register devices, create App IDs, and to create and download provisioning profiles. You have already gone through the steps for requesting and downloading the developer certificate, so I will skip that section of the portal here. The rest of this chapter, however, will focus on the other areas of the provisioning portal.

Adding a Device ID

You can add a device ID individually or you can upload a batch of device IDs in a .deviceids file generated by the iOS Configuration Utility. The iOS Configuration Utility is available to enterprise members only so I will not cover it here. I will, instead, step you through adding an individual device ID.

Start by signing into the iOS Provisioning Portal web site (http://developer.apple.com/ios/manage/overview/index.action) then click Devices in the left side menu bar. Click the Add Devices button found on the right side of the Devices web page. Enter a device name followed by the 40-character device ID, as seen in Figure 6.12. I tend to be descriptive with the device name, adding the device owner’s name and device type, e.g., Kirby Turner’s iPad2. Click the plus sign (+) button to enter another device. When you have entered all the devices, click the Submit button. That’s it. That device IDs are now registered.

Figure 12 (Click to Enlarge) Add Devices page in the iOS Provisioning Portal.

You can edit the name of a registered device, but you cannot change the device ID. If a device ID is no longer valid – for example, you no longer own the device – you can remove the device from the list by marking the check box next to the device name then clicking the Remove Selected button at the bottom of the registered device list.

Adding an App ID

Adding an App ID is almost as easy as registering a device ID. Once again, sign into the iOS Provisioning Portal. Click the App IDs menu item in the left side menu bar then click the New App ID button found on the right side of the page, shown in Figure 6.15. This takes you to the Create App ID page.

Figure 15 (Click to Enlarge) Click the New App button found on App IDs page in the iOS Provisioning Portal.

On the Create App ID page, seen in Figure 6.16, you enter the description for the App ID. Use a name or description for the App ID that makes sense to you. For instance, you might use the name of your application when creating an explicit App ID. The description you enter is used throughout the portal so enter a name or description that will help you identify the App ID.

Next, set the Bundle Seed ID, aka the App ID prefix. You can have the portal generate a new seed for you or you can select from a seed that you previously generated. If you plan to share Keychain data access between multiple applications then you need to use the same Bundle Seed ID for each application’s App ID.

Lastly, enter the Bundle Identifier, aka the App ID suffix. Remember to use the reverse-domain name naming convention. Include an asterisk (*) as the last character if you wish to create a wildcard App ID.

Click the Submit button to save the App ID. Clicking the button returns you to the App IDs page. Scroll down the page to see the newly created App ID in the list of App IDs.

Figure 16 (Click to Enlarge) The Create App ID page.

In the list of App IDs, you can choose from two actions, Details and Configure. The Details action is only available for wildcard App IDs. Click the action to see the details of the wildcard App ID.

The Configure action is only available for explicit App IDs. Click the action to configure the App ID for Push Notification. You do not need to configure the explicit App ID for In App Purchase and Game Center services as these services are enabled by default for explicit App IDs.

Creating a Development Provisioning Profile

The development provisioning profile brings you the developer, your device, and your App ID together so you can run and test your application on your iPad. To create a new development provisioning profile, login into the iOS Provisioning Portal and click Provisioning link found in left side menu bar. Click the Development tab at the top of provisioning screen then click the New Profile button. This will take you to the Create iOS Development Provisioning Profile page, seen in Figure 6.17.

Figure 17 (Click to Enlarge) Create iOS Development Provisioning Profile page.

Enter a name for the provisioning profile. I like to use descriptive names, for example, My App Dev Profile.

Select the development certificates that will be associated to the provisioning profile. This identifies the development certificates used to code sign the application for development. You should select the developer certificate for each team member that will be using the development provisioning profile.

Select the App ID for the profile. Each profile can have only one App ID. You can use a wildcard App ID if you wish to use the same development provisioning profile for more than one application.

Finally, select the devices that the developers can use for running and testing the application on a device. Then click the Submit button to generate the development provisioning profile.

Downloading a Development Provisioning Profile

Once a development provisioning profile has been generated, team members can download and install the profile. To download the development provisioning profile, log into the iOS Provisioning Profile, click the Provisioning menu item, then click the Development tab on the Provisioning page. You will see a list of development provisioning profiles, as seen in Figure 6.18. Click the Download button for the profile you wish to install.

Figure 18 (Click to Enlarge) List of development provisioning profiles.

Now you are ready to install the provisioning profile.

Installing a Development Provisioning Profile

There are a few ways to install a development provisioning profile. You can copy the profile file to ‘~/Library/MobileDevice/Provisioning Profile’, but the most common way is to use the Organizer windows in Xcode. This will make sure the profile is stored in the proper directory, and it will create the directory if it does not already exist.

To install using Organizer, launch Xcode and open the Organizer window (Shift-⌘-2). Select a device to install the provisioning profile on then click the + button to select the .mobileprovision file you downloaded from the iOS Provisioning Portal. Alternatively, you can drag and drop the .mobileprovision file onto Provisioning list in the Organizer window, see Figure 6.19.

Figure 19 (Click to Enlarge) Click the + button or drag and drop the .mobileprovision file to add the development provisioning profile.

Another way to install a development provisioning profile is to drag and drop the file onto the iTunes icon in the dock. Note, however, this will fail if the provisioning profile directory does not exist.

I prefer copying the .mobileprovision file directly to the ‘~/Library/MobileDevice/Provisioning Profile’ directory. To make it easier, I added a shortcut to Finder for the directory. When I need to install a new provisioning profile, I simply drag and drop the downloaded file onto this shortcut, see Figure 6.20.

Figure 20 (Click to Enlarge) Finder window with a shortcut folder to the provisioning profile directory.

That’s it for installing a development provisioning profile.

InformIT Promotional Mailings & Special Offers

I would like to receive exclusive offers and hear about products from InformIT and its family of brands. I can unsubscribe at any time.

Overview


Pearson Education, Inc., 221 River Street, Hoboken, New Jersey 07030, (Pearson) presents this site to provide information about products and services that can be purchased through this site.

This privacy notice provides an overview of our commitment to privacy and describes how we collect, protect, use and share personal information collected through this site. Please note that other Pearson websites and online products and services have their own separate privacy policies.

Collection and Use of Information


To conduct business and deliver products and services, Pearson collects and uses personal information in several ways in connection with this site, including:

Questions and Inquiries

For inquiries and questions, we collect the inquiry or question, together with name, contact details (email address, phone number and mailing address) and any other additional information voluntarily submitted to us through a Contact Us form or an email. We use this information to address the inquiry and respond to the question.

Online Store

For orders and purchases placed through our online store on this site, we collect order details, name, institution name and address (if applicable), email address, phone number, shipping and billing addresses, credit/debit card information, shipping options and any instructions. We use this information to complete transactions, fulfill orders, communicate with individuals placing orders or visiting the online store, and for related purposes.

Surveys

Pearson may offer opportunities to provide feedback or participate in surveys, including surveys evaluating Pearson products, services or sites. Participation is voluntary. Pearson collects information requested in the survey questions and uses the information to evaluate, support, maintain and improve products, services or sites, develop new products and services, conduct educational research and for other purposes specified in the survey.

Contests and Drawings

Occasionally, we may sponsor a contest or drawing. Participation is optional. Pearson collects name, contact information and other information specified on the entry form for the contest or drawing to conduct the contest or drawing. Pearson may collect additional personal information from the winners of a contest or drawing in order to award the prize and for tax reporting purposes, as required by law.

Newsletters

If you have elected to receive email newsletters or promotional mailings and special offers but want to unsubscribe, simply email information@informit.com.

Service Announcements

On rare occasions it is necessary to send out a strictly service related announcement. For instance, if our service is temporarily suspended for maintenance we might send users an email. Generally, users may not opt-out of these communications, though they can deactivate their account information. However, these communications are not promotional in nature.

Customer Service

We communicate with users on a regular basis to provide requested services and in regard to issues relating to their account we reply via email or phone in accordance with the users' wishes when a user submits their information through our Contact Us form.

Other Collection and Use of Information


Application and System Logs

Pearson automatically collects log data to help ensure the delivery, availability and security of this site. Log data may include technical information about how a user or visitor connected to this site, such as browser type, type of computer/device, operating system, internet service provider and IP address. We use this information for support purposes and to monitor the health of the site, identify problems, improve service, detect unauthorized access and fraudulent activity, prevent and respond to security incidents and appropriately scale computing resources.

Web Analytics

Pearson may use third party web trend analytical services, including Google Analytics, to collect visitor information, such as IP addresses, browser types, referring pages, pages visited and time spent on a particular site. While these analytical services collect and report information on an anonymous basis, they may use cookies to gather web trend information. The information gathered may enable Pearson (but not the third party web trend services) to link information with application and system log data. Pearson uses this information for system administration and to identify problems, improve service, detect unauthorized access and fraudulent activity, prevent and respond to security incidents, appropriately scale computing resources and otherwise support and deliver this site and its services.

Cookies and Related Technologies

This site uses cookies and similar technologies to personalize content, measure traffic patterns, control security, track use and access of information on this site, and provide interest-based messages and advertising. Users can manage and block the use of cookies through their browser. Disabling or blocking certain cookies may limit the functionality of this site.

Do Not Track

This site currently does not respond to Do Not Track signals.

Security


Pearson uses appropriate physical, administrative and technical security measures to protect personal information from unauthorized access, use and disclosure.

Children


This site is not directed to children under the age of 13.

Marketing


Pearson may send or direct marketing communications to users, provided that

  • Pearson will not use personal information collected or processed as a K-12 school service provider for the purpose of directed or targeted advertising.
  • Such marketing is consistent with applicable law and Pearson's legal obligations.
  • Pearson will not knowingly direct or send marketing communications to an individual who has expressed a preference not to receive marketing.
  • Where required by applicable law, express or implied consent to marketing exists and has not been withdrawn.

Pearson may provide personal information to a third party service provider on a restricted basis to provide marketing solely on behalf of Pearson or an affiliate or customer for whom Pearson is a service provider. Marketing preferences may be changed at any time.

Correcting/Updating Personal Information


If a user's personally identifiable information changes (such as your postal address or email address), we provide a way to correct or update that user's personal data provided to us. This can be done on the Account page. If a user no longer desires our service and desires to delete his or her account, please contact us at customer-service@informit.com and we will process the deletion of a user's account.

Choice/Opt-out


Users can always make an informed choice as to whether they should proceed with certain services offered by InformIT. If you choose to remove yourself from our mailing list(s) simply visit the following page and uncheck any communication you no longer want to receive: www.informit.com/u.aspx.

Sale of Personal Information


Pearson does not rent or sell personal information in exchange for any payment of money.

While Pearson does not sell personal information, as defined in Nevada law, Nevada residents may email a request for no sale of their personal information to NevadaDesignatedRequest@pearson.com.

Supplemental Privacy Statement for California Residents


California residents should read our Supplemental privacy statement for California residents in conjunction with this Privacy Notice. The Supplemental privacy statement for California residents explains Pearson's commitment to comply with California law and applies to personal information of California residents collected in connection with this site and the Services.

Sharing and Disclosure


Pearson may disclose personal information, as follows:

  • As required by law.
  • With the consent of the individual (or their parent, if the individual is a minor)
  • In response to a subpoena, court order or legal process, to the extent permitted or required by law
  • To protect the security and safety of individuals, data, assets and systems, consistent with applicable law
  • In connection the sale, joint venture or other transfer of some or all of its company or assets, subject to the provisions of this Privacy Notice
  • To investigate or address actual or suspected fraud or other illegal activities
  • To exercise its legal rights, including enforcement of the Terms of Use for this site or another contract
  • To affiliated Pearson companies and other companies and organizations who perform work for Pearson and are obligated to protect the privacy of personal information consistent with this Privacy Notice
  • To a school, organization, company or government agency, where Pearson collects or processes the personal information in a school setting or on behalf of such organization, company or government agency.

Links


This web site contains links to other sites. Please be aware that we are not responsible for the privacy practices of such other sites. We encourage our users to be aware when they leave our site and to read the privacy statements of each and every web site that collects Personal Information. This privacy statement applies solely to information collected by this web site.

Requests and Contact


Please contact us about this Privacy Notice or if you have any requests or questions relating to the privacy of your personal information.

Changes to this Privacy Notice


We may revise this Privacy Notice through an updated posting. We will identify the effective date of the revision in the posting. Often, updates are made to provide greater clarity or to comply with changes in regulatory requirements. If the updates involve material changes to the collection, protection, use or disclosure of Personal Information, Pearson will provide notice of the change through a conspicuous notice on this site or other appropriate way. Continued use of the site after the effective date of a posted revision evidences acceptance. Please contact us if you have questions or concerns about the Privacy Notice or any objection to any revisions.

Last Update: November 17, 2020