Feb 17
MongoGeneral Tech, iOS Apps app, iOS, iPad, iPhone, iPod, iTunes, promo codes, redeem
I continue to be amazed at how many people simply have no idea how to use promo codes for iOS apps, even when told it is the same exact way you would redeem an iTunes gift card. Regardless, I’m tired of sending the same instructions over and over again, so will explain how to redeem app promo codes in this post, and hopefully save another developer from having to do the same.
From your iPhone/iPod/iPad:
Step one: Open the app store app
Step 2: Tap featured on the bottom tab bar, and if it isn’t already selected, tap either “New” or “What’s Hot” on the top tool bar. Then scroll to the bottom, and tap “Redeem”.
Step 3: Enter your promo code!
One you have submitted your code, the app will automatically download to your iOS device. The app will usually install to the first available space you have on the device OTHER than the first page. So, if you have an open spot on page 2, then it will be there, if page 2 is full, then it will be on 3, etc etc.
If you entered a code from an iTunes gift card instead of a promo code from a developer, then the sum of that giftcard will be applied to your iTunes account, which you can then use to buy some cool apps.
From iTunes
If you happen to be at your computer with promo code (or iTunes gift card) in hand, you can also enter it in iTunes.
Step 1: Open iTunes, and click “Store”
Step 2: Find the “Quick Links” section on the right hand side of the iTunes app, and click “Redeem”
Step 3: Enter you code, and click Redeem
This will start downloading the app if it was a promo code, or apply the cash value to your iTunes account if it was a gift card. The only drawback about doing it this way for promo codes, is that you have to sync your device with iTunes before it will be installed on your device, which kinda sucks. The easiest way by far for promo codes is to enter the code on your device.
Dec 16
MongoiPhone, Software Development app, free, iOS, iPhone, tool, udid, utility
If you ever want to work with an iOS developer in order to beta test their application, the first thing they will most likely ask for is the UDID of your device. The UDID is a unique id that is on every iOS device. Developers needs this ID in order to provision your device for a special “pre-release” ad-hoc build. Getting the UDID of the device is not hard, but the typical way of getting it involves plugging your device into your computer, launching iTunes, etc etc. Luckily, there are a ton of apps in the app store that are both free and can grab that ID for you. I’ve looked at a number of them, and most either contain ads (really? for a one time use app?), or have other features you don’t need or care about. After all, I just want the damn UDID to send to the developer after all.
After doing some searching and testing a number of apps, I ran across an app (appropriately named “UDID Tool“) that met all my requirements:
- Straight and to the point, show’s me the UDID immediately, no having to tap another button to get it
- Can send an email with the UDID from the app OR copy to the clipboard
- Clean interface, not something I’d be hesitant or embarrassed to send to a client.
- Designed to run on the iPhone, iPod, and the iPad
While true, an iPhone app can run on the iPad, it sure is nice to have an app that is already designed for the iPad and not look like crap when blown up to 2x. The other big thing for me was to have an app free of branding, spam, ads, etc that I could send to potential beta testers or clients, and this app fits the bill. It’s clean, looks like a tool, and does exactly what it advertises, and is free.
If you are in need of a tool to send to beta testers, or are a beta tester that needs a quick way of finding your UDID to send to the developer, this is the tool for you.
You can download UDID Tool from Apple’s app store by clicking this link: http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/udid-tool/id377602501?mt=8
Nov 04
Mongocertificates, iPhone, Mac, Software Development certificates, chrome, errors, iPhone, safari
Part of the process of setting up iOS apps for push notifications involves signing and submitting certificate signing requests in Apple’s iOS Provisioning Portal. Typically, if you can read and follow directions, this is not too big of a deal. However, if you do end up getting the dreaded “The Certificate file is invalid. Please check the file and try again.” error, then the cause may just have nothing to do with you, and everything to do with your browser.
I have run into this a couple of times now, and both times it was because I was using Google’s Chrome browser. For whatever reason, Chrome can’t seem to play nicely with the iOS provisioning portal and screws up the upload. If you switch over to Safari, you should have no problems submitting the certificate signing request. If you are still getting an error, then the problem is some where else.
If you get this screen and are using Chrome:
Switch to Safari and you should get this:
Moral of the story:
Jul 27
MongoMac, Software Development debugging, interface builder, iPhone, xcode
If you have ever come across the following error, it can be pretty frustrating if you don’t know where to look:
*** Terminating app due to uncaught exception ‘NSUnknownKeyException’, reason: ‘[<SomeViewController 0x13e190> setValue:forUndefinedKey:]: this class is not key value coding-compliant for the key someObjectView.’
Nearly every time I’ve seen this so far, it has been because I had removed a view (UIButton, UILabel, etc) and had forgotten to remove the connection in Interface Builder. So, if you are seeing this error and your code looks fine, remember to check IB!
Jul 16
MongoMac, Software Development Mac, OSX, SVN
I recently needed to remove the SVN references from a project where the repository was no longer available. The trouble is that the .svn directories are hidden. Even if they were not, you would still have to find them all and delete them, which sucks. Below is a quick command you can run in terminal to recursively remove the .svn directories. You first need to navigate to the folder you want to remove them from, otherwise badness will occur!
It is a good idea to run this first, it will show you what will be deleted:
find . -type d -name .svn -depth
Then run this to delete the .svn directories
find . -type d -name .svn -depth -exec rm -rf {} “;”
Be sure to have the semi-colon at the end in quotes, otherwise terminal may “eat” it and the script won’t run. At least that was the case on my system :p
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