Publish > Packaging Mac and Windows apps

Packaging Mac and Windows apps

Umajin Editor now supports producing Windows or Mac standalone apps, in addition to the Android and iOS packaging process.

 

Starting the packaging process

To begin, use Umajin Editor’s menu: File – Publish… and select Publish to App Stores.

 

Packaging Output

Umajin will perform a basic packaging of your application into a zip file. You may choose to wrap the contents up into a suitable branded installer.

Mac

The zip file contains a functional .app folder, which you can drag to the Mac Applications folder, or run in place. The app is signed and notarized as required by Apple.  The files in the .app cannot be changed as this will break the code signing and notarization, and will prevent the app from running.

Windows

The zip contains the executable, various supporting DLLs, any native DLLs you have added, and the files from your project. These files can be changed after building if required.

Icons

For desktop apps the icon used for the application is simply a file your add to your project.

For Mac:

manifest/osx/application.icns

For Windows:

manifest/win/application.ico

Splash Screen

Similarly, the splash screen for desktop apps is defined by:

Mac:

manifest/osx/splash.png or splash.jpg

Windows:

manifest/osx/splash.png or splash.jpg

Native libraries

If you have integrated native libraries into your app then they should be placed in:

Mac – .dylib files only

manifest/osx/bin/

Windows – .dll files

manifest/win/bin/

 

Mac publishing requirements

In recent years, Apple has made it difficult to distribute software for Mac without “notarizing” it. Without notarization, Mac will refuse to run software by default.

This is a process similar to code-signing for other platforms.

Notarization is done by the Umajin publishing system, but requires input and actions from the developer.

  • Create an Apple developer account
    • This requires payment and a registered DUNS number
  • Create an App ID (bundle ID like com.umajin.umajineditor)
  • Create an app-specific password
  • Put the Apple Team ID, app ID, app-specific password and Apple account email into our publishing system

Windows publishing requirements

For average users, Windows software should be signed with an Authenticode Code Signing certificate. You can buy these from many certificate vendors.

Presently, Umajin does not require or support any publishing parameters for Windows.

We suggest that you build a custom installer that re-signs the EXE file with your code signing certificate (typically a PFX file).