[How To] Publish the app created with App Inventor in the Android Market

[ciso]

Publish the app created with App Inventor in the Android Market

We succeded and the guide should be final.

What I'm about to describe is created to overcome the impossibility of publishing apps created with App Inventor in the Android Market

What you need:

• 1.6 Java Development Kit and Runtime Environment 1.6 already installed on your PC
• Android SDK already installed and running
• Appinventor Extras
• APKTool
• Auto-Sign 6.5
• .... A lot of Patience

1) Creating the key

This procedure is a one-off and we don't need to do those steps every time.

So, thanks to the JAVA SDK we will create a private key, which will be used for publishing our applications

From the Bin folder of the Java SDK we'll execute in a terminal:

keytool.exe -genkey -v -keystore my-release-key.keystore -alias aliasname -keyalg RSA -keysize 2048 -validity 10000

The Market requires that applications need to publish the private key has a duration subsequent to October 22, 2033, so we'll use a validity of 10000 days (over 27 years!).

2) Customize the Icon of the application

Download the APK file on a local folder on your computer.

We'll use AutoSigner for those steps: (thanks to Marcor Online info@marcoronline.tk for this part).
Open the apk file with 7zip.
Delete META-INF folder (which is the folder where the application contains the certificates, no longer valid after the change).
The images are generally stored in the folder res\drawable, and in particular the icon of the program is called ya.png. Extract all the images you want with your favorite software (we use 7zip).
Be careful not to change the size in pixels and not to change the name and extension.
Once you have completed the changes you go to put the files again into the apk (using 7zip) by simply dragging and overwriting the original.
Close 7zip and rename your program Launcher.apk.
Extract the contents of the Auto-Sign v0.65.exe and copy the Launcher.apk file inside the folder Auto-Sign\update\app.
Run the tool by the Auto-Sign v0.65.exe executable and iselect from the drop down menù Launcher.apk. (The name should been green. If not, you've made something wrong.)
Now click on Autosign and in a few seconds you'll get a confirmation message.
Inside the folder Auto-Sign\update\app will be a Launcher_signed.apk. You can delete the old file and keep only the signed one.

3) Edit the APK to be compatible with the Market

Decompile our apk

apktool -s pre-nomeapk.apk

in the just created folder called pre-nomeapk, go editing the AndroidManifest.xml file.

First we add the version of the application by adding the keyword "android: versionCode" and "android: versionName" in the keyword "package", just like this example:

<? xml version = "1.0" encoding = "UTF-8"?>
<manifest xmlns: android = "http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android"
package = "appinventor.xyz.xyz"
android:versionCode = "1"
android:versionName = "1.0">

Specify the minimum version of Android is needed to run the application. Beware that the Market has a bug at the moment, and does not support applications compiled for Froyo android 2.2. Consider the following table:

API Level -> Android Platform Version
1 -> 1.0
2 -> 1.1
3 -> 1.5
4 -> 1.6
5 -> 2.0
6 -> 2.0.1
7 -> 2.1
8 -> 2.2

If your application needs Eclair we enter the following keyword:

<uses-sdk android:minSdkVersion="7" />

Finally fix the last things needed to make compatible the apk to the Market

Remove the android:icon keyworld on this line:

<activity android:label="123" android:icon="@drawable/ya" android:name=".Screen1">

and add it in this line:

<application android:label="XXXXX" android:debuggable="true">

Also on the line relative to the "application", remove the key "android_: debuggable"

In the end the AndroidManifest.xml will result like this:

<? xml version = "1.0" encoding = "UTF-8"?>
<manifest xmlns: android = "http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android"
package = "appinventor.xyz.xyz"
android:versionCode = "1"
android:versionName = "1.0">
<uses-sdk android:minSdkVersion="3" />
......
<application android:label="XXXX" android:icon="@drawable/ya">
<activity android:label="123" android:name=".Screen1">
....
</activity>
</application>
</manifest>

Now compile the apk again:

apktool b pre-nomeapk

With 7zip open the apk and remove the file in the META-INF folder like:

ANDROIDK.SF
ANDROIDK.RSA

[ciso]

4) Sign the app and optimize it

From the bin folder of JDK execute in a terminal:

jarsigner.exe -verbose -keystore my-release-pre-key.keystore apkname.apk aliasname

You will be prompted to enter your private key password and once entered, the application will be signed with our private key.
We could verify that the signature is successful with the command

jarsigner.exe -verify -verbose -certs pre-nomeapk.apk

Let's move to Android SDK folder and execute the command

zipalign -v 4 pre-nomeapk.apk name.apk

5) Publish

The app named name.apk is ready to be published in the Market


Thanks to:

The staff of Androidworld.it
The Doctor
mitico303
Alessio70
Verix (moderator of Android-dev.it)
Marcor (Marcoronline.tk)

Created on September 29, 2010, by technofab

[Jory_NL]

Hi there,

I'm Jory and I am a member of the Dutch Android forum (Androidworld.nl). I like your tutorial about signing an app for the android market. But at the end of step two I don't get the Launcher-signed.apk in de update/app folder. Do you have any idea what I can do about it? I won't get any error messages. I used winrar instead of 7zip, is that a problem?

Thanks in advance.

[technofab]

Hi Jory... Welcome there

Rar can be the problem use 7zip insteand.. And ....

Please try to skip the autosign procedure, but only change the icon of the program that is called ya.png.
Be careful not to change the size in pixels and not to change the name and extension.

Open the APK with 7zip, and replace the ya.png and skip to step 3.


Waiting your feedback

[zzany]

This seems like a great guide, and I and many others would really love to be able to do this, except you have to think about who is reading this. The people who are using google app inventor are not experienced coders, for example I am a mega-novice. If you could write a more simple, step by step guide, to make this easier, you would help many people and have a TON of people looking at this. For example, the first steo is to add that codice to the bin folder of the JAVA bin folder. How do you do that? open the bin folder, then what? I and many novices are confused... thanks

[iL Dottore]

Hi zzany, pleased to meet u.

From the Bin folder of the Java SDK we'll execute in a terminal:

codice:
keytool.exe -genkey -v -keystore my-release-key.keystore -alias aliasname -keyalg RSA -keysize 2048 -validity 10000

Open up your Microsoft Dos terminal.

How? Start->Execute->Put "cmd.exe" and press Enter

Browse through the folders with the Dos Terminal till the folder named "Bin" in your Java SDK installation folder.

So, insert the string "keytool.exe -genkey -v -keystore my-release-key.keystore -alias aliasname -keyalg RSA -keysize 2048 -validity 10000" without " " and press Enter

It appeared more difficult than reality isn't it?

[zzany]

wow, fast response! thanks, that would be very helpful if i wasn't such a novice. So i navigated to cmd, and from there I want to navigate to the C:\Program Files (x86)\Java\jre6\bin, so I would put in "start C:\Program Files (x86)\Java\jre6\bin" except I get the error that the system cannot find the file C:\Program. I do not think the problem is with the code because I can access a similar location, such as "start C:\Intel\Logs" and it will take me there. Again I apologize, as I have very little idea as to what I am doing. IF you would like to speak to me somewhere than this forum taking up posts, let me know and I can share with you my email or Instant Messenger screename.

[iL Dottore]

I'm sorry I dunno how to browse windows folders correctly cause I left microsoft 3 years ago...

Probably u get those error messages cause the "Program Files (x86)" path has spaces...don't u know somebody that can help you directly on your pc?

[zzany]

yes i'm sure i'll find somebody, thank you. But just keep in mind the target audience. The average person using app inventor is me, a non-programer

[zzany]

sorry for the double post, but my italian isn't good, so I don't know how to edit it. Anyways, I managed to navigate to the bin folder of the Java JDK and executed the first line of code, unfortunately it is asking for a keystore password and when I attempt to type anything it will not allow me. Again I apologize for all of the questions and double post