Setting up xcode configuration/scheme for beta distribution

Question

I'm trying to create a way to be able to distribute a beta version of my app via Testflight without overwriting the production version. I'd like to be able to know in the code whether it's a beta build or a production build (i.e. somehow define #if BETA_VERSION, similar to the global DEBUG variable), and I'd like to be able to differentiate it with a separate app icon on the springboard, as well as a different app name (i.e. MyApp Beta or similar).

I set up a beta configuration by duplicating my release configuration, and I already have a provisioning profile for AdHoc builds (I've been distributing via Testflight for the last six months or so). I know that to change the app name I need to change the bundle display name property in the project's plist file, but I'm not really sure how to make a separate "profile" to hold all of these changes.

I've tried reading through this article, but I couldn't get it to work and I inadvertently messed up all my provisioning profiles when going through the instructions.

I've been struggling with this for a few weeks now. The details of this process are pretty opaque, so any detailed instructions or pointers are particularly appreciated.

Thank you in advance!

PS it probably doesn't help that I'm really confused about the relationship between targets, schemes, and configurations in Xcode.

Answer 1

I use three configurations in my project: Release, Beta and Debug, where Beta is a duplicate of Release. In each of the three configurations, I'm including the following in my target's build settings:

GCC_PREPROCESSOR_DEFINITIONS = $(inherited) CONFIGURATION_$(CONFIGURATION)

What this will do is define a separate preprocessor macro for each configuration. In your code, you can then do the following:

#if defined(CONFIGURATION_Beta)
    // Something that should only happen in Beta builds
#endif

You can define additional build settings per-configuration in the “User-Defined” category (at the bottom of the build settings in Xcode), and then reference them in your Info.plist file. For example, you could define a custom BUNDLE_ID build setting that's different for Release, Beta and Debug builds, and then set the value of CFBundleIdentifier in your Info.plist file to ${BUNDLE_ID}, which would allow you to install Release, Beta and Debug builds side by side on your device.

Update:

If you want to see a good example of how to set all of this up, check out the project configuration in Cheddar for iOS.