I know a couple people have asked about it, but has anyone here yet published an app in the Mac App Store that is a script or controls other applications? That is, by themselves useless but require Photoshop or Excel etc? Any feedback you can give? Like what percentage of refunds or number of confused/angry emails?
Or, has anyone simply sold any ASOC apps (standalone) via the App store? Or have you seen one listed?
Thanks, Chris
Unless the App controls something like iTunes or Quicktime Player; things that are built-into the Mac OS, I doubt The Mac App Store will approve the submission. You’d be better off pedaling the custom automation App through your own website.
There are standalone apps on the store (search for John C. Welch) and apps that script iTunes (Doug Adams) and Web browsers (Carlo Gandolfi).
Look at the last entry of this post, this is someone who has an app on the store already:
http://macscripter.net/viewtopic.php?id=36290
Browser: Safari 531.22.7
Operating System: Mac OS X (10.6)
Right, that was Carlo.
I already do sell apps on my own website, but was looking for some wider exposure, so the MAS will surely have wider exposure. But I bet the hassles may be high. When I get to the upload/approve/sell (or outright rejection) stage I’ll let everyone know.
FWIW, I’m not convinced it’s necessarily a good move. And I wonder how the coming sandbox rules will affect AS-based apps.
Shane, can you expand on that a bit? Sandbox rules for App store apps, or system-wide sandboxing? If it’s system wide, how is that going to be able to allow any automation that calls 3rd party apps? (I’ve seen reference to “gaining clearance” but haven’t read any of the Lion docs extensively, or used Xcode 4 at all yet).
Thanks
Sandbox rules for App store apps. I believe new apps won’t be accepted after November 1 unless they are sandboxed. Sandboxed apps aren’t barred from sending events to other apps, but I believe that at this stage such entitlements are labelled temporary. That’s probably as far as this conversation can go here…
So I finally got my app into the store and it’s live. I had some problems not relating to code that held it up a bit. I had to get certificates and build it with signing, I did that on 10.7 with XC4, not that I liked it mind you.
Like Shane said, Nov 1 is the cutoff for sandboxing. So my app, ID Image Catalog, is to use InDesign to build a catalog/contact sheet of images in InDesign. I gave the disclaimer at the start of the store description and also put in the 1st image, a requirement to own ID.
Now, I’ll also say that before I got my app in, there was already another app that drives InDesign and Quark, that is CLEARLY and unequivocally ASOC based. So I’m not the first.
Aside from stripping out Sparkle from my privately sold version, the only other thing I had to do was sign the app, and figure out how to use XC4 to upload, and use the iTunesConnect website. There was no technical rejection of my app. The process took me about a month from building in XC4, submission, through issues.
So maybe Nov 1 rolls around and my app’s not sold, or it’s on a limited time list or something.
ID Image Catalog:
http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/id-image-catalog/id457699934?mt=12
Shane, if you want to expand on your thoughts about the future of apps on the store, I’m in the dev program so you can email me direct.
As I understand it, the policy is not to accept new apps that aren’t sandboxed from November 1. I’m uclear if there’s any further info available.
(Oh, and congratulations!)