The iOS Provisioning Portal is an online tool designed to take you through the steps required to test your apps on iOS devices and prepare them for distribution on the App Store.
This is where you will create and download the developer files that are required to build your apps with Flash Professional.
Let us go through the steps required to access it.
You will need an Apple ID to enroll on the iOS Developer Program.
If you haven't already done so, follow the steps detailed in the Joining the iOS Developer Program recipe.
Visit the iOS Dev Center website at http://developer.apple.com/devcenter/ios. Click on the Log in button at the top of the page.
On the Sign in with your Apple ID page, enter your Apple ID and password into the text fields. Click on the Sign in button.
If successful, you will be taken back to the iOS Dev Center home page where you will now have access to the main areas of your Developer Program including the iOS Provisioning Portal. Links to these can be found near the top-right of the home page underneath the iOS Developer Program heading.
Click on the iOS Provisioning Portal link to access the portal's home page, which is shown in the following screenshot:
The Provisioning Portal provides you with the resources to develop and distribute your iOS apps.
For the examples in this book, you only need to concern yourself with development. The following are the four main steps required to do this:
Obtain a development certificate
Register iOS devices for testing
Create unique IDs for your apps
Create and download development provisioning profiles
These steps can be performed from the links on the left-hand side of the Provisioning Portal page and are broken down and covered throughout the remainder of this chapter.
Alternatively, Apple has provided the Development Provisioning Assistant, which can be used to guide you through the process. However, the Provisioning Assistant is not covered in this book.
You are encouraged to spend time exploring the Provisioning Portal as it is integral to the iOS development process.
The following information may also be of some use.
On the right-hand side of the portal's home page is the Resources section where you can find links to guides, "how to" videos, documentation, and user forums.
The "how to" videos are ideal if you need further clarification regarding the provisioning steps. At the head of the Resources section you will also find a link to the Program User Guide, which covers the provisioning process in detail.
Remember that all content on the site will be aimed at Mac OS X owners. If you are using Windows, then some of the content may not be applicable.
If you enrolled on behalf of a company, then you will also be able to add other team members to your account.
As the original enrollee, you have access to all iOS Provisioning Portal capabilities and can assign roles for any members you invite. The role you assign to an individual determines the privileges they get and dictates the tasks they can undertake.
Team management is handled within the Member Center, which you can access from the Provisioning Portal's home page. Simply click on the Visit the Member Center now link on the center of the portal's home page.
Those who have signed-up as an individual will not be able to add team members but will have access to all Provisioning Portal capabilities.
For a comprehensive guide to team administration, take a look at the Program User Guide within the Resources section.
The steps required for preparing your apps for App Store submission and distribution are not covered within this book. However, once you are comfortable with the provisioning process for application development, you will find that distribution isn't too dissimilar.
Comprehensive documentation regarding distribution is available from the Program User Guide in the Provisioning Portal's Resources section.
As a member of the iOS Developer Program, you are entitled to support from the Apple Developer Technical Support team, where you can receive direct one-to-one help from a qualified Apple engineer.
Included with your Developer Program membership is free technical support for two incidents during your membership period.
However, you should be aware that this support is primarily for developers using the iOS SDK. Apple engineers will not be able to help with questions regarding Flash Professional.