sketchucation logo sketchucation
    • Login
    ⚠️ Attention | Having issues with Sketchucation Tools 5? Report Here

    Sketchup plugin, can it be a Mac "App"?

    Scheduled Pinned Locked Moved Plugins
    1 Posts 1 Posters 157 Views 1 Watching
    Loading More Posts
    • Oldest to Newest
    • Newest to Oldest
    • Most Votes
    Reply
    • Reply as topic
    Log in to reply
    This topic has been deleted. Only users with topic management privileges can see it.
    • E Offline
      ericschimel
      last edited by

      Ok, so I have a Sketchup plugin that I am trying to distribute, and I am having trouble figuring out what is the best way to "package" it. This is a thread I have going on Stack Overflow: (I'll paste the link, and paste the text here)

      http://stackoverflow.com/questions/11979834/mac-plugin-for-sketchup-should-it-be-an-app-or-a-package

      Ok, so I have a bit of a quandry... First, allow me to describe what I am doing:

      I have a plugin for Sketchup that I have created. This plugin consists of some Ruby scrips that need to be installed into the Sketchup directory, there is no actual "app" just these Ruby files. On the PC, I have created an executable installer that automatically takes these files and installs them in the correct directory, and has an update service that notifies the user of updates, and can push them if the user chooses to accept.

      On the Mac, I have to take the same few Ruby files and have them copied into the Libray/Application Support/Google/Sketchup 8/plugins folder.

      Previous to Mountain Lion, I had created a Package Installer to accomplish this. It worked nicely, although because my package didn't contain an "App" I was not able to use any of the third party update services for Mac to push updates...

      So now, fast forward to Mountain Lion. Package Maker is no longer included in XCode, while you can still get it from Apple, it's clear to me that in the near future they don't want people using it. They want "Apps" and they want them in their app store.

      I agree with them, and I WANT to be in the Mac App store. It'll get me good exposure, and I can push updates.

      Here is the problem I am seeing, my plugin is a plugin for Sketchup, it's not an app, not even an official "Mac Plugin" it's literally a couple of Ruby files that need to go into the Sketchup directly (we do the rest in the cloud)

      Another hurdle I rand into is that my package isn't "signed" so it's hard for Mountain Lion users to install it unless they know there way around the Security pane.

      So here's the big question:

      With the move towards sandboxing apps on Mac, and the Mac App Store, is my Sketchup plugin going to be rendered useless unless it's an "App"? With app sandboxing, will dumping files into the Application Support directory even be allowed?

      These may be elementary questions, but I am a Sketchup guy, not a Mac developer, so any help would be greatly appreciated!

      -Eric
      http://plugin.sketchthis.net
      Sketchup Kitchen Design Plugin
      Custom Models

      1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
      • 1 / 1
      • First post
        Last post
      Buy SketchPlus
      Buy SUbD
      Buy WrapR
      Buy eBook
      Buy Modelur
      Buy Vertex Tools
      Buy SketchCuisine
      Buy FormFonts

      Advertisement