How to create multiple targets for XCode iPhone application

It’s important to understand why and when you might need multiple targets. As an app developer, you would like to release a given app using a new brand name, logo and/or theme, along with some minor feature differences. Using multiple targets concept, you can maintain app very quickly.

In this blog, you will learn how to set up multiple build targets, manage icon, assert which are unique to each target. So let’s first understand what is target?

What is target?

Apple describes targets as follows:

A target specifies a product to build and contains the instructions for building the product from a set of files in a project or workspace. A target defines a single product; it organizes the inputs into the build system—the source files and instructions for processing those source files—required to build that product. Projects can contain one or more targets, each of which produces one product.

To create a multiple target, you need to follow below steps:

Create a new target
Update Info.plist file for selected target
Managing Resources file (image, icon, splash image)
Define theme for your target(optional)

1.Create a new target

Let’s assume we have an application called “XYZ”, which is a paid version. And we would want to create a free version and promotional version of that has some reduced functionality but is free and promotional offers respectively. It is to note that all three versions would share the same code, with only some differences and apps’ app-icons and splash images are different.

First create new target. Under Targets and select your project and right click and duplicate target create.

2. Update Info.plist file for selected target

We could define properties, such as application name and icon files, for each of the target.

3.Managing Resources file (image, icon, splash image)

You could copy different resources (having same name but different) to the targets. Resource could refer to xib files, images, etc.

For example, if the free version has a different default loading screen, you could create another Default.png for the free version. Note: To make it work, you have to copy the correct Default.png to that target’s “Copy Bundle Resources”, and also to remove the incorrect Default.png.

4.Define theme for your target(optional)

NSString* color=[[[NSBundle mainBundle] infoDictionary] objectForKey:@”CFBundleName”];

if ([color isEqualToString:@”free”]){

NAV_COLOR_RED=24; NAV_COLOR_GREEN=88; NAV_COLOR_BLUE=149;

ASENT_COLOR_RED=24; ASENT_COLOR_GREEN=88; ASENT_COLOR_BLUE=149;

}

else if([color isEqualToString:@”paid”]){

NAV_COLOR_RED=255; NAV_COLOR_GREEN=1; NAV_COLOR_BLUE=27;

ASENT_COLOR_RED=255; ASENT_COLOR_GREEN=1; ASENT_COLOR_BLUE=27;

}

else if([color isEqualToString:@”promo”]){

NAV_COLOR_RED=255; NAV_COLOR_GREEN=1; NAV_COLOR_BLUE=45;

ASENT_COLOR_RED=255; ASENT_COLOR_GREEN=1; ASENT_COLOR_BLUE=45;

}

]

The code and the examples shown in this article are available at Github Repository