Publishing Applications to Ovi Store
Ovi Store is the global content market of Nokia, which reaches millions of people worldwide. Consumers can access Ovi Store through either of these platforms:
- Ovi Store applications on mobile devices
- Web browsers on desktop computers, laptops, netbooks, and tablets
Consumers have access to a wide selection of content and can download content in a few easy clicks.
The process and requirements to publish Qt applications to Ovi Store are described in the Guide to Publishing Qt Applications to the Ovi Store wiki.
This section describes how to generate installation packages that you can publish to Ovi Store.
Publishing Qt Content for Symbian Devices
You can use the Application Signing Services for Ovi Store to get your application Express Signed for free by Nokia. Make sure to use the application UID that you receive from Ovi Publisher Support.
The Publish Qt Symbian Applications to Ovi Store wizard allows you to check that your application can be published on Ovi Store. It checks that the application UID, vendor name, and the capabilities used meet the Ovi Publishing criteria.
If you use Symbian Signed UIDs or the application uses functions that require advanced capabilities, you must use the standard Symbian Signed process to have the application Symbian Signed (using the Certified Signed path or the manufacturer-specific channel). For more information, see Deploying Applications to Symbian Devices.
To use the publishing wizard:
- Select Projects to select the Qt version to build the application. For more information, see Supported Configurations.
- Select the Symbian Device build target for your project.
- Choose Build > Publish Project.
- Select Publish Qt Symbian Applications to Ovi Store, and then select Start Wizard.
- Select the Qt version and device type to build against and click Next. We recommend that you select a release configuration.
- The wizard checks the information in the project file against the Ovi Publishing criteria and indicates possible problems. You can fix some of the problems in the wizard.
- Select Commit to save changes and create the .sis file. The .sis file is packaged with Nokia Smart Installer for Symbian.
- Choose Open Containing Folder to open the folder where the .sis file was created.
- Submit the created .sis file to Ovi Publishing as a Qt Content item.
Note: You cannot use this .sis file for testing.
Note: After you change the application UID, you must use the developer certificate-key pair that you receive from Ovi Publisher Support for testing the application on devices. The following error message is displayed on the device if you use UIDs from the trusted range (0x2xxxxxxx) in a self-signed application: Unable to install a trusted application from a trusted supplier. For more information, see UID.
If you try to use more capabilites than the certificate permits, the following error message is displayed on the device: Requested application access not granted. For example, if you try to install a self-signed application that uses a system capability.
Supported Configurations
When you select the Qt version to build the application with, consider which version provides the application with the widest support on different Symbian platforms. The binary compatibility promise of Qt and Symbian means that applications that are built against Qt 4.6.3 also run on Qt 4.7.3. Similarly, applications that are supported on Symbian^1 are also supported on Symbian^3. However, dependencies, such as QML or Qt Mobility API versions might restrict the choice of Qt versions that you have.
In general, if you use only Qt widgets and APIs in the application, you can use Qt 4.6.3 for Symbian^1 to build it. The application is supported on both Symbian^1 and Symbian^3 devices.
If you use QML in the application, you can use Qt 4.7.3 for Symbian^1 to build it. The application is supported on both Symbian^1 and Symbian^3 devices.
If you use native Symbian APIs, you must check that they are available on the target devices. For more information about the API differences between Symbian^1 (S60 5th Edition) and Symbian^3, see the Symbian Reference Documentation for Qt, which is delivered together with Qt SDK and which you can view in the Help mode.
The following table summarizes the supported configurations for each Qt version available in Qt Creator build settings:
| Qt Version | QML | Qt Mobility Version | Native Symbian C++ APIs | Open GL |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Qt 4.6.3 for S60 3rd Edition | No | 1.0.2 | No | No |
| Qt 4.6.3 for Symbian^1 (S60 5th Edition) | No | 1.0.2 | No | No |
| Qt 4.6.3 for Symbian^3 | No | 1.0.2 | Yes | No |
| Qt 4.7.3 for Symbian^1 | Yes | 1.1.3 | No | No |
| Qt 4.7.3 for Symbian^3 | Yes | 1.1.3 | Yes | Yes |
Publishing Qt Content for Maemo Devices
The applications that you publish on Ovi Store, must meet the testing criteria listed in Maemo 5 Applications: Ovi Store Entry Requirements.
Make sure that your application passes the following most commonly failed test cases:
- Package filename must include the application name and version number using three digits. For example: myapplication_1_0_1.deb
- Application files must be installed to the opt folder on the ext3 partition.
- Debian packages must be given the category user/hidden.
- Application cannot crash or hang during use.
- The application must handle different memory situations correctly.
You set the application name and installation folder in the Run Settings for the project. For more information, see Deploying Applications to Maemo or MeeGo Harmattan Devices. Qt Creator specifies the correct category settings by default when it creates the Debian directory and the necessary files.
You can test the application on Qt Simulator and Maemo emulator to make sure that it does not crash or hang and to check how it handles different memory situations. Before you submit the application to Ovi Publishing, you must also fully test it on a Maemo device.
Publishing Qt Content for MeeGo Harmattan Devices
You cannot publish applications that are built with the beta version of the MeeGo Harmattan tool chain to Ovi Store.
However, you can prepare for publishing by making sure that your application meets the MeeGo 1.2 Harmattan Applications: Ovi Store Entry Requirements.