- Icon Not Displaying When Xcode Build Mac Apps
- Icon Not Displaying When Xcode Build Mac App Download
- Icon Not Displaying When Xcode Build Mac App Free
Apple Watch App Icon( 8 sizes) have been placed inside Watch apps assets catalog, and the rest are normal, just not displayed within My Watch. By the way, I can not create a new project by Xcode 7.0.1, re-install does not work, I do not know whether Xcode 7.0.1 has some problem. Aug 03, 2018 Now click the Xcode project in left panel, select one target in center document outline view TARGETS list, then select AppIcon-1 in right panel General — App Icons and Launch Images — App Icons Source drop down list. Aug 15, 2019 Open the Finder app on your Mac. Navigate to the Applications folder (or wherever your program is). Click and drag the app from the Finder window to the silver Launchpad icon on the Dock. Release the app. At this point, your app should have appeared in the Launchpad. Note: Some system apps, like Apple News, may be hidden within the Applications. Dec 15, 2019 This is amazing and shows that the Xcode & SwiftUI teams really thought about how to use these new features in Mac apps as well as iOS. In Xcode 11.3, I found that I was having trouble with the previews. They would not display and above the Canvas, I got the super helpful message “Cannot preview in this file — SwiftUI-Mac.app may have. If the configuration is Release, the script won’t do anything because the app icon should remain unmodified. To change the build configuration, Choose ProductSchemeEdit Scheme select Info and then choose the build configuration based on which action you’ll do e.g., Run, Archive, Profile, etc.
App Icon
Beautiful, compelling icons are a fundamental part of the macOS user experience. Far from being merely decorative, icons play an essential role in communicating with users. To look at home in macOS, an app icon should be meticulously designed, informative, and aesthetically pleasing. It should convey the main purpose of the app and hint at the user experience.
Consider giving your app icon a realistic, unique shape. In macOS, app icons can have the shape of the objects they depict. A unique outline focuses attention on the object and makes it easy to recognize the icon at a glance. If necessary, you can use a circular shape to encapsulate a set of images. Avoid using the rounded rectangle shape that people associate with iOS app icons.
Design a recognizable icon. People shouldn’t have to analyze the icon to figure out what it represents. For example, the Mail app icon uses a stamp, which is universally associated with mail. Take time to design an engaging abstract icon that artistically represents your app’s purpose.
Embrace simplicity. Find a single element that captures the essence of your app and express that element in a simple, unique shape. Add details cautiously. If an icon’s content or shape is overly complex, the details can be hard to discern, especially at smaller sizes.
Provide a single focus point. Design an icon with a single, centered point that immediately captures attention and clearly identifies your app.
iOS icons
macOS icons
If you’re creating a macOS version of an iOS app, design a new version of your app icon. Your macOS app icon should be recognizable, but not an exact copy of your iOS app icon. In particular, the macOS icon shouldn’t use the same rounded rectangle shape that the iOS icon uses. App Store, Maps, Notes, and Reminders provide icons for macOS and iOS that are recognizable, yet distinct from one another. Reexamine the way you use images and metaphors in your iOS app icon. For example, if the iOS app icon shows a tree inside the rectangle, consider using the tree itself for your macOS app icon.
Use color judiciously. Don’t add color just to make the icon brighter. Also, smooth gradients typically work better than sharp delineations of color.
Avoid mixing actual text, fake text, and wavy lines that suggest text. If you want text in your icon but you don’t want to draw attention to the words, start with actual text and make it hard to read by shrinking it. This technique also results in sharper details on high-resolution displays. If your app is localized, prefer fake text or wavy lines over actual text in a specific language.
Avoid including photos, screenshots, or interface elements. Photographic details can be very hard to see at small sizes. Screenshots are too complex for an app icon and don’t generally help communicate your app’s purpose. Interface elements in an icon are misleading and confusing. If you want to base your icon on photos, screenshots, or interface elements, design idealized versions that emphasize specific details you want people to notice.
Don’t use replicas of Apple hardware products. Apple products are copyrighted and can’t be reproduced in your icons or images. In general, avoid displaying replicas of devices, because hardware designs tend to change frequently and can make your icon look dated.
Perspective and Textures
Design an icon with appropriate perspective and a realistic drop shadow. In general, an app icon should depict an object as if viewed through an imaginary camera that’s facing the object, positioned just below center, and tilted slightly upward. This camera should be positioned far enough away that the icon is nearly isometric, without appearing distorted. To achieve a realistic drop shadow, imagine a light source that’s also facing the object, but is positioned just above center and tilted slightly downward.
Rotation
Consider tilting your icon after rendering it. A small amount of rotation can help people distinguish your app icon from documents and folders. A rotation of 9 degrees tends to work well.
Use only black in your icon’s drop shadow. In some contexts, such as Cover Flow view mode in Finder, app icons are displayed against a dark background. If an icon’s drop shadow uses colors other than black, the drop shadow can appear more like a glow.
Portray real objects accurately. Icons that represent real objects should look like they’re made of real materials and have real mass. Realistic icons should accurately replicate the characteristics of substances like fabric, glass, paper, and metal in order to convey an object’s weight and feel. For example, the Preview app icon incorporates glass effectively in its magnification tool.
Consider adding a slight glow just inside the edges of your icon. If your app icon includes a dark reflective surface, such as glass or metal, add an inner glow to make the icon stand out and prevent it from appearing to dissolve into dark backgrounds.
App Icon Attributes
All app icons should adhere to the following specifications.
Attribute | Value |
---|---|
Format | PNG |
Color space | sRGB |
Layers | Flattened with transparency as appropriate |
Resolution | @1x and @2x (see Image Size and Resolution) |
Shape | Square canvas; allow transparency to define the icon shape |
Don't provide app icons in ICNS or JPEG format. Add de-interlaced PNG files in the app icon fields of your Xcode project's asset catalog.
App Icon Sizes
Your app icon is displayed in many places, including in Finder, the Dock, Launchpad, and the App Store. To ensure that your app icon looks great everywhere people see it, provide it in the following sizes.
Icon size (@1x) | Icon size (@2x) |
---|---|
512px × 512px (512pt × 512pt @1x) | 1024px × 1024px (512pt × 512pt @2x) |
256px × 256px (256pt × 256pt @1x) | 512px × 512px (256pt × 256pt @2x) |
128px × 128px (128pt × 128pt @1x) | 256px × 256px (128pt × 128pt @2x) |
32px × 32px (32pt × 32pt @1x) | 64px × 64px (32pt × 32pt @2x) |
16px × 16px (16pt × 16pt @1x) | 32px × 32px (16pt × 16pt @2x) |
Simplify your icon at smaller sizes. There are fewer pixels to draw as icon size decreases. In your smaller icons, remove unnecessary features and exaggerate primary features so they remain clear. Even when a high-resolution size matches the pixel dimensions of a standard size, you should still consider simplifying the smaller rendered image. For example, the 128pt × 128pt @2x icon appears smaller onscreen than the 256pt × 256pt @1x icon, even though both icons have the same number of pixels. Visually smaller icons shouldn't appear drastically different from their larger counterparts, however. Any variation should be subtle so the icon remains visually consistent when displayed in different environments.
Keep high-resolution and standard-resolution artwork consistent. For example, the 256pt × 256pt @1x and 256pt × 256pt @2x images should look the same. Some people use multiple displays with different resolutions. When they drag your icon between their displays, the icon's appearance shouldn’t suddenly change.
So you downloaded and installed a fancy new app on your Mac, but when you go to look for it, it’s nowhere to be found. The new app doesn’t show up in your Mac’s launchpad.
Contents
- 4 Wait for Apple?
Related:
This is reportedly a known issue on both macOS Mojave and macOS Catalina. It’s not clear if Apple is aware of the issue or if it’s working on fixing it, but here are some solutions to try in the meantime.
Find the app
First thing’s first. By default, Launchpad will search the Applications folder for new additions. But not all Mac apps actually end up in your Applications folder — especially if you didn’t download them from the Mac App Store.
In these cases, you should find the app you downloaded and manually move them to the Applications folder. If you’re running macOS as-is, then the app is probably in your Downloads folder.
Once it’s in your Applications folder, check your Launchpad. If it’s not there (or the app was already in Applications), proceed to the following step.
Drag and drop apps to Launchpad
Newly installed Mac apps should show up in Launchpad automatically if they’re installed in the Applications folder. But, sometimes, that doesn’t happen.
Luckily, you can add an app to Launchpad fairly easily.
- Open the Finder app on your Mac.
- Navigate to the Applications folder (or wherever your program is).
- Click and drag the app from the Finder window to the silver Launchpad icon on the Dock.
- Release the app.
At this point, your app should have appeared in the Launchpad.
Note: Some system apps, like Apple News, may be hidden within the Applications folder. You can press Command + Shift + Period/Dot.
Reset Launchpad
If the two above steps didn’t work, it may be time to take more drastic measures. Sometimes, the Launchpad can become corrupt — in which case it may be necessary to have macOS repair or rebuild it.
First, you can try these steps to reset the Launchpad.
- Make sure you’re in Finder or on the desktop.
- Click on the Go menu in the top menu bar.
- Hold down the Option key and click Library.
- Navigate to the. Application Support folder.
- Double-click on Dock.
- Delete all files that end in .db.
After that, restart your computer by clicking on the Apple icon and selecting Restart. At this point, macOS should reset the Launchpad (which is controlled by the dock).
Wait for Apple?
As we mentioned, this is a known issue that’s been around for quite a while. It’s obviously not intended behavior, which means it’s a bug.
Icon Not Displaying When Xcode Build Mac Apps
But, interestingly, Apple has seemingly yet to patch the bug, even in its latest macOS Catalina betas.
If you’re running macOS Mojave and macOS Catalina and experience missing apps in Launchpad, we suggest that you let Apple known about the issue.
There’s a good chance that Apple will address the bug in a future update if enough people bring it to their attention.
Mike is a freelance journalist from San Diego, California.
Icon Not Displaying When Xcode Build Mac App Download
While he primarily covers Apple and consumer technology, he has past experience writing about public safety, local government, and education for a variety of publications.
He’s worn quite a few hats in the journalism field, including writer, editor, and news designer.