You can download the source code for your Dropsource project at any time. Select Deploy this Build for the relevant build in your Builds list in the editor, then select Download Source Code. Once downloaded you can import your code into the Xcode IDE. Your download will be in a zipped archive file, so unzip it before continuing.
Before Importing
If you edit the source code for your app outside of Dropsource there is no way to import your changes back into the editor.
Similarly, if you make any additional changes to a project inside Dropsource after importing it into your IDE, you will need to download and import the updated code into your IDE again.
Your source code download is a reflection of your app at the time of your last build inside Dropsource, made available for a one-way transfer to the IDE. However, if you plan to release multiple versions of your app from your source code – for each new version:
- Make your changes in the editor.
- Build your project.
- Download the source code.
- Import it into your IDE.
- Export for release.
If you don’t make any changes to the source code outside Dropsource, you can continue delivering future versions from Dropsource via your IDE using this method. If you do make changes outside Dropsource, you will need reapply those changes each time you download your source code from the platform. If you don’t need to make any changes to your Dropsource project in an IDE, you can request the Dropsource deployment service to have your app launched without the need to download your code at all.
Importing into Xcode
Open Xcode and select Open Another Project or File, Open. Open the folder you unzipped from your Dropsource download and locate the file with “.xcodeproj” extension in the root directory.
Select the file and click Open.
Xcode will open the project. On the left side you will see the Project Navigator, with a folder representing your project by name. From here you can expand the folders and explore their contents.
Click to open the “.storyboard” file to see a graphical representation of your app UI.
You can explore the elements you added to your app in Dropsource – at the top level you will see the pages and navigation components in the app.
Select the “.swift” files to view the programming code for your app.
Click the Run button and Xcode will launch your app on an emulator.
Bear in mind that any changes you make in Xcode will no longer be reflected in your Dropsource project, so ensure that you have completed any tasks you require inside the Dropsource editor before spending too much time working in Xcode.
Extending and Customizing
If you are willing to write the required Swift and other code to make alterations, you can do so with your source code download imported into Xcode. You can extend the functionality defined in Dropsource with SDKs and other options not supported inside the editor – however, if you do require functionality that is not available in Dropsource, you may be able to achieve it using a plugin.
To find out more about how your Dropsource app is implemented and explore the key components of your project inside Xcode, check out Editing an iOS Project.