Xcode 4: Splitting the Editor
Xcode 4′s standard editor does not support splitting. Use the assistant editor if you want to split the editor. Choose View > Editor > Assistant to open the assistant editor. Choose View > Assistant Layout to customize the appearance of the assistant editor. Click the Add Assistant Editor button (the + button) on the right side of the jump bar to split the editor.
Xcode 4: Adding Command-Line Arguments and Environment Variables
Choose Edit Scheme from the Scheme pop-up menu in the project window toolbar to open the scheme editor. Select Run from the list on the left side of the scheme editor. Click the Arguments button in the scheme editor.
From here you can add command-line arguments and environment variables. Clicking the Diagnostics button provides checkboxes for commonly-used environment variables.
Xcode 4: Adding a Framework to Your Project
To add a framework to your project, select the project file from the project navigator on the left side of the project window. Select the target from the project settings editor. Click the Summary button at the top of the editor.
You will see a list of linked frameworks and libraries in the project settings editor. Click the + button to add a framework or library to your project.
Xcode 4: Opening the Build Results Window
Those of you who have upgraded to Xcode 4 may be wondering where the build results window went. Open the log navigator by choosing View > Navigators > Log. Select a build from the log list to open the build results window for that build.
Xcode 4: Setting the Active Build Configuration
Where do you set the active build configuration in Xcode 4? You set the build configuration in the scheme editor. To open the scheme editor, choose Edit Scheme from the Scheme pop-up menu in the project window toolbar.
Use the scheme editor to choose the build configuration to use when running, testing, profiling, analyzing, and archiving your project. You’ll change the build configuration most often for running. To change the build configuration Xcode uses when running your program, select Run from the list on the left side of the scheme editor. Choose a build configuration from the Build Configuration menu.
Xcode 4: Installing Documentation
When I installed Xcode 4, it did not install the developer documentation on my Mac. If you find yourself in the same situation, open Xcode’s documentation preferences.
Click the Check and Install Now button. A list of available documentation sets should appear in the preferences window along with a Get button next to each set that is not installed on your Mac. Click the Get button to install the documentation set.
Xcode 4: Renaming Projects
To rename a project in Xcode 4, select the project file from the project navigator on the left side of the project window. Choose View > Utilities > File Inspector to open the file inspector on the right side of the project window. At the top of the file inspector is the Project Name text field. Enter a new project name and press the Return key or the Tab key.
A sheet opens asking if you want to rename the project content items. Click the Rename button to finish renaming the project.
Xcode 4: Accessing Build Settings
To access build settings in Xcode 4, select the project file from the project navigator on the left side of the project window. The project file should be at the top of the project navigator. Selecting the project file opens the project settings editor. The project settings editor is Xcode 4′s replacement for Xcode 3′s project and target inspectors. Select either the project or a target from the project settings editor. Click the Build Settings button at the top of the editor. Now you should see a list of the project’s build settings.
Above the list of build settings are two sets of buttons. The first set is Basic/All. Clicking the Basic button shows the most commonly accessed build settings. Clicking the All button shows all the build settings.
The second set of buttons is Combined/Levels. The screenshot shows what appears when you click the Levels button. Multiple columns of build settings are visible: default, project, target, and resolved. If you select the project from the build settings editor instead of the target, there is no column for the target. Showing levels allows you to see any changes from the default build settings as well as any differences between project and target build settings.
If you click the Combined button, one column of build settings appears in the editor. The column shows the effective value of each build setting, the value Xcode will use when you build the project. Showing the combined build settings simplifies changing a build setting’s value.
Xcode 4: git Support
One of Xcode 4′s new features is support for the git version control system. Xcode 4 can create a local git repository for you when you create a project.
Select the Create local git repository for this project checkbox to create the repository. If you have an existing Xcode project you want to place under version control, launch the Terminal application. Navigate to the folder where your Xcode project resides and run the git init command.
After creating the repository, you must add the project files to the repository. You can do this from the Terminal by running the git add and git commit commands, or you can use a git GUI like GitX.
Xcode 4 on Mac App Store
Mac developers who are not part of Apple’s paid developer programs will be glad to know Xcode 4 is now on the Mac App Store. You will not be glad to know that it costs $5, but at least it’s cheaper than the $99 annual fees for Apple’s iPhone and Mac developer programs.
Those of you who are members of one of the paid programs should know the version on the Mac App Store is the same as the GM Seed 2.
Xcode 4 does not build PowerPC binaries. If you support PowerPC Macs, don’t remove your Xcode 3.2 installation. You still need 3.2.
What About the Xcode Book?
The release of Xcode 4 means I can talk about it now. It also means books that cover Xcode 4 can be published. You may be wondering when the new edition of Xcode Tools Sensei for Xcode 4 will be released.
I don’t see the book being finished before May. The release of Xcode 4 took me by surprise. I figured it would ship with Mac OS X 10.7. I have most of the material written, but it’s disorganized. The big things I have to do are clarifying instructions, organizing the material, and cleaning up the writing.