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Developers, get your Apps ready for the Mac App Store!

Along with releasing XCode 3.2.5, Apple has posted a new area on its Mac Developers site which shows developers how to prepare their Mac Apps for the store.  Submissions will begin in November and the Store will roll out to users on Snow Leopard at the beginning of 2011.

A sneak peak of what developers are in for is below:

Prepare Your App for the Mac App Store

When you are ready to submit your app to the Mac App Store, both your app and installer package must be signed with Apple-issued Mac Distribution Certificates. Your app and installer package distribution certificates can be obtained from the Developer Certificate Utility by your Team Agent.
Get started with the Developer Certificate Utility Learn about team roles

Register App IDs

Register the App ID for your Mac app with the Developer Certificate Utility. The App ID for your Mac app is identical to the CF Bundle Identifier which can be found within your Info.plist.
Register your App ID

Create Mac Signing Certificates for submission to the Mac App Store

The Developer Certificate Utility will guide you through the steps to create your app and installer package signing certificates. Once you have created these certificates, use Xcode to sign and submit your Mac app to iTunes Connect. Mac Signing Certificates can only be used to sign apps that will be submitted to the Mac App Store.
Request Certificates

Sign your apps for submission to the Mac App Store

Once you have created your Mac signing certificates, you will use Xcode to sign both your app bundle and installer package. To sign your app bundle, you will need to select your Mac App Signing Certificate as the Code Signing Identity in your project. You can then sign and submit your Installer Package by clicking “Build and Archive” in Xcode and hitting the ‘Submit’ button in the Xcode Organizer window. Learn more

Review Guidelines

All apps submitted to the Mac App Store will be reviewed based on the criteria outlined in the Mac App Review Guidelines and the Mac Developer Program License Agreement. Apps that do not adhere to the Guidelines will need to be modified before they can be approved for distribution on the Mac App Store.
View the Mac App Store Review GuidelinesView the Mac Developer Program License Agreement

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