Open Radar

 
Summary: In order to test the Installer package created by Xcode for a Mac OS app, you need to Build and Archive the app, and the Share the package from the Xcode Organizer. Then you need to run the Installer package, but the Installer installs the app over the archived app that Xcode saved with the Build and Archive command. You can't find the installed app via Spotlight, and there is data loss if the Installer replaces an old version of the app that was archived. 

Steps to Reproduce:
1. In a Mac OS app project in Xcode, select Build and Archive.
2. Open the Xcode Organizer, select the archived app in the sidebar, and right-click on the version of the app that was just archived.
3. Select Show In Finder and open the folder for the archive to verify the location of the app.
4. Verify the modification date of the app.
5. With the version of the app selected, click the "Share..." button, and click the "Save to Disk..." button. 
6. Save the package to the Desktop.
7. Use Spotlight to verify that the app is not already installed on the disk. If it is, remove those copies.
8. Open the newly created package. Go through the installer to install the app.
9. Use Get Info on the archived version of the app and verify that the modification date is now different.
10. Use Spotlight to verify that the app cannot be found on the disk, even though the archived version can be opened.

Expected Results: Installer should install the app in /Applications or allow the user to select the installation location. Under no circumstances should the Installer replace the copy of the app save by Xcode's Build and Archive command.

Actual Results: Installer installs app over archived copy of the app, resulting in the loss of the archived original version of the app. If the latest archived version of the app is older than the version being installed, the archived version is irreversibly lost, resulting in data loss.

Regression: Spotlight does not find the archived app, possibly indicating that Launch Services does not consider the Build and Archive location a valid one for apps.

Notes: This happens with Xcode 3.2.5 from the "Xcode and iOS SDK 4.2" installer. I'm using Mac OS X 10.6.6. The installer app is version 4.0 (430.1), but its Get Info version string says 3.0, which looks like a mistake.

See also bug ID # 8869269, "Installation Test instructions for Mac App Store are incomplete" although I would comment that that bug's author seems to assume that the app isn't being installed at all, when in fact it's being installed in an unsearchable location. The same problem that developers can't test on the same computer that they develop with remains.

See also bug ID # 8935310, "Spotlight does not find archived apps".