So I put my map-based projects on hold… until yesterday, that is, when I came across this easy-to-understand 3-part tutorial with sample code that very clearly shows how all the pieces are put together. A simple “Dude, where’s my car” app shows how to gets your current location, then allows you to place a marker at your current location.

Now, the original developers intent was simply to provide an example of how to use MapKit, so I’m not chiding them for lack of foresight in any way… but in its current state, it’s a bit too simplistic to be really useful as a parking app. But it could easily be tinkered with to provide additional functionality to make it useful:

• allow you to add markers at a location you define (in case you forgot to set where you parked when you were there)
• allow you to set a timer to let you know when your meter is about to run out (or in SF, when the two-hour period of time for people without permits has expired)
• store location info when you exit the app (’cause as is, you lose it when you answer a phone call, etc.)
• etc., etc.

Regardless, for whatever app you need a map, this project is a great start for learning how to get started with MapKit.

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But my adventures with Cocoa/Obj-C present a new challenge: no stand-alone php or perl files that can easily be shuffled and renamed… when you work with a language that requires the software be compiled, there’s a much deeper structure that needs to be modified in order to assign a new identity to the project.

Sadly, Xcode doesn’t have an option that allows you to create a new project from an existing project with a new name (note to Apple: this would be a great feature to include in 3.2, *wink wink nudge nudge*).

But in the meantime, when you have some sample code you want to play around with, but still hang on to the original and not muck up your hard drive with copies of copies of duplicates of copies… try this:

1. Make a copy of the folder containing the project, and rename it from

   1	OldProjectName

   to

   1	NewProjectName

   .

2. I like to lock the

   1	OldProjectName

   folder to make sure I don’t accidentally muck up the original: (select

   1	OldProjectName

   folder, command-i, under General click the Locked checkbox.) You can always undo it later.

3. In the

   1	NewProjectName

   folder, rename:

   • 1	OldProjectName.pch

     to

     1	NewProjectName.pch

   • 1	OldProjectName.xcodeproj

     to

     1	NewProjectName.xcodeproj

   • 1	OldProjectName-info.plist

     (if it exists) to

     1	NewProjectName-info.plist

4. Delete the build folder.
5. Right-click

   1	NewProjectName.xcodeproj

   and select Show Package Contents.

6. Open

   1	project.pbxproj

   in your favorite text editor and do a find/replace to update all instances of

   1	OldProjectName

   to

   1	NewProjectName

   . (see #10 if any of your class files

   1	OldProjectName

   have in the filename.

7. Open the project in Xcode.
8. From the

   1	Build menu

   , select

   1	Clean all targets

   .

9. Try to build and see if it goes. If you’re working on an iPhone app, try it out in the simulator first… if you have any provisioning files for the old application name, you’ll have to go through the steps to create a new one before you can test it on your device.
10. if any of your classes contain

    1	OldProjectName

    in the class fileName, you’ll need to

    • update the names of any .h/.m files that include the name of the project… don’t forget you’ll have to update import statements too
    • rename any of the

      1	@interface

      and

      1	@implementation

      declarations that contain

      1	OldProjectName

      to contain

      1	NewProjectName

      .

    • 1

      Build

      >

      1	Clean all targets

      again, build again, and fix anything you missed.

You now have a fully renamed project, ready for mutilation. Enjoy!

Thanks to Aleksandar Vacić for posting this tutorial that I used to learn the basics of renaming a project…

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