macOS Cross-project reference for Framework: Header file not found

[Chris Corbyn]

Hi,

I'm trying to create my first Cocoa framework. The way I'm doing this is with two projects: one for the framework itself; the other for a test app that implements the features of the framework.

So I'm using Xcode's cross-project reference feature to make the framework a dependency of the test application.

However, when I build the test app, it correctly builds the framework first but then complains that my framework's master header file cannot be found.

I must be missing something, but I've basically followed all the steps outlined here:

http://developer.apple.com/mac/libr...al/BPFrameworks/Tasks/CreatingFrameworks.html

I've:

• Created the two projects: one as a framework, the other as a standard "bundle"
• Specified @executable_path/../Frameworks as the Installation Directory for the framework, as shown in the image.
  
  
• Specified a Copy Files build phase the puts the headers in the framework's Headers directory (also shown in the image above).
• Added the framework project to the test app project
• Specified that the framework is a dependency of my test app
  
  
• Created a Copy Files build phase that copies the framework product to the Frameworks directory of my test app
  
  
• Added the framework to the link phase of the test app (shown in the image above)

However, when I build the test app I'm getting a build error due to the fact the header can't be found.

The header is there and the framework was correctly copied:

chrisbook:CioccolataTest chris$ ls -l build/Debug/CioccolataTest.webapp/Frameworks/Cioccolata.framework/Headers/Cioccolata.h 
-rw-r--r--  1 chris  staff  201 20 Apr 18:39 build/Debug/CioccolataTest.webapp/Frameworks/Cioccolata.framework/Headers/Cioccolata.h

What have I missed? The "Frameworks" directory of a bundle should be searched for the framework, right? And the Headers directory does go directly in the top level directory of the framework bundle?

 

[Chris Corbyn]

I played around with my Copy Files build phase that copies the framework into the Frameworks directory... for some reason when I changed the destination back to "Frameworks" again it has started copying the framework bundle to Contents/Frameworks, not just Frameworks in the top level of the bundle. This looks correct, but I'm still getting the same build error that my framework's header file is not found.

 

[Chris Corbyn]

Ok, does this make any sense?

I manually copied the framework bundle into /Library/Frameworks (absolute path) and tried to build the application again. It worked.

I'm new to all this, so I wonder if somebody can explain. When I'm creating an embedded framework (one that will be contained within the application bundle itself) do I have to install the compiled framework into a system directory in order to build against it? Is there any way to avoid this?

I tried changing the "Framework Search Paths" build setting of my application to $(SRCROOT)/** but that didn't fix the issue.

 

[Chris Corbyn]

Problem solved: I hadn't checked the little box that includes the framework in my target. For anybody having the same issue:

In the Groups & Files area, select your references Xcode project.
In the pane that lists the products in that project, the far right column (after File Name, Code, etc, has a little target icon for the column heading. You need to check that box.