1. Navigate to the Mobile section on the left pane and click the Mobile App tab.
   

   

2. Click on the Create New button. It opens the below slider.
   

   

3. Select the Application Name from the dropdown and then under the Type section, select Application Type as Portal and Platform as Android.
   
   
   

4. In the For Customer - Code Sign slider, click on the Generate Client. This will open a Zoho Accounts link in a new tab and create a new client for the Android app to communicate with Zoho Creator.
5. Set your app's icon as required:
   
   • Default Icon option will be selected by default
   • You can opt to Upload Custom Icon — a PNG file of 1024x1024 resolution

   Refer to this page for sourcing the inputs required for performing steps 6-9.

6. Enter Alias Name.
   

   

7. Enter Package Name. This will uniquely identify your Android app. It's usually in the format:
   
   com.companyname.appname.

   For example, com.zylker.employeemanagement

8. Upload Keystore file.
9. Enter the Keystore password.
10. Enter the Key password.
    

    

11. If you want to enable Push Notification for the Android app, toggle the Push Notification button. Else, skip to step 15.
    

    Firebase config file and Firebase Service Account file are required for enabling push notification support. Refer to this page to learn how to source them.

12. In the Push Notification popup, upload the Firebase Configuration file. 
13. Upload the Firebase Service Account file and click Enable.
    
14. If you want to enable tracking metrics for the Android app, toggle the button beside App Metrics. Otherwise, skip to step 15.
    
    You can disable the toggle button, then click Disable in the popup that appears if you do not want to track metrics.
    
    
15. Click Code Sign. This process can take 10-15 minutes to complete.
    

    

16.  On successful completion, the status will be Code signed.
17. Distribute the app as required.
    
    • Download the .apk file
      

1. Google PlayStore
   
2. Amazon Appstore
   
3. Samsung Galaxy Appps
   
4. Huawei AppGallery
   
5. Tencent Appstore
   
6. Xiomo GetApps.
   

Distribute your app by downloading its .apk file

1. Navigate to the Mobile section on the left and select the Mobile App tab.
2. Click on the corresponding row of the code signed Android app, it will open the For Customer - Code Sign pane on the right.
   
   
   

3. Click the DownloadAPK button on the top right of the pane.
4. Alternatively, navigate to the Mobile App and hover on the corresponding row of the code signed Android app, it will show a three-dot action popup on the right side of the row.
   

   

5. Click the Download button and distribute the .apk file to your customers.
   
   Note: The Delete option will be available only for those whose code-sign process has failed.

To re-code sign your Android app

Note: The Re-code sign option will be available only for those apps with a successful code-sign process.

1. Navigate to the Mobile section on the left and select the Mobile App tab.
2. Click on the corresponding row of the code signed Android app, it will open the For Customer - Code Sign pane on the right as below.
   
   
   

3. Click Re-code sign at the top-right of the For Customer - Code Sign pane.
4. Alternatively, navigate to the Mobile App tab and hover on the corresponding row of the code-signed Android app, it will show a three-dot action popup on the right side of the row.
   

   

5. Click Re-code sign. A popup will appear.
6. Click Re-code sign to confirm. Your app will be code signed again.
   
   Note: When you re-code sign an app, previous versions of your app will be maintained. To use a particular version of your mobile app, you need to switch to that version.

   

7. You can filter your code-signed apps based on the Application and type by clicking on the Filter option at the right side of your screen.
   

   

8. The Type filter lets you filter apps based on User apps, Customer apps, iOS apps, and Android apps.
   

   
   

Points to Note

1. Declare foreground service information on Google Play Console:
   It is mandatory to declare foreground service information in the Play Console when uploading the AAB or APK application to the Google Play Console. To do so:
1. Create a screen recording that demonstrates the following steps in your codesigned app:
1. Navigate to Settings > Offline Components > Add Components and download the preferred component.
   
2. Return to the Offline Components section, where all downloaded components will be listed.
   
3. Click the Sync icon () next to the offline components.
   Refer below for a sample screen recording:
   
   
2. Upload the recorded video to Zoho Workdrive or Google Drive and generate an external share link. Learn how to generate an external share link for uploaded files in Zoho Workdrive
   
3. Follow these steps in the Google Play Console to declare foreground service information:
   
1. Go to Google Play Console and navigate to App Content  > Foreground service permissions.
2. Under Data sync, select Other in Network processing. Enter the external share link and click Save.

To manage metrics post code sign

If you haven't enabled App Metrics during code-signing, you can still enable it after the code-sign process is complete.

1. Navigate to the Mobile section on the left and select the Mobile App tab.
2. Click on the corresponding row of the code signed Android app to open the For Customer - Code Sign pane on the right.
3. Click Enable beside App Metrics.
   
   
4. Click Enable in the Enable App Metrics popup that appears. You'll be taken to the For Customer - Code Sign pane.
   
   
5. Enter the required details mention in the To code sign your Android application and enable push notification for customers section from step 5 - 13 to re-code sign your app.
   

After code signing is complete, Apptics will start tracking app usage and you can view the usage data in the Mobile Metrics dashboard.

To deactivate the tracking of metrics, click Deactivate beside App Metrics. This will temporarily pause the tracking of key insights for your code signed application. You can continue to view the existing data. 

To activate the tracking of metrics, click Activate beside App Metrics. This will restart the tracking of metrics for your code-signed app.

Note: Key insights will not rbe ecorded during the period between deactivation and reactivation.