Google PlayStore console 2017 - obb extension file upload

Question

I am using APK with external OBB Extension file.

PlayStore Console UI has changed since I used this feature last. I can not figure out how to upload the OBB file.

Even the PlayStore help describes the wrong, old way.

https://support.google.com/googleplay/android-developer/answer/2481797?hl=de

Can someone please give me a hint.

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Seems to be solved - the small + button was missing in the German UI Version. I changed my language to English and the + button was there. Now in 2018 the + button is also visible in the German UI. Thanx Google

Answer 1

I've been able to chat with Google support about this, and it's indeed kind of hard to miss. This is not like before where you could set the expansion file at APK upload anymore.

To upload an expansion file or use an existing expansion file, you can only do that while uploading the APK, not after you click on Save.

Once you uploaded the APK, on the line where the APK name is, there's a small + icon with the tooltip "Update APK", you have to click on this icon, and there there's the ability to set/upload expansion file.

Answer 2

In this case you have tu use the JOBB tool to encapsulate the resource files, having your .APK then you can go to https://play.google.com/apps/publish/

then Release management > App Releases , you have the option to test your app first MANAGE ALPHA or MANAGE BETA or publish directly to producction MANAGE PRODUCTION, create a Draft Release.

And then Add or change expansion files You can upload new or add existing expansion files to APKs in a draft release.

1. Go to your Play Console.
2. Select your app.
3. On the left menu, click Release management > App releases.
4. Next to the release type you want to update, select Manage.
5. Drop or select your app's APK file.
6. You'll see a list of APKs that are associated with your release. Next to the relevant version code, select the add icon .
7. Choose whether you want to upload a new file or attach an existing expansion file.
   • If the APK hasn't been published yet, you can change or remove an expansion file by selecting another file or No expansion file. You can't remove expansion files from an existing release.
8. Select Save.

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This is the current documentation for APK Expansion Files

Read the checklist to use Expansion files in your application:

Development checklist

Here's a summary of the tasks you should perform to use expansion files with your application:

• First determine whether your application absolutely requires more than 100MB per installation. Space is precious and you should keep your total application size as small as possible. If your app uses more than 100MB in order to provide multiple versions of your graphic assets for multiple screen densities, consider instead publishing multiple APKs in which each APK contains only the assets required for the screens that it targets.

• Determine which application resources to separate from your APK and package them in a file to use as the main expansion file. Normally, you should only use the second patch expansion file when performing updates to the main expansion file. However, if your resources exceed the 2GB limit for the main expansion file, you can use the patch file for the rest of your assets.

• Develop your application such that it uses the resources from your expansion files in the device's shared storage location. Remember that you must not delete, move, or rename the expansion files. If your application doesn't demand a specific format, we suggest you create ZIP files for your expansion files, then read them using the APK Expansion Zip Library.

• Add logic to your application's main activity that checks whether the expansion files are on the device upon start-up. If the files are not on the device, use Google Play's Application Licensing service to request URLs for the expansion files, then download and save them. To greatly reduce the amount of code you must write and ensure a good user experience during the download, we recommend you use the Downloader Library to implement your download behavior. If you build your own download service instead of using the library, be aware that you must not change the name of the expansion files and must save them to the proper storage location.