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Set Up the Google Firebase Cloud Messaging Server
1 Introduction
You can use Google’s Firebase Cloud Messaging (FCM) service to send push notifications to both Android as well as iOS. In order to send push notifications using FCM from this module, you need to set up a Firebase account with FCM enabled. To register for FCM and configure the service in the app, perform the steps below.
Building hybrid apps in the cloud uses the PhoneGap Build service from Adobe. Because Adobe no longer maintains this service, building hybrid apps in the cloud and publishing them to app stores is no longer possible.
To build a hybrid app and publish it, see How to Build a Mendix Hybrid App Locally for information on local building.
To publish your app in an app store, Mendix recommends building native iOS apps instead. For more information, see Building Native Apps.
2 Prerequisites
Before starting this how-to, make sure you have completed the following prerequisites:
- Have a Firebase account
3 Setting up a Firebase Project
There are two possible scenarios: you can create a new FCM project, or you can update your existing GCM project to FCM. Both scenarios are described below.
3.1 Migrating a GCM project to FCM
To prevent the degraded reliability of push notifications delivery, you should migrate existing GCM projects to FCM and upgrade credentials if needed.
3.1.1 Logging In to the Developers Console
Open up the Firebase developers console and log in with your Google ID.
3.1.2 Importing the Project
In the Firebase console, select Import Google Project. Select your GCM project from the list of existing projects, select a region, and click Add Firebase.
From here, continue with Configuring APNs Credentials below.
3.2 Creating a New FCM Project
3.2.1 Logging In to the Developers Console
Open up the Firebase developers console and log in with your Google ID.
3.2.2 Creating the Project
Click Create new project and fill in the project name and region for your application. Then click Create.
4 Configuring APNs Credentials (Optional)
If you wish to send push notifications to iOS devices through FCM, you will need to configure your APNs credentials. To do so, click in the upper-left corner of the screen and select Project settings.
Navigate to the Cloud messaging tab.
On this tab, upload either your APNs key or your APNs certificate(s).
5 Setting Up a Service Account
In the upper-left corner of the screen, click the cogwheel and select Project settings. Then navigate to the Service accounts tab.
On this page, press Generate new private key. Store the resulting file in a secure location. You will use this file when configuring FCM in the back end of your Mendix application.
The file you just created gives API access to all available Firebase services for your app. If you want a more restrictive service account, click Manage all service accounts on the upper-right side of the screen, then create a service account that is restricted to using the Cloud Messaging functionality.
6 Downloading the Google Services Config Files
In addition to the back-end configuration set up in the previous steps, you will need additional files that will be bundled as part of your mobile application. To obtain these, again click the cogwheel on the upper-left side of the screen and select Project settings. Then navigate to the General tab.
The list at the bottom shows the Android and iOS applications that you have configured for your Firebase project. Select the Android application and click google-services.json. Then click the iOS application and click GoogleService-Info.plist. Store both files in a secure location. You will need these when building your mobile application.
7 Building Your Mobile Application
If your app supports push notifications, you are now required to set up a Firebase account for your app and include Google service description files (google-services.json and GoogleService-Info.plist) in your hybrid app.
You will need to prepare the hybrid app package locally. You can use the generated hybrid app package to build your Android and iOS apps locally.
To build the hybrid app package, follow these steps depending on your platforms until you have the build packages you need. Then, do the following:
-
Unzip the hybrid app package.
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Copy and paste the google-services.json and GoogleService-Info.plist config files you downloaded before into the
configfolder.Only paste the GoogleService-Info.plist config file when you plan on using FCM for sending push notifications to iOS devices. If you plan on keeping using APNS to send push notifications to iOS devices, do not paste the GoogleService-Info.plist config file. -
Create the PhoneGap Build package by following the instructions in the Through Uploading to PhoneGap Build section of the Mendix PhoneGap Build App Template documentation. Be sure to read the Prerequisites and Build on PhoneGap sections of this documentation as well. This is an overview of the steps:
- Install the latest stable version of Node.js.
- In the hybrid app root folder, execute
npm install. - In the hybrid app root folder execute
npm run package.
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Create an APK or iOS package from the local build package.
8 Configuring FCM in Your Application
Open your Mendix application, log in as an Admin, and open the PushNotifications_Administration page. Scroll to the FCM section and create or edit a configuration.
Configure FCM as follows:
- Select the Enabled checkbox
- Choose a name for the new configuration
- Enter your Firebase project ID (find this on the Firebase console website)
- Upload the private key you downloaded earlier when you created a service account
NullPointerException error when you try to send a notification to FCM. If you get the NullPointerException error, please double-check the value of the Encryption.EncryptionKey constant, restart your app, and upload the private key again.