The bar-descriptor.xml file

The bar-descriptor.xml file specifies parameters and permissions for identifying, installing, and running native applications on the BlackBerry 10 OS.

Every BlackBerry 10 application is packaged in a .bar file that is deployed to a device or simulator.

You can configure the appearance and behavior of your application by specifying properties and values in the bar-descriptor.xml file. When you build your application, the bar-descriptor.xml file is automatically included in your .bar file.

Note:

The bar-descriptor.xml file is an XML file that is defined by a Document Type Definition (DTD).

The root element in the bar-descriptor.xml file is <qnx>. You must nest all other XML elements within this element.

Note: If you create a bar-descriptor.xml file in your Momentics IDE project, it's automatically included in your .bar file. If you package your application from the command line, be sure to specify the bar-descriptor.xml file when you run the blackberry-nativepackager tool.

In the bar-descriptor.xml file, you can configure the following settings for your app:

General information such as application name, author, icon, and window transparency
Application-specific information such as category, orientation, and theme
Assets to include in your app and build configurations for your app
Information about languages, icons, and splash screens that your app supports

You can view the bar-descriptor.xml file by expanding a project from the Project Explorer view, and double-clicking the bar-descriptor.xml file. Within the file, you can enable features by setting options from the General tab, Application tab, Assets tab, and Localization tab, or by directly editing the XML on the Source tab.

One of the most important functions of the bar-descriptor.xml file is to configure the permissions that your app has on the device. To learn more, see App permissions.