Saving PDF Files with Swift in iOS and display them
Since several people requested this, here is the equivalent to the first answer in Swift:
//The URL to Save
let yourURL = NSURL(string: "http://somewebsite.com/somefile.pdf")
//Create a URL request
let urlRequest = NSURLRequest(URL: yourURL!)
//get the data
let theData = NSURLConnection.sendSynchronousRequest(urlRequest, returningResponse: nil, error: nil)
//Get the local docs directory and append your local filename.
var docURL = (NSFileManager.defaultManager().URLsForDirectory(.DocumentDirectory, inDomains: .UserDomainMask)).last as? NSURL
docURL = docURL?.URLByAppendingPathComponent( "myFileName.pdf")
//Lastly, write your file to the disk.
theData?.writeToURL(docURL!, atomically: true)
Also, since this code uses a synchronous network request, I highly recommend dispatching it to a background queue:
dispatch_async(dispatch_get_global_queue(DISPATCH_QUEUE_PRIORITY_DEFAULT, 0), { () -> Void in
//The URL to Save
let yourURL = NSURL(string: "http://somewebsite.com/somefile.pdf")
//Create a URL request
let urlRequest = NSURLRequest(URL: yourURL!)
//get the data
let theData = NSURLConnection.sendSynchronousRequest(urlRequest, returningResponse: nil, error: nil)
//Get the local docs directory and append your local filename.
var docURL = (NSFileManager.defaultManager().URLsForDirectory(.DocumentDirectory, inDomains: .UserDomainMask)).last as? NSURL
docURL = docURL?.URLByAppendingPathComponent( "myFileName.pdf")
//Lastly, write your file to the disk.
theData?.writeToURL(docURL!, atomically: true)
})
And the answer to second question in Swift:
//Getting a list of the docs directory
let docURL = (NSFileManager.defaultManager().URLsForDirectory(.DocumentDirectory, inDomains: .UserDomainMask).last) as? NSURL
//put the contents in an array.
var contents = (NSFileManager.defaultManager().contentsOfDirectoryAtURL(docURL!, includingPropertiesForKeys: nil, options: NSDirectoryEnumerationOptions.SkipsHiddenFiles, error: nil))
//print the file listing to the console
println(contents)
I am giving an example of storing and retrieving a pdf document in iOS. I hope that is what you are looking for.
1. How do I save a PDF local on my app ( for example if the user can enter a url) and where exactly will it save it ?
// the URL to save
NSURL *yourURL = [NSURL URLWithString:@"http://yourdomain.com/yourfile.pdf"];
// turn it into a request and use NSData to load its content
NSURLRequest *request = [NSURLRequest requestWithURL:result.link];
NSData *data = [NSURLConnection sendSynchronousRequest:request returningResponse:nil error:nil];
// find Documents directory and append your local filename
NSURL *documentsURL = [[[NSFileManager defaultManager] URLsForDirectory:NSDocumentDirectory inDomains:NSUserDomainMask] lastObject];
documentsURL = [documentsURL URLByAppendingPathComponent:@"localFile.pdf"];
// and finally save the file
[data writeToURL:documentsURL atomically:YES];
2. When saved, how can I show all the local storaged files within a tableview to open them?
You can check that the file has downloaded, or you can list the Documents directory like so:
// list contents of Documents Directory just to check
NSURL *documentsURL = [[[NSFileManager defaultManager] URLsForDirectory:NSDocumentDirectory inDomains:NSUserDomainMask] lastObject];
NSArray *contents = [[NSFileManager defaultManager]contentsOfDirectoryAtURL:documentsURL includingPropertiesForKeys:nil options:NSDirectoryEnumerationSkipsHiddenFiles error:nil];
NSLog(@"%@", [contents description]);
Swift 4.1
func savePdf(urlString:String, fileName:String) {
DispatchQueue.main.async {
let url = URL(string: urlString)
let pdfData = try? Data.init(contentsOf: url!)
let resourceDocPath = (FileManager.default.urls(for: .documentDirectory, in: .userDomainMask)).last! as URL
let pdfNameFromUrl = "YourAppName-\(fileName).pdf"
let actualPath = resourceDocPath.appendingPathComponent(pdfNameFromUrl)
do {
try pdfData?.write(to: actualPath, options: .atomic)
print("pdf successfully saved!")
} catch {
print("Pdf could not be saved")
}
}
}
func showSavedPdf(url:String, fileName:String) {
if #available(iOS 10.0, *) {
do {
let docURL = try FileManager.default.url(for: .documentDirectory, in: .userDomainMask, appropriateFor: nil, create: false)
let contents = try FileManager.default.contentsOfDirectory(at: docURL, includingPropertiesForKeys: [.fileResourceTypeKey], options: .skipsHiddenFiles)
for url in contents {
if url.description.contains("\(fileName).pdf") {
// its your file! do what you want with it!
}
}
} catch {
print("could not locate pdf file !!!!!!!")
}
}
}
// check to avoid saving a file multiple times
func pdfFileAlreadySaved(url:String, fileName:String)-> Bool {
var status = false
if #available(iOS 10.0, *) {
do {
let docURL = try FileManager.default.url(for: .documentDirectory, in: .userDomainMask, appropriateFor: nil, create: false)
let contents = try FileManager.default.contentsOfDirectory(at: docURL, includingPropertiesForKeys: [.fileResourceTypeKey], options: .skipsHiddenFiles)
for url in contents {
if url.description.contains("YourAppName-\(fileName).pdf") {
status = true
}
}
} catch {
print("could not locate pdf file !!!!!!!")
}
}
return status
}
Downloading and displaying PDF in Webview using Swift.
let request = URLRequest(url: URL(string: "http://<your pdf url>")!)
let config = URLSessionConfiguration.default
let session = URLSession(configuration: config)
let task = session.dataTask(with: request, completionHandler: {(data, response, error) in
if error == nil{
if let pdfData = data {
let pathURL = FileManager.default.urls(for: .documentDirectory, in: .userDomainMask)[0].appendingPathComponent("\(filename).pdf")
do {
try pdfData.write(to: pathURL, options: .atomic)
}catch{
print("Error while writting")
}
DispatchQueue.main.async {
self.webView.delegate = self
self.webView.scalesPageToFit = true
self.webView.loadRequest(URLRequest(url: pathURL))
}
}
}else{
print(error?.localizedDescription ?? "")
}
}); task.resume()