I've been trying to save to a property list file, however it's not working as its only saving the object to the array not the actual file itself, meaning that what it saves isn't obviously persisting.
[[category objectAtIndex:questionCounter] replaceObjectAtIndex:5 withObject:myString];
[category writeToFile:filePath atomically:YES];
I'm using this earlier on to save the property list files to the document directory so that I can edit and save to them:
NSArray *paths=NSSearchPathForDirectoriesInDomains(NSDocumentDirectory,NSUserDomainMask, YES);
NSString *documentsDirectory = [paths objectAtIndex:0];
NSString *plistFilePath = [documentsDirectory stringByAppendingPathComponent:fileNameFull];
if([[NSFileManager defaultManager] fileExistsAtPath:plistFilePath]) {
category = [NSMutableArray arrayWithContentsOfFile:plistFilePath];
NSLog(#"Files exist.");
}
else {
filePath = [[NSBundle mainBundle] pathForResource:fileNamer ofType:#"plist"];
category = [NSMutableArray arrayWithContentsOfFile:filePath];
NSLog(#"Files have been created.");
}
My property list is made up of arrays, within those arrays I'm trying to save my object (the string). I have a feeling it's something trivial but I can't spot it.
When you are trying to save your array, you are passing in filePath which points to the main bundle directory, which you can't write to. You want to use plistFilePath instead, like so:
[category writeToFile:plistFilePath atomically:YES];
Related
I'm working on an iPhone app and I need to add a new key-value pair to an existing plist file using objective-c. This is what I've tried so far:
NSString *myFile=[[NSBundle mainBundle] pathForResource:#"Favourites" ofType:#"plist"];
dict = [[NSMutableDictionary alloc] initWithContentsOfFile:myFile];
[dict setObject:textContent forKey:keyName];
[dict writeToFile:myFile atomically:YES];
However, when I do this it doesn't write it to the file. I've only seen resources based on either changing the value of a key or adding to another key. Is there another way to accomplish this?
Thank you for your time
You cannot make any changes in the bundle. So what you have to do is copy the .plist file into your documents directory and do the manipulation there.
Something along these lines:
//check for plist
//Get documents directory's location
NSArray*docDir=NSSearchPathForDirectoriesInDomains(NSDocumentDirectory,NSUserDomainMask, YES);
NSString*filePath=[docDir objectAtIndex:0];
NSString*plistPath=[filePath stringByAppendingPathComponent:#"Favourites.plist"];
//Check plist's existance using FileManager
NSError*err=nil;
NSFileManager*fManager=[NSFileManager defaultManager];
if(![fManager fileExistsAtPath:plistPath])
{
//file doesn't exist, copy file from bundle to documents directory
NSString*bundlePath=[[NSBundle mainBundle] pathForResource:#"Favourites" ofType:#"plist"];
[fManager copyItemAtPath:bundlePath toPath:plistPath error:&err];
}
//Get the dictionary from the plist's path
NSMutableDictionary*plistDict=[[NSMutableDictionary alloc] initWithContentsOfFile:plistPath];
//Manipulate the dictionary
[plistDict setObject:textContent forKey:keyName];
//Again save in doc directory.
[plistDict writeToFile:myFile atomically:YES];
I have a view responsible for recording audio. How can i record several audios and show them in a table view?
I'm trying to use docs directory to save the recorded audios:
NSArray *folders = NSSearchPathForDirectoriesInDomains(NSDocumentDirectory,NSUserDomainMask, YES);
NSString *documentsFolder = [folders objectAtIndex:0];
NSString *recordedAudio = [documentsFolder stringByAppendingPathComponent:newAudio];
newAudio is a string that contains new audio name typed by the user with the suffix .m4a.
To retrieve the saved audios i'm trying something like this:
NSArray *folders = NSSearchPathForDirectoriesInDomains(NSDocumentDirectory, NSUserDomainMask, YES);
NSString *documentsFolder = [folders objectAtIndex:0];
NSArray *folderContents = [[NSArray alloc] initWithContentsOfFile:documentsFolder];
I expected folderContents would have all the audios stored at documentsFolder so a could load my table, but its count is 0. I'm new in docs directory, probably i'm missing something, or doing all wrong.
What is wrong, or there is another way to accomplish that?
You are getting the contents of the documents directory incorrectly. This is the right way:
NSArray *folderContents = [[NSFileManager defaultManager] contentsOfDirectoryAtPath:documentsFolder error:nil];
Documents is not a file, it is a folder.
edit: This is how you save a file
Assuming you have an NSData object such as
NSData *audioData = ...; // initialiazed with your recording
After you create your recordedAudio string, which is actually just the filename you want to write to (should probably called audioPath or something), you need to add this:
[audioData writeToFile:recordedAudio atomically:YES];
I'm currently trying to save a NSMutabledictionary keys and objects in a plist file. My keys are integers, so I'm using NSNumber to put them into the writeToFile function.
Even with that change, I cant find any of my saved data in the plist find. I suppose there is a problem with the NSNumber pointer because when I use a string it works.
do you have an idea of what is missing in my code?
NSMutableDictionary *dictionnaireNoms = [[NSMutableDictionary alloc] initWithCapacity:40];
NSNumber *nombre = [[NSNumber alloc] initWithInteger:dictionnaireNoms.count];
NSString *nomCommerce = text.text;
[dictionnaireNoms setObject:nomCommerce forKey:nombre];
//2. Sauvegarde du nom dans un fichier
[saveDicoCommerce enregisterNom:dictionnaireNoms];
- (void)enregisterNom:(NSMutableDictionary*)nom
{
NSArray *paths = NSSearchPathForDirectoriesInDomains(NSDocumentDirectory, NSUserDomainMask, YES);
NSString *documentsDirectory = [paths objectAtIndex:0];
NSLog(#"%#", documentsDirectory);
NSString *pathNom = [documentsDirectory stringByAppendingPathComponent:#"NomsDeCommerces.plist"];
if (!documentsDirectory) {
NSLog(#"Documents directory not found!");
return;
}
[nom writeToFile:pathNom atomically:YES];
if(![[NSFileManager defaultManager] fileExistsAtPath:pathNom])
{
NSLog(#"file not found");
return;
}
}
NSDictionary can only write itself directly if it only contains string keys. It confirms this you try to write using
[[NSPropertyListSerialization dataWithPropertyList:nom format:NSPropertyListBinaryFormat_v1_0 options:0 error:nil] writeToFile:pathNom atomically:NO];`
The output is:
Property list invalid for format: 200 (property list dictionaries may only have keys which are CFStrings, not 'CFNumber')
However, you can store NSDictionary objects containing NSNumber keys if you serialize it using NSCoding. Replace this:
[nom writeToFile:pathNom atomically:YES];
with:
[NSKeyedArchiver archiveRootObject:nom toFile:pathNom];
To read the file created, use:
NSDictionary *nom2 = [NSKeyedUnarchiver unarchiveObjectWithFile:pathNom];
For more information about archives, see the Archives and Serializations Programming Guide.
Why do u want to allocate NSNumber? Try this [your_dictionary setValue:[NSNumber numberWithInt:your_int]];
I am currently creating a controller class for my plist.in this plist I have a root dictionary that has several types in it (Number, String and Dictionary), In my controller class I check for a plist then add it to the documents so I can read and write to it.
From here I read whats in my current plist and pass those values over to tempvars I have set up in this class.
This is what my read method looks like in my plist controller class.
-(void) readPlistData
{
// Data.plist code
// get paths from root direcory
NSArray *paths = NSSearchPathForDirectoriesInDomains (NSDocumentDirectory, NSUserDomainMask, YES);
// get documents path
NSString *documentsPath = [paths objectAtIndex:0];
// get the path to our Data/plist file
NSString *plistPath = [documentsPath stringByAppendingPathComponent:#"EngineProperties.plist"];
// check to see if Data.plist exists in documents
if (![[NSFileManager defaultManager] fileExistsAtPath:plistPath])
{
// if not in documents, get property list from main bundle
plistPath = [[NSBundle mainBundle] pathForResource:#"EngineProperties" ofType:#"plist"];
}
// read property list into memory as an NSData object
NSData *plistXML = [[NSFileManager defaultManager] contentsAtPath:plistPath];
NSString *errorDesc = nil;
NSPropertyListFormat format;
// convert static property liost into dictionary object
NSDictionary *temp = (NSDictionary *)[NSPropertyListSerialization propertyListFromData:plistXML mutabilityOption:NSPropertyListMutableContainersAndLeaves format:&format errorDescription:&errorDesc];
if (!temp)
{
NSLog(#"Error reading plist: %#, format: %d", errorDesc, format);
}
// assign values
self.protocolSignature = [temp objectForKey:#"Protocol"];
self.requestNumber = [temp objectForKey:#"RequestNumber"];
//How do I add the dictionary values here?
}
The reason I put the data into variables is because latter I am going to use these values to test against checks I want to perform against my db.. making sure of things like i am receiving the correct request number etc.
UPDATE:: my idea to add them to the dictionary inside the root dictionary would be something like this. which i think is not even close but it might give you a better clue to what I am trying to do.
self.cacheValue = [temp objectForKey:#"Cache Value"];
self.manufacturers = [cacheValue objectForKey:#"Manufacturers"];
self.models = [cacheValue objectForKey:#"Model"];
self.subModels = [cacheValue objectForKey:#"SubModels"];
any help would be greatly appreciated.
I believe you want to do the following:
Define your cacheValue property in the .h as a mutable dictionary.
NSMutableDictionary *cacheValue;
Serialize the plistXml as a NSMutableDictionary:
// This is the root Dictionary
NSMutableDictionary *temp = (NSMutableDictionary *)[NSPropertyListSerialization propertyListWithData:plistXML options:NSPropertyListMutableContainersAndLeaves format:NSPropertyListXMLFormat_v1_0 error:&error];
Since everything is mutable, you can now read, update, insert, delete any part of the dictionary or its subcontents. For instance, grabbing the Mutable Dictionary "Cache Value" is just:
self.cacheValue = [temp objectForKey:#"Cache Value"];
Remember to check that the object is not nil in case there isn't a value for the key. The key needs to be exactly as it appears in the plist.
Updating a value in the Mutable Dictionary is easy:
[self.cache setValue:#"New Value" forKey:#"Sub"];
And finally, to save the changes in the root Mutable Dictionary back to the plist:
/*
The flag "atomically" specifies whether the file should be written atomically or not.
If flag is YES, the receiver is written to an auxiliary file, and then the auxiliary file is renamed to path.
If flag is NO, the dictionary is written directly to path.
The YES option guarantees that path will not be corrupted even if the system crashes during writing.
*/
[self.temp writeToFile:plistPath atomically:YES];
Hope this helps, cheers!
I had a look around, trying to find a straightforward method for first saving a MutableArray (which will contain different text arrays from UITextViews with returns etc.) into a txt-file and then loading the txt-file back into my MutableArray.
I didn't manage to come up with the reverse method (loading the text-file) and was wondering how I should go about this. I'm sure txt files and mutable arrays are not really compatible, especially if I want the MutableArray to hold various text strings from UITextViews.
Is there a way to mark the beginning of one section in a mutable array and the beginning of the next in a txt file? The aim would be to be able to edit the txt file both in the program and in a simple text editor without messing up the structure of the mutable array.
Can I use a certain special character (not \n obviously) in my text file so as to separate different objects?
Here is what I've come up with so far. Sorry, I'm a beginner and it's very basic. The first problem is that I get the error message 'NSMutableArray' may not respond to '-writeToFile:atomically:encoding:error:'. Next, I have no idea how to load the txt back into my Array. Finally, I'd like to come up with a way to separate the arrays in the txt so that it remains editable, but that would be the absolute icing. Perhaps a solution would be to save each Object in an Array in a separate txt file and then load each txt into the array?
// GENERATE ARRAY
NoteBook = [[NSMutableArray alloc] init];
for (int temp = 0; temp < 3; temp++) {
[NoteBook insertObject:#"Title\n\n Line1\nLine2..." atIndex:temp];
}
// SAVING MY MUTABLE ARRAY
NSArray *paths = NSSearchPathForDirectoriesInDomains(NSDocumentDirectory, NSUserDomainMask, YES);
NSString *documentsDirectory = [paths objectAtIndex:0]; // Get documents directory
NSError *error;
BOOL succeed = [NoteBook writeToFile:[documentsDirectory stringByAppendingPathComponent:#"myfile.txt"]
atomically:YES encoding:NSUTF8StringEncoding error:&error];
if (!succeed){
// Handle error here
}
// LOADING TEXTFILE AND PUT IT INTO A MUTABLE ARRAY
// NO IDEA... how to do this
Convert your arrays into strings, and vice versa, using, e.g.,
NSString* arrayText = [NoteBook componentsJoinedByString: #"<your-favourite-separator-string>"];
the write to file using [arrayText writeToFile...]
After reading a string back from a file, use
Notebook = [arrayText componentsSeparatedByString: #"<your-favourite-separator-string>"];
Lastly, don't do this. Save your array directly to a property list (read up on those) or JSON or some other structured data format.
Why not just turn the mutable array into JSON and write that string to a file? The inverse is to read the string from file and turn back into an array using the JSON parser. json-framework is very easy to use.
A benefit would be that you could create or modify your array by editing text files as long as you write valid JSON.
make NSMutableArray to NSArray .because NSMutableArray does not have writeToFile .
retriev array from file
NSArray *theCatalogInfo=nil;
NSString *theCatalogFilePath = [NSString stringWithFormat:#"%#/Documents/",NSHomeDirectory()];
theCatalogFilePath = [theCatalogFilePath stringByAppendingString:kCatalogCachePath];
if(nil!=theCatalogFilePath)
{
theCatalogInfo=[[NSArray alloc]initWithContentsOfFile:theCatalogFilePath];
}
Save array To file
NSString *theCatalogFilePath = [NSString stringWithFormat:#"%#/Documents/",NSHomeDirectory()];
theCatalogFilePath = [theCatalogFilePath stringByAppendingString:kCatalogCachePath];
[**YourArray** writeToFile:theCatalogFilePath atomically:YES];
Have a look at following three methods to create a text file, write to it and read the data from it.
The key is to store the different objects separated by space. And you should get it very simple.
-(void)createFile
{
NSArray *paths = NSSearchPathForDirectoriesInDomains
(NSDocumentDirectory, NSUserDomainMask, YES);
NSString *documentsDirectory = [paths objectAtIndex:0];
NSString *filePath = [documentsDirectory stringByAppendingPathComponent:#"Sample.txt"];
NSFileManager * file_manager = [NSFileManager defaultManager];
if(![file_manager fileExistsAtPath:filePath])
{
[file_manager createFileAtPath:filePath contents:nil attributes:nil];
NSString *content = #"NULL NULL NULL";
[content writeToFile:filePath
atomically:NO
encoding:NSStringEncodingConversionAllowLossy
error:nil];
}
}
-(void)writeToFile
{
NSArray *paths = NSSearchPathForDirectoriesInDomains
(NSDocumentDirectory, NSUserDomainMask, YES);
NSString *documentsDirectory = [paths objectAtIndex:0];
NSString *filePath = [documentsDirectory stringByAppendingPathComponent:#"Sample.txt"];
NSString *content = [NSString stringWithFormat:#"%# %# %#", obj1, obj2, obj3];
[content writeToFile:filePath
atomically:NO
encoding:NSStringEncodingConversionAllowLossy
error:nil];
}
-(void)readFromFile
{
objects = [[NSArray alloc] init];
NSArray *paths = NSSearchPathForDirectoriesInDomains
(NSDocumentDirectory, NSUserDomainMask, YES);
NSString *documentsDirectory = [paths objectAtIndex:0];
NSString *filePath = [documentsDirectory stringByAppendingPathComponent:#"Sample.txt"];
if (filePath) {
NSString *myText = [NSString stringWithContentsOfFile:filePath encoding:NSASCIIStringEncoding error:nil];
if (myText) {
objects = [myText componentsSeparatedByString:#" "];
}
}
}
if your nsarray contains nsdictionary, nsarray, nsstring, nsnumber, nsdata or nsdate objects (no custom objects, int's, etc) you can simply write the contents of your mutable array to a plist file.
this will maintain the data structure you have and you can simply read that data right into an array. How I do it in a couple of my data classes is
NSArray *tempArray = [NSArray arrayWithContentsOfFile:[Utils getFileLocation]];
if (tempArray == nil) {
yourArray = [[NSMutableArray alloc] init];
} else {
yourArray = [[NSArray deepMutableCopy:tempArray] retain];
}