Show recorded audios in tableview - iphone

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];

Related

Saving a string to a property list (plist) file?

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];

Adding data to the plist dynamically and populating the tableview cells

I am developing an application where i have created the plist, and i am adding data to it..but what is happening is that everytime the data is overwritten and the previous data is lost. I mean suppose i add one name called rocky, next time when i add rock, rocky gets overwritten with rock, but what i want is my plist should contain both rocky and rock and so on...I am adding the data in plist by user entry....
here is my code below..
-(IBAction) myplist:(id) sender//the data is saved in a plist by clicking on this button
{
NSLog(#"mylist Clicked");
NSMutableArray *array = [[NSMutableArray alloc] init];
[array addObject:searchLabel.text];
// 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:#"Data.plist"];
// This writes the array to a plist file. If this file does not already exist, it creates a new one.
[array writeToFile:plistPath atomically: TRUE];
}
I think this will serve your purpose with a slight modification to your code.
NSLog(#"mylist Clicked");
NSMutableArray *array = [[NSMutableArray alloc] init];
// 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:#"Data.plist"];
//This copies objects of plist to array if there is one
[array addObjectsFromArray:[NSArray arrayWithContentsOfFile:plistPath]];
[array addObject:searchLabel.text];
// This writes the array to a plist file. If this file does not already exist, it creates a new one.
[array writeToFile:plistPath atomically: TRUE];
Try to use a sequence to store data to pList.
1., retrieve old data from pList into a NSMutableDictionary/NSMutableArray
2., add a new record into the NSMutableDictionary/NSMutableArray
3., write to file
You cant append data to Plist. Since you are doing writeToFile each time , the plist file gets re-written. So the data u stored initially will not be there in it. The only other way to achieve wat u desire is to retrieve the array of data from the plist. Then add ur new data object to the array. Write the plist file to disk again with the new appended array.
Hope this helps.

Application's Document folder in iphone

I am using dropbox API and downloading file in application document folder.
I am able to view list of files in table from document directory. How can I read photos or file from this table view?
And what about the iPhone. Can we access document folder directly?
This is the more commonly used approach to get the documents directory –
NSArray *searchResults = NSSearchPathForDirectoriesInDomains(NSDocumentDirectory, NSUserDomainMask, YES);
NSString *documentsDirectory = [searchResults objectAtIndex:0];
NSString *filePath = [documentsDirectory stringByAppendingPathComponent:fileName];
You can use NSFileManager to examine the contents of the directory. You can look at the contentsOfDirectoryAtPath:error: method.
Access document Folder -
NSDictionary *theCatalogInfo=nil;
NSString *theCatalogFilePath = [NSString stringWithFormat:#"%#/Documents/",NSHomeDirectory()];
theCatalogFilePath = [theCatalogFilePath stringByAppendingString:#"File Name"];
if(nil!=theCatalogFilePath)
{
theCatalogInfo=[[NSDictionary alloc]initWithContentsOfFile:theCatalogFilePath];
}
return theCatalogInfo;

Saving a NSMutableArray into a txt-file / Loading txt-file back into NSMutableArray

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];
}

Read/Write to a plist file that comes bundled with the app

I am building an add-on to my app where the user can search for an item in a list that is pre-populated with data from a .plist file. It is an NSDictionary. If the term, the user searched for, does not exist, the user can tap a + button and add it so it is there the next time.
First of I thought it would be as easy as using the NSUserDefaults, but a few problems arises.
To have the list included I must place it in the bundle, but if it is there I can not add new key/value pairs to it. This I can only do with files situated in the Documents folder.
So I guess I have to bundle the plist, then on first run I'll move it to the documents folder and access it there.
This opens up the problem when I need to update the app, I guess it will overwrite the values the user put in.
Is there a secure, easy-understandable, right way to achieve the functionality I describe?
Thanks for any help given:)
Edit: **** the actual approach, as suggested by TheSquad and TomH *****
+ (NSMutableDictionary*) genericProducts {
NSFileManager *fileManager = [NSFileManager defaultManager];
NSArray *documentPaths = NSSearchPathForDirectoriesInDomains(NSDocumentDirectory, NSUserDomainMask, YES);
NSString *documentsDirectory = [documentPaths objectAtIndex:0];
NSString *documentPlistPath = [documentsDirectory stringByAppendingPathComponent:#"GenericProducts.plist"];
NSString *bundlePath = [[NSBundle mainBundle] bundlePath];
NSString *bundlePlistPath = [bundlePath stringByAppendingPathComponent:#"GenericProducts.plist"];
if([fileManager fileExistsAtPath:documentPlistPath]){
NSMutableDictionary *documentDict = [NSMutableDictionary dictionaryWithContentsOfFile:documentPlistPath];
return documentDict;
} else {
NSError *error;
BOOL success = [fileManager copyItemAtPath:bundlePlistPath toPath:documentPlistPath error:&error];
if (success) {
NSMutableDictionary *newlySavedDict = [NSMutableDictionary dictionaryWithContentsOfFile:documentPlistPath];
return newlySavedDict;
}
return nil;
}
}
And for adding a new product to the list:
+ (void) addItemToGenericProducts:(NSString*) newProduct {
NSArray *documentPaths = NSSearchPathForDirectoriesInDomains(NSDocumentDirectory, NSUserDomainMask, YES);
NSString *documentsDirectory = [documentPaths objectAtIndex:0];
NSString *documentPlistPath = [documentsDirectory stringByAppendingPathComponent:#"GenericProducts.plist"];
NSMutableDictionary *documentDict = [NSMutableDictionary dictionaryWithContentsOfFile:documentPlistPath];
[documentDict setObject:newProduct forKey:[MD5Checksum cheksum:newProduct]];
[documentDict writeToFile:documentPlistPath atomically:YES];
}
I had the same thoughts with my sqlite database...
I end up doing exactly that, copy the bundled file into documents in order to be able to modify it.
What I have done is checking at each startup if the file exist, if it does not, copy it.
If you do an update of your App, the documents folder will not be touch, this means the copied file from the previous version will still be present.
The only issue is that if you want your plist to be upgraded you will have to handle that in your application. If you have to do so I suggest you use the NSUserDefault to check if a previous version of the app existed before...
The contents of the documents directory is not altered when an application is updated.
The contents of the documents directory are deleted when the user deletes the app.
When the app is run the first time write a flag to NSUserDefaults. On subsequent runs of the app, check for existence of the flag. (alternatively, you can just check for existence of the plist in he documents directory)