Im looking to see how I can share / export content from my app to allow the content to be imported in the app running on another device.
Something like if you get emailed a pdf file or word file it opens in the correct app when tapped.
I tried using the iTunes sharing approach but that allowed full access to the apps documents folder which allowed the user to mess around with content they should not be allowed to!
The content in the app will be a bundled group of images, text and audio so could be large in size so was thinking of how to transfer easily from within the app to a PC of some file sharing service that would allow the target user to then select this content from within there app and have it imported available to use.
Is this a big ask?
The 1Password app uses DropBox and it seems to work quiet well.
Related
I've been trying to write a Mac app lately, and have run into an issue. This is not overly major but it would be great to have a solution.
I have to load an image at runtime, specified by the user (so no, I cannot embed the image into the bundle as many alternatives suggest), and embed it into an NSTextView using NSAttributedText. The image loads fine from the Pictures directory (/Users/USERNAME/Pictures/IMAGE) etc, but not from the Desktop. I have checked the Capabilities tab in Xcode, and Read/Write is enabled for all of the available options:image
Using FileManager, I have determined that the file definitely exists, but is not readable. Can I set this manually in the Entitlements file?
Thanks in advance.
No, you can't. The standard desktop is not accessible out of the box if the app is sandboxed. Only the standard Downloads, Pictures, Music and Movies folder are accessible with the corresponding entitlement.
There are two options to access the other folders but in all cases the user must choose them once
Open/Save dialog for temporary access if the appropriate entitlement is set.
A security scoped bookmark for permanent access but also in this case the user must first choose the folder once via Open/Save dialog and the security scoped bookmark must be created programmatically.
I have made an app that displays my website from a UIWebView and it takes you to a store that you can download files. My question is that I need to download a '.zip'file from my website using the app to the IPhone. Heres is my problem. I don't want the file to goto the App's Document folder, I want it to goto a folder that is outside of my applications folder. Here is an example path I might want my file to goto EX:'var/mobile/Library/Downloads'. If there is not a way to download the files to a path outside of the app's folder, is there a way to transfer the specific file that I have downloaded from my website using the my app to another folder that is not located in my app's folders? I know this can be done because I have used apps that have done this, of course they were apps only available on Cydia. This is also an app that will be used for Jail-broken users just for your information!
Thanks for any help!
Any "regular" iphone app runs in a sandbox that prevents access to system wide directories. Practically, you only have access to the app Home Directory.
Unless you go for a jailbroken app, you have no other options than storing to the App docs folder.
Read "The Application Sandbox" and "The File System" [here] for more details1.
EDIT:
I am not an expert on cydia, but the general idea is gaining access as root and then write to where you need to. This can be done by replacing your app with a suid shell script that will in turn exec your app (which will have root privileges now and then be able to go out of the sandbox).
For more info look at this.
Is there anything like the Android's "Share" button in iPhone?
I am just starting out in iOS development and do not have an iPhone (yet). The idea is to be able to select documents or images saved on the phone and use them in my app. I realize there is an ImagePickerController but that is not what I am looking for. I am also not looking for a third party component, rather something integrated into the OS similar to Android.
Short answer: No.
You can register your app to handle certain file types, and files of those types can then be opened by your app via UIActionSheets that may appear, for example, when you tap and hold on a file in an email. You can also transfer files to your app via iTunes. There's no 'file explorer' type feature in iOS where you can pull up a view of files saved to your phone.
For images, as you mentioned already, you must use UIImagePickerController.
From documentation
Sharing Files with the User
Applications that want to make user data files accessible can do so using application file sharing. File sharing enables the application to expose the contents of its /Documents directory to the user through iTunes. The user can then move files back and forth between the device and a desktop computer. This feature does not allow your application to share files with other applications on the same device, though. To share data and files between applications, you must the pasteboard or a document interaction controller object.
You can read more here:
https://developer.apple.com/library/ios/#documentation/iPhone/Conceptual/iPhoneOSProgrammingGuide/StandardBehaviors/StandardBehaviors.html%23//apple_ref/doc/uid/TP40007072-CH4-SW7
It doesn't sound like this is possible, but I will ask anyway.
In my app, I store a lot of images and plists in the documents directory.
I would like to implement a PDF reader in the app that allows users to load their PDFs into the app via iTunes. I do not want the user to be able to see/access the contents of the documents directory since they could cause the app to perform unexpectedly if they messed with these files.
Is this possible, or is it possible to place my plists and images somewhere else?
You'll need to be registered with Apple to see this, but this page should give you the information you need.
You'll need to add a UIFileSharingEnabled key to Info.plist. This will give the user access to the Documents directory of the app, and let them remove or add files.
This tutorial gives an example of how to set up PDF support in an iPad app.
I need a copy of the store that is saved as Core Data sqlite file inside a test app installed on my device.
I know how to get files out of the the simulator at path: ~/Library/Application Support/iPhone Simulator/[Version]/Applications/[AppID]/Documents
...but i need get the .sqlite file from the app on the device itself.
Unless the app itself has file sharing built in, you can't access the documents folder from outside the app. It is a security precaution and part of the sandbox.
Update:
I misunderstood the context of the question. To get files off a developers iPhone, connect the device and open Xcode>Window>Organizer. Select the device in the lefthand pane. In the righthand pane will be a list of applications. Your custom apps will have an arrow next to it. Hit the arrow and you will see "Application Data" hit the down arrow icon and it will let you download the data to folder. That folder will contain the apps Document, Library and tmp folders.
I wrote an application specifically for this to distribute to my customers and testers of my applications when they have problems. iPhoneRescue is free and allows you to get at all of the backup information in your iPhone; this includes any sqlite files.
All the users have to do is find their device backup, find the application, and then save the application files or just a specific file. (This does not work if they have encrypted their backups).