Opening a PDF with UIDocumentInteractionController URL error - ios

Question

The app needs to create a URL to pass into a UIDocumentInteractionController that will present the user with options to share the file. It's a PDF that is downloaded over the network and confirmed as being in place.
let documentsPath = FileManager.default.urls(for: .documentDirectory, in: .userDomainMask).first!
let filePath = documentsPath.appendingPathComponent("documents/\(self.filename!)").path
let fileURL = URL(fileURLWithPath: filePath)
This is where the PDF is stored after being downloaded.
let documentController: UIDocumentInteractionController = UIDocumentInteractionController.init(url: fileURL)
documentController.uti = "com.adobe.pdf"
documentController.presentOpenInMenu(from: CGRect(x: 0, y: 0, width: self.container.frame.width, height: self.container.frame.height), in: self.container, animated: true)
This opens up the menu with the sharing options but when trying to select an app to open the PDF, the following error occurs:
Could not instantiate class NSURL. Error: Error Domain=NSCocoaErrorDomain Code=4864 "The URL archive of type “public.url” contains invalid data." UserInfo={NSDebugDescription=The URL archive of type “public.url” contains invalid data.}
After having confirmed the document is where it should be, when printing the fileURL, it's the following:
file:///var/mobile/Containers/Data/Application/3296B736-4DFB-4F62-9B05-C800D574982B/Documents/documents/77351848-68816600-1626168959.pdf
I have searched high and low for an answer to this and I believe it's more linked to the URL than the UIDocumentInteractionController itself.
Any advice would be enormously appreciated.

Answer 1

Swift 5 Implementation(Xcode 12.5):
class VC1: UIViewController {
var pdfURL: URL?
var documentInteractionController:UIDocumentInteractionController!
override func viewDidLoad() {
super.viewDidLoad()
}
#IBAction func downloadAction(_ sender: Any) {
self.downloadPDF()
}
func downloadPDF() {
guard let url = URL(string: "https://file-examples-com.github.io/uploads/2017/10/file-sample_150kB.pdf") else { return }
let urlSession = URLSession(configuration: .default, delegate: self, delegateQueue: OperationQueue())
let downloadTask = urlSession.downloadTask(with: url)
downloadTask.resume()
}
func showPDF(url: URL) {
documentInteractionController = UIDocumentInteractionController(url: url)
documentInteractionController.delegate = self
DispatchQueue.main.async { [self] in
documentInteractionController.presentPreview(animated: true)
}
}
}
extension VC1: UIDocumentInteractionControllerDelegate {
func documentInteractionControllerViewControllerForPreview(_ controller: UIDocumentInteractionController) -> UIViewController {
return self
}
func documentInteractionControllerDidEndPreview(_ controller: UIDocumentInteractionController) {
print("Dismissed!!!")
documentInteractionController = nil
}
}
extension VC1: URLSessionDownloadDelegate {
func urlSession(_ session: URLSession, downloadTask: URLSessionDownloadTask, didFinishDownloadingTo location: URL) {
guard let url = downloadTask.originalRequest?.url else { return }
let documentsPath = FileManager.default.urls(for: .cachesDirectory, in: .userDomainMask)[0]
let destinationURL = documentsPath.appendingPathComponent(url.lastPathComponent)
try? FileManager.default.removeItem(at: destinationURL)
do {
try FileManager.default.copyItem(at: location, to: destinationURL)
self.pdfURL = destinationURL
showPDF(url: destinationURL)
} catch let error {
print("Error: \(error.localizedDescription)")
}
}
}