Add Input from UITextField to Array - ios

Question

I'll try to preface this as clearly as possible. I have a simple .plist stored in the Documents folder with two different keys. I'm using an AlertView UITextField to receive user input which should be added to the correct key. Using the setObject:forKey returns NSMutableArray may not respond to setObject:forKey. With my current code below I can write to my .plist but the problem is it's changed from a Dictionary to a simple Array. How would I implement a writeToFile for a specific key with this setup? Or on the flip side, am I approaching this from the wrong direction?
In my h
#interface RootViewController: UIViewController <UITableViewDelegate, UITableViewDataSource, MFMailComposeViewControllerDelegate> {
UINavigationBar *navBar;
UITableView *myTable;
NSMutableArray *info;
}
#property(nonatomic, retain) NSMutableArray *info;
#end
And in my m. Yes this is being done without the use of IB completely in code
//************* Add New Cell To TableView When OK is Chosen
- (void)alertView:(UIAlertView *)alertView clickedButtonAtIndex:(NSInteger)buttonIndex {
UITextField *newDevice = [alertView textFieldAtIndex:0];
NSLog(#"newDevice - %#",newDevice.text);
if (alertView.tag == 1 && buttonIndex == 1){
NSArray *paths = NSSearchPathForDirectoriesInDomains(NSDocumentDirectory, NSUserDomainMask, YES);
NSString *documentsDirectory = [paths objectAtIndex:0];
NSString *path = [documentsDirectory stringByAppendingPathComponent:#"stuff.plist"];
[self.info writeToFile:path atomically:YES];
[myTable reloadData]
UPDATE
A little insight on how I've managed to put myself into this situation
NSArray *paths = NSSearchPathForDirectoriesInDomains(NSDocumentDirectory, NSUserDomainMask, YES);
NSString *documentsDirectory = [paths objectAtIndex:0];
NSString *path = [documentsDirectory stringByAppendingPathComponent:#"stuff.plist"];
NSMutableDictionary *dict = [NSMutableDictionary dictionaryWithContentsOfFile:path];
self.info = [dict objectForKey:#"Area"];
Above code is how I've managed to populate my TableView so I'm possibly going about this wrong. NSMutableDictionary Doesn't respond to removeObjectAtIndexPath and I'd like to be able to delete a cell from my TableView.

Answer 1

I'm assuming you want to update the key Area in the property list, but keep other properties unchanged.
To accomplish this, keep the dictionary representation around, e.g.,
NSMutableArray *info;
NSMutableDictionary *dict; // add instance variable
and
dict = [NSMutableDictionary dictionaryWithContentsOfFile:path]; // remove local variable
Then, when writing:
[dict setObject:info forKey:#"Area"];
[dict writeToFile:path atomically:YES];
(You could also make dict a property, and you could remove the info variable, instead implementing its accessors to work on the key in the dictionary.)

Answer 2

NSArray *paths = NSSearchPathForDirectoriesInDomains(NSDocumentDirectory, NSUserDomainMask, YES);
NSString *documentsDirectory = [paths objectAtIndex:0];
NSString *path = [documentsDirectory stringByAppendingPathComponent:#"stuff.plist"];
NSMutableDictionary *dictionary = [[NSMutableDictionary alloc] initWithContentsOfFile:path];
UITextField *newDevice = [alertView textFieldAtIndex:0];
NSLog(#"newDevice - %#",newDevice.text);
if (alertView.tag == 1 && buttonIndex == 1){
NSMutableArray *existing = dictionary[#"Area"];
[existing addObject:newDevice.text];
[dictionary setObject:existing forKey:#"Area"];
[dictionary writeToFile:path atomically:YES];
[self.info addObject:newDevice.text];
[myTable reloadData];