How to Display/View Pdf In Swift Using Blob Url?

12 minutes read

To display/view a PDF in Swift using a blob URL, you will first need to retrieve the PDF file as a Data object. You can then create a blob URL using this data object. Next, you can create a WebView in your Swift app and load the PDF blob URL in the WebView using the load() method. This will display the PDF file in the WebView for viewing. Additionally, you can use the WKWebView class for more control over the PDF display and interaction in your app.

Best Swift Books To Read in July 2024

1
Learning Swift: Building Apps for macOS, iOS, and Beyond

Rating is 5 out of 5

Learning Swift: Building Apps for macOS, iOS, and Beyond

2
Swift Programming: The Big Nerd Ranch Guide (Big Nerd Ranch Guides)

Rating is 4.9 out of 5

Swift Programming: The Big Nerd Ranch Guide (Big Nerd Ranch Guides)

3
iOS 17 App Development Essentials: Developing iOS 17 Apps with Xcode 15, Swift, and SwiftUI

Rating is 4.8 out of 5

iOS 17 App Development Essentials: Developing iOS 17 Apps with Xcode 15, Swift, and SwiftUI

4
The Ultimate iOS Interview Playbook: Conquer Swift, frameworks, design patterns, and app architecture for your dream job

Rating is 4.7 out of 5

The Ultimate iOS Interview Playbook: Conquer Swift, frameworks, design patterns, and app architecture for your dream job

5
iOS 15 Programming Fundamentals with Swift: Swift, Xcode, and Cocoa Basics

Rating is 4.6 out of 5

iOS 15 Programming Fundamentals with Swift: Swift, Xcode, and Cocoa Basics

6
iOS 17 Programming for Beginners - Eighth Edition: Unlock the world of iOS Development with Swift 5.9, Xcode 15, and iOS 17 - Your Path to App Store Success

Rating is 4.5 out of 5

iOS 17 Programming for Beginners - Eighth Edition: Unlock the world of iOS Development with Swift 5.9, Xcode 15, and iOS 17 - Your Path to App Store Success

7
SwiftUI Cookbook - Third Edition: A guide for building beautiful and interactive SwiftUI apps

Rating is 4.4 out of 5

SwiftUI Cookbook - Third Edition: A guide for building beautiful and interactive SwiftUI apps

8
SwiftUI for Masterminds 4th Edition: How to take advantage of Swift and SwiftUI to create insanely great apps for iPhones, iPads, and Macs

Rating is 4.3 out of 5

SwiftUI for Masterminds 4th Edition: How to take advantage of Swift and SwiftUI to create insanely great apps for iPhones, iPads, and Macs

9
iOS 14 Programming Fundamentals with Swift: Swift, Xcode, and Cocoa Basics

Rating is 4.2 out of 5

iOS 14 Programming Fundamentals with Swift: Swift, Xcode, and Cocoa Basics


How to implement pagination for large PDF files loaded from Blob URLs in Swift?

You can implement pagination for large PDF files loaded from Blob URLs in Swift using the following steps:

  1. Load the PDF file from the Blob URL using the URLSession and URL classes.
  2. Once the PDF file is loaded, create a PDFDocument object from the data using the PDFDocument class.
  3. Determine the number of pages in the PDF document by accessing the pageCount property of the PDFDocument object.
  4. Create a method that takes the current page number and the desired number of items per page as parameters, and returns an array of PDF pages for the specified page number.
  5. To extract the PDF pages for the current page number, loop through the pages in the PDF document and extract the pages that fall within the current page range.
  6. Display the extracted PDF pages on your user interface, such as in a PDFView or UIImageView.
  7. Implement navigation controls, such as next and previous buttons, to allow users to navigate through the PDF pages.


By following these steps, you can efficiently implement pagination for large PDF files loaded from Blob URLs in Swift.


How to implement zooming and scrolling functionalities for PDFs from Blob URLs in Swift?

To implement zooming and scrolling functionalities for PDFs from Blob URLs in Swift, you can use a library like PDFKit to work with PDF documents. Here is a step-by-step guide on how to achieve this:

  1. First, create a PDFView instance to display the PDF content in your view controller:
 1
 2
 3
 4
 5
 6
 7
 8
 9
10
11
12
import PDFKit

class ViewController: UIViewController {
    var pdfView: PDFView!

    override func viewDidLoad() {
        super.viewDidLoad()

        pdfView = PDFView(frame: view.bounds)
        view.addSubview(pdfView)
    }
}


  1. Load the PDF content from the Blob URL and set it to the PDFView:
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
guard let pdfURL = URL(string: "blob://yourbloburl") else {
   return
}

if let document = PDFDocument(url: pdfURL) {
    pdfView.autoScales = true
    pdfView.document = document
}


  1. Implement zooming functionality by setting the displayMode property of the PDFView:
1
2
pdfView.displayMode = .singlePage
pdfView.autoScales = true


  1. Implement scrolling functionality by setting the displayDirection property of the PDFView:
1
pdfView.displayDirection = .vertical


With these steps, you should now have zooming and scrolling functionalities enabled for PDFs loaded from Blob URLs in your Swift application using PDFKit.


What are the limitations of using Blob URLs for displaying PDFs in Swift?

  1. Unsupported on all browsers: Blob URLs are not supported across all browsers, which may limit the accessibility and functionality of the PDF display on certain devices.
  2. Security concerns: Blob URLs may pose security risks as they can potentially expose sensitive information to malicious parties. It is essential to take necessary precautions to ensure data privacy and security when using Blob URLs for displaying PDFs.
  3. Lack of customization options: Blob URLs may restrict the ability to customize the appearance and functionality of the PDF display, limiting the user experience and design options.
  4. Limited support for file types: Blob URLs are primarily designed for handling binary data, which may limit the types of files that can be displayed using this method. In some cases, certain file formats may not be compatible with Blob URLs, leading to display errors or issues.
  5. Performance issues: Blob URLs may affect the performance of the PDF display, especially when handling large or complex files. This can lead to slower loading times, reduced responsiveness, and other performance-related issues for the user.


How to implement a PDF viewer using Blob URL in Swift?

To implement a PDF viewer using Blob URL in Swift, follow these steps:

  1. Add a WebView element to your view controller's storyboard.
  2. Create a function to load the PDF file and display it in the WebView using a Blob URL. Here's an example of how you can do this:
 1
 2
 3
 4
 5
 6
 7
 8
 9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
32
33
34
35
36
import UIKit
import WebKit

class ViewController: UIViewController, WKNavigationDelegate {
    
    @IBOutlet weak var webView: WKWebView!
    
    override func viewDidLoad() {
        super.viewDidLoad()

        loadPDF()
    }

    func loadPDF() {
        if let pdfURL = Bundle.main.url(forResource: "example", withExtension: "pdf") {
            do {
                let pdfData = try Data(contentsOf: pdfURL)
                let blobURL = URL.createObjectURL(pdfData, type: "application/pdf")
                
                webView.load(URLRequest(url: blobURL))
            } catch {
                print("Error loading PDF file: \(error)")
            }
        }
    }
    
    // Create a Blob URL from data
    extension URL {
        static func createObjectURL(_ data: Data, type: String) -> URL {
            let url = URL(fileURLWithPath: NSTemporaryDirectory()).appendingPathComponent(UUID().uuidString)
            try! data.write(to: url)
            return url
        }
    }
    
}


  1. Call the loadPDF() function in your view controller's viewDidLoad() method or wherever you need to load the PDF file.
  2. Make sure to replace "example" with the name of your PDF file (without the extension) and update the path to the PDF file if it's located in a different directory.
  3. Run your app and you should see the PDF file displayed in the WebView using the Blob URL.


Note: Make sure you have added the necessary permissions in your app's Info.plist file for accessing files and network activities if required.


How to enhance the PDF viewing experience in Swift using Blob URLs?

To enhance the PDF viewing experience in Swift using Blob URLs, you can follow these steps:

  1. Load the PDF file into a Data object.
  2. Create a Blob URL from the Data object using the createObjectURL method of the URL.createObjectURL method.
  3. Create a WKWebView and load the Blob URL using the loadFileURL method.
  4. Display the WKWebView in your view.


Here is an example code snippet to demonstrate this:

 1
 2
 3
 4
 5
 6
 7
 8
 9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
32
33
import WebKit

class PDFViewController: UIViewController {
    
    var webView: WKWebView!
    
    override func viewDidLoad() {
        super.viewDidLoad()
        
        webView = WKWebView(frame: self.view.bounds)
        self.view.addSubview(webView)
        
        if let pdfURL = Bundle.main.url(forResource: "example", withExtension: "pdf") {
            do {
                let pdfData = try Data(contentsOf: pdfURL)
                let blobURL = URL.createObjectURL(pdfData)
                
                webView.loadFileURL(blobURL, allowingReadAccessTo: blobURL)
            } catch {
                print("Error loading PDF file: \(error.localizedDescription)")
            }
        }
    }
    
    override func viewWillDisappear(_ animated: Bool) {
        super.viewWillDisappear(animated)
        
        if let blobURL = webView.url {
            URL.revokeObjectURL(blobURL)
        }
    }
    
}


In this code snippet, we load a PDF file named "example.pdf" from the app's bundle into a Data object. We then create a Blob URL from the Data object using the createObjectURL method. Finally, we create a WKWebView and load the Blob URL to display the PDF file.


Make sure to replace "example.pdf" with the name of your PDF file. Additionally, don't forget to revoke the Blob URL in the viewWillDisappear method to clean up resources properly.


By using Blob URLs, you can enhance the PDF viewing experience in Swift by providing a more seamless and interactive experience for the user.


What is the process of rendering a PDF using Blob URL in Swift?

To render a PDF using Blob URL in Swift, you can follow these steps:

  1. First, you need to convert the PDF file into a Data object. You can do this by loading the PDF file as data using FileManager.
1
2
3
4
let pdfURL = // URL of the PDF file
guard let data = try? Data(contentsOf: pdfURL) else {
    return
}


  1. Next, you need to create a Blob object from the PDF data.
1
let blob = Blob(data: data, type: "application/pdf")


  1. Now, you can create a Blob URL from the Blob object.
1
let blobURL = URL(blob: blob)


  1. Finally, you can use this Blob URL to render the PDF in a web view or any other component that supports Blob URLs.
1
2
3
let webView = WKWebView()
let request = URLRequest(url: blobURL)
webView.load(request)


With these steps, you can render a PDF using Blob URL in Swift.

Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Whatsapp Pocket

Related Posts:

To display a back button on a PDF file in Swift, you can create a custom view with a button that acts as the back button and add it to your PDF view controller. You can then program the button to dismiss the current view controller and navigate back to the pre...
To display a byte-encoded PDF in HTML, you need to follow a few steps:Obtain the byte-encoded PDF: This means you should have the PDF file represented as a byte array or a string containing the encoded data. Convert the byte-encoded data to a format that HTML ...
To open a dynamic URL scheme in Swift, you can use the UIApplication class to handle the URL scheme. First, create a URL object with the dynamic scheme you want to open. Then, check if the URL can be opened using the canOpenURL method of UIApplication. If it c...