Using PDFNet From a Swift Project on iOS

With Xcode 6, Apple introduced a brand new programming language, Swift. PDFNet is easy to use with a Swift project. This post will show how to set up a new Swift project and display a PDF.

This post will show you the basics of starting a new Swift project that uses PDFNet. For a comprehensive introduction to PDFNet on iOS, please see Getting Started on iOS. A completed Swift sample project is included with the most recent version of PDFNet for iOS.

1. Open Xcode 6.0.1+, and select File->New Project->Single View Application. Create a new Universal Swift app.

2. Add the following PDFNet files to your project:

• Lib/PDFNet.framework
• Lib/libTools.a
• Lib/pdfnet.res
• Lib/NSObjectInitWithCptr.h
• Lib/NSObjectInitWithCptr.m
• Lib/src/PDFViewCtrlTools/Tools/ToolManager.h
• Lib/src/PDFViewCtrlTools/Tools/PanTool.h
• Lib/src/PDFViewCtrlTools/Tools/Loupe.png
• Lib/src/PDFViewCtrlTools/Tools/Loupe@2x.png
• TestFiles/mech.pdf

3. Link in the following Apple frameworks

• MediaPlayer.framework
• CoreText.framework
• CoreMedia.framework

4. Change the extension of Lib/NSObjectInitWithCptr.m to .mm (so that the C++ library will be linked in).

5. Add a new header called BridgingHeader.h and change its contents to the following:

#ifndef SwiftSample_BridgingHeader_h
#define SwiftSample_BridgingHeader_h

#import <PDFNet/PDFViewCtrl.h>
#import <PDFNet/PDFNetOBJC.h>
#import "PanTool.h"
#import "ToolManager.h"

#endif

6. Identify the bridging header as such in the project settings. In the Swift Compiler – Code Generation section, set Objective-C Binding Header to the path to BridgingHeader,h.

7.  In the file ViewController.swift, change the viewDidLoad() function to the following:

override func viewDidLoad() {
super.viewDidLoad()

// Do any additional setup after loading the view, typically from a nib.
// initialize PDFNet
PTPDFNet.Initialize("")

// set the resource file
let resourceFilePath = NSBundle.mainBundle().pathForResource("pdfnet", ofType: "res")
PTPDFNet.SetResourcesPath(resourceFilePath!)

// create a PTPDFViewCtrl and add it to the view
let ctrl = PTPDFViewCtrl()
ctrl.frame = CGRect(origin: CGPointZero, size: self.view.bounds.size)
ctrl.SetBackgroundColor(180, g: 180, b: 180, a: 255)
self.view.addSubview(ctrl)

// open the PDF document included in the bundle in the PTPDFViewCtrl
let docPath = NSBundle.mainBundle().pathForResource("mech", ofType: "pdf")
let doc = PTPDFDoc(filepath: docPath!)
ctrl.SetDoc(doc)

// add the toolmanager (used to implement text selection, annotation editing, etc.
let toolManager = ToolManager(PDFViewCtrl: ctrl)
ctrl.toolDelegate = toolManager;
toolManager.changeTool(PanTool)
}

If you run the project, the program should now display the PDF mech.pdf. As stated above, a completed version of this sample is available in the latest version of PDFNet, so please check it out!