Saving PDF Files with Swift in iOS and display them

Since several people requested this, here is the equivalent to the first answer in Swift:

//The URL to Savelet yourURL = NSURL(string: "http://somewebsite.com/somefile.pdf")//Create a URL requestlet urlRequest = NSURLRequest(URL: yourURL!)//get the datalet theData = NSURLConnection.sendSynchronousRequest(urlRequest, returningResponse: nil, error: nil)//Get the local docs directory and append your local filename.var docURL = (NSFileManager.defaultManager().URLsForDirectory(.DocumentDirectory, inDomains: .UserDomainMask)).last as? NSURLdocURL = docURL?.URLByAppendingPathComponent( "myFileName.pdf")//Lastly, write your file to the disk.theData?.writeToURL(docURL!, atomically: true)

Also, since this code uses a synchronous network request, I highly recommend dispatching it to a background queue:

dispatch_async(dispatch_get_global_queue(DISPATCH_QUEUE_PRIORITY_DEFAULT, 0), { () -> Void in    //The URL to Save    let yourURL = NSURL(string: "http://somewebsite.com/somefile.pdf")    //Create a URL request    let urlRequest = NSURLRequest(URL: yourURL!)    //get the data    let theData = NSURLConnection.sendSynchronousRequest(urlRequest, returningResponse: nil, error: nil)    //Get the local docs directory and append your local filename.    var docURL = (NSFileManager.defaultManager().URLsForDirectory(.DocumentDirectory, inDomains: .UserDomainMask)).last as? NSURL    docURL = docURL?.URLByAppendingPathComponent( "myFileName.pdf")    //Lastly, write your file to the disk.    theData?.writeToURL(docURL!, atomically: true)})

And the answer to second question in Swift:

//Getting a list of the docs directorylet docURL = (NSFileManager.defaultManager().URLsForDirectory(.DocumentDirectory, inDomains: .UserDomainMask).last) as? NSURL//put the contents in an array.var contents = (NSFileManager.defaultManager().contentsOfDirectoryAtURL(docURL!, includingPropertiesForKeys: nil, options: NSDirectoryEnumerationOptions.SkipsHiddenFiles, error: nil))//print the file listing to the consoleprintln(contents)

Swift 4.1

 func savePdf(urlString:String, fileName:String) {        DispatchQueue.main.async {            let url = URL(string: urlString)            let pdfData = try? Data.init(contentsOf: url!)            let resourceDocPath = (FileManager.default.urls(for: .documentDirectory, in: .userDomainMask)).last! as URL            let pdfNameFromUrl = "YourAppName-\(fileName).pdf"            let actualPath = resourceDocPath.appendingPathComponent(pdfNameFromUrl)            do {                try pdfData?.write(to: actualPath, options: .atomic)                print("pdf successfully saved!")            } catch {                print("Pdf could not be saved")            }        }    }    func showSavedPdf(url:String, fileName:String) {        if #available(iOS 10.0, *) {            do {                let docURL = try FileManager.default.url(for: .documentDirectory, in: .userDomainMask, appropriateFor: nil, create: false)                let contents = try FileManager.default.contentsOfDirectory(at: docURL, includingPropertiesForKeys: [.fileResourceTypeKey], options: .skipsHiddenFiles)                for url in contents {                    if url.description.contains("\(fileName).pdf") {                       // its your file! do what you want with it!                }            }        } catch {            print("could not locate pdf file !!!!!!!")        }    }}// check to avoid saving a file multiple timesfunc pdfFileAlreadySaved(url:String, fileName:String)-> Bool {    var status = false    if #available(iOS 10.0, *) {        do {            let docURL = try FileManager.default.url(for: .documentDirectory, in: .userDomainMask, appropriateFor: nil, create: false)            let contents = try FileManager.default.contentsOfDirectory(at: docURL, includingPropertiesForKeys: [.fileResourceTypeKey], options: .skipsHiddenFiles)            for url in contents {                if url.description.contains("YourAppName-\(fileName).pdf") {                    status = true                }            }        } catch {            print("could not locate pdf file !!!!!!!")        }    }    return status}

I am giving an example of storing and retrieving a pdf document in iOS. I hope that is what you are looking for.

1. How do I save a PDF local on my app ( for example if the user can enter a url) and where exactly will it save it ?

// the URL to saveNSURL *yourURL = [NSURL URLWithString:@"http://yourdomain.com/yourfile.pdf"];// turn it into a request and use NSData to load its contentNSURLRequest *request = [NSURLRequest requestWithURL:result.link];NSData *data = [NSURLConnection sendSynchronousRequest:request returningResponse:nil error:nil];// find Documents directory and append your local filenameNSURL *documentsURL = [[[NSFileManager defaultManager] URLsForDirectory:NSDocumentDirectory inDomains:NSUserDomainMask] lastObject];documentsURL = [documentsURL URLByAppendingPathComponent:@"localFile.pdf"];// and finally save the file[data writeToURL:documentsURL atomically:YES];

2. When saved, how can I show all the local storaged files within a tableview to open them?

You can check that the file has downloaded, or you can list the Documents directory like so:

// list contents of Documents Directory just to checkNSURL *documentsURL = [[[NSFileManager defaultManager] URLsForDirectory:NSDocumentDirectory inDomains:NSUserDomainMask] lastObject];NSArray *contents = [[NSFileManager defaultManager]contentsOfDirectoryAtURL:documentsURL includingPropertiesForKeys:nil options:NSDirectoryEnumerationSkipsHiddenFiles error:nil];NSLog(@"%@", [contents description]);