Question

i have an application on Xcode 4 for osx. In my program i have some places where i need to read and write to a plist file. currently i have used a file path of /users/my name/desktop/name of document plist. however naturally when i make the application into a app and transfer it to a different computer it is not able to find and read the files. what should i make the file path so that it works on any computer. below is my file path that i have

filepath = @"/Users/Gautambir/Desktop/CustomerNames.plist"

Answer 1

You should never, ever, hard-code paths. You should construct your paths using the various APIs available to do so.

There are several ways to construct valid paths. For instance, this works:

NSString* filePath = [[NSHomeDirectory() stringByAppendingPathComponent:@"Desktop"] stringByAppendingPathComponent:@"CustomerNames.plist"];

Alternatively, you could use:

NSString* filePath = [@"~/Desktop/CustomerNames.plist" stringByExpandingTildeInPath];

Although these are correct ways to build a path, to access special locations such as the Desktop, the Documents folder or the Application Support folder, you should use the NSSearchPathForDirectoriesInDomains() function or, preferably, the NSFileManager methods URLsForDirectory:inDomains: or URLForDirectory:inDomain:appropriateForURL:create:error:.

These URL-based method should always be preferred over their path-based equivalents. Apple recommends all developers move to support the URL-based methods as soon as practicable.

This is primarily because file URLs can store bookmark data, so that if a file moves the URL can still be resolved, which is not the case with paths as paths are just strings and can’t store metadata.

Here’s how you’d use the file manager to find your URL:

NSFileManager* fm = [NSFileManager defaultManager];
NSURL* desktopURL = [fm URLForDirectory:NSDesktopDirectory 
                            inDomain:NSUserDomainMask 
                   appropriateForURL:nil
                        shouldCreate:NO
                               error:nil];

NSURL* fileURL = [desktopURL URLByAppendingPathComponent:@"CustomerNames.plist"];