{"id":307,"date":"2016-07-08T11:20:50","date_gmt":"2016-07-08T09:20:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/zaven.co\/blog\/?p=307"},"modified":"2025-04-08T19:55:20","modified_gmt":"2025-04-08T17:55:20","slug":"add-extensions-ios-apps-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/zaven.co\/blog\/add-extensions-ios-apps-2\/","title":{"rendered":"How to add extensions to iOS apps (part 1)"},"content":{"rendered":"

App extensions allow you to perform various actions without running an app: share photos on Facebook, send files as an e-mail attachment or open an article. If you are developing an iPhone app and want to find out more, keep reading and learn how to add<\/b> extensions to iOS apps<\/strong>!
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\nI prepared a series of four articles that take up the issue of creating an app that serves to store and display a list of files. Maybe it doesn\u2019t sound too fascinating, but trust me: it can be very useful.<\/p>\n

Kickstart our iPhone app development<\/h2>\n

First we will need to create a project. To do that run the Xcode environment and select: File\/New\/Project\u2026
\nNext, mark iOS\/Application\/Single View Application and click the \u201cNext\u201d button.<\/p>\n

\"How

Creating the project<\/p><\/div>\n

Name the app and select \u201cSwift language\u201d. Click the \u201cNext\u201d button and select a localization to save your project.<\/p>\n

\"App

Setting project options<\/p><\/div>\n

After creating the project, a workspace with an open settings file should display. At this moment we don\u2019t change anything unless we want a different Deployment Target (if so, remember that it can\u2019t be lower than 8.0).<\/p>\n

\"iOS<\/a>

Settings<\/p><\/div>\n

Creating the iOS application view<\/h2>\n

Now, we can create the main app view, in other words, a chart which will display saved files.
\nMove on to the Main.storyboard<\/code> file, then add Table View controller to the already existing View controller and add all constraints with a 0 value so that the chart fills our whole view.<\/p>\n

\"iOS<\/a>

Creating the iOS application view<\/p><\/div>\n

Open the ViewController.swift<\/code> file in Assistant Editor and add an outlet to our table.<\/p>\n

\"Mobile<\/a>

Adding an outlet to the table<\/p><\/div>\n

Now we should move on to the implementation of proper delegates to the chart and files display mode but first, prepare needed elements to fill our table.<\/p>\n

How to add extensions to iOS apps<\/h2>\n

First off, we have to add the extension to iOS app<\/em> and then we\u2019ll enable access to the shared resources. Select from the menu File\/New\/Target\u2026
\nA window, from which you can select the extension type, should display now. Select the first one, Action Extension<\/code>, and click the \u201cNext\u201d button.<\/p>\n

\"iPhone

The extension type<\/p><\/div>\n

In the next window, choose the extension name. In my case it is the app name with added \u201cAction\u201d at the end of it (to suggest the extension type). If we want an individual style while using the extension, we have to leave the chosen Action Type<\/code> on the Present User Interface<\/code>. Click the \u201cFinish\u201d button to approve it.<\/p>\n

\"How

The extension settings<\/p><\/div>\n

The Target we\u2019ve added should appear in our project settings. In the explorer we can see a directory with the extension name and its files.<\/p>\n

\"App<\/a>

Directory with the new extension<\/p><\/div>\n

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Next<\/a> on \u201cHow to add extensions to iOS apps\u201d:<\/h3>\n