Share Extensions | App Extensions | Iosdevelopment Tutorial

Introduction

Share Extensions in iOS enable users to share content with other apps or services. This tutorial will guide you through creating a Share Extension from start to finish.

Prerequisites

Before you begin, ensure you have the following:

Xcode installed on your Mac
Basic knowledge of Swift and iOS development

Step 1: Creating a New Project

Open Xcode and create a new project. Choose "App" under the iOS tab and click "Next". Enter the project name, organization identifier, and other details. Ensure the language is set to Swift and the user interface to Storyboard.

Step 2: Adding a Share Extension

To add a Share Extension to your project:

Select your project in the Project Navigator.
Click the "+" button at the bottom of the "Targets" section.
Choose "Share Extension" from the list of templates and click "Next".
Enter the product name for your extension and click "Finish".

Step 3: Configuring the Share Extension

After adding the Share Extension, configure it by modifying the Info.plist file of your extension target. Ensure the following keys are set correctly:

<key>NSExtension</key>
<dict>
    <key>NSExtensionAttributes</key>
    <dict>
        <key>NSExtensionActivationRule</key>
        <dict>
            <key>NSExtensionActivationSupportsImageWithMaxCount</key>
            <integer>1</integer>
            <key>NSExtensionActivationSupportsMovieWithMaxCount</key>
            <integer>1</integer>
            <key>NSExtensionActivationSupportsWebURLWithMaxCount</key>
            <integer>1</integer>
        </dict>
    </dict>
    <key>NSExtensionMainStoryboard</key>
    <string>MainInterface</string>
    <key>NSExtensionPointIdentifier</key>
    <string>com.apple.share-services</string>
</dict>

Step 4: Implementing the ShareViewController

Open ShareViewController.swift and implement the necessary methods to handle shared content. Here's a basic example:

import UIKit
import Social

class ShareViewController: SLComposeServiceViewController {
    override func isContentValid() -> Bool {
        // Validate the content here
        return true
    }

    override func didSelectPost() {
        // Handle the shared content here
        if let item = extensionContext?.inputItems.first as? NSExtensionItem,
           let attachment = item.attachments?.first {
            if attachment.hasItemConformingToTypeIdentifier("public.url") {
                attachment.loadItem(forTypeIdentifier: "public.url", options: nil) { (url, error) in
                    if let shareURL = url as? URL {
                        print("Shared URL: \(shareURL)")
                    }
                }
            }
        }
        self.extensionContext?.completeRequest(returningItems: [], completionHandler: nil)
    }

    override func configurationItems() -> [Any]! {
        // Add configuration options if needed
        return []
    }
}

Step 5: Testing Your Share Extension

To test your Share Extension:

Select your Share Extension target and choose a host app to run it.
Build and run your project.
Share content from the host app to trigger your Share Extension.

Check the console for output to verify that your extension is handling the shared content correctly.

Conclusion

In this tutorial, you learned how to create a Share Extension for your iOS app. Share Extensions enhance user experience by allowing content sharing across different apps and services.

Comprehensive Tutorial on Share Extensions