Add PDF to iBooks by code

Question

I was recently asked if I can code a simple IPhone / iPad application that:

• Checks FTP server for changes to the PDF file (easy)
• Loads the latest PDF (simple)
• Adds or replaces a file on iBooks (hmm ...)

I tried to find any code that deals with inserting / adding / updating files inside iBooks, but, unfortunately, there is very little on this topic. Is this possible, if only manually through iTunes? The feeling of my feeling says that it is just a matter of writing a file to a folder.

It makes sense if it were such an API. There are many companies that would like to constantly update their product portfolios or research guides that (at least theoretically) could greatly benefit from automatic updates through the app.

Any help or comments are appreciated.

Answer 1

My gut feeling says it's just a matter of writing a file to a folder ..

Unfortunately, this is probably not the case. I would suggest that iBooks uses some kind of database to track books, not simple files.

There is a URL scheme for iBooks, but it is not documented, and no one has found any methods that could update / replace a book (I don’t know if any conditions exist): How do I launch iBooks e-reader programmatically on an iPad?

If you feel that this is useful for iBooks, you should consider submitting a feature request on the Apple dev site.

Answer 2

UIDocumentInteractionController is your friend in this case