UPGRADE YOUR SKILLS: Learn advanced Swift and SwiftUI on Hacking with Swift+! >>

How to share content with UIActivityViewController

Swift version: 5.6

Paul Hudson    @twostraws   

Before iOS 6.0 was released there were a number of third-party libraries that tried to simplify the sharing of content, but even with those libraries in place it was still far too hard. Fortunately, Apple added UIActivityViewController, a class that makes sharing to any service as simple as telling it what kind of content you have.

The nice thing about UIActivityViewController is that it automatically takes advantage of the apps the user has installed. If they have configured Twitter, they can post tweets; if they have configured Facebook, they can post to their timeline; if they have a printer configured, they can print your images; and more. It takes no extra work from you: you just tell iOS what kind of content you want to share, and it does the rest.

Here's how you share an image:

if let image = UIImage(named: "myImage") {
    let vc = UIActivityViewController(activityItems: [image], applicationActivities: [])
    present(vc, animated: true)
}

And here's an example of sharing a text and an image:

let shareText = "Hello, world!"

if let image = UIImage(named: "myImage") {
    let vc = UIActivityViewController(activityItems: [shareText, image], applicationActivities: [])
    present(vc, animated: true)
}

If you want to share a URL to a website, make sure you wrap it up in a URL first.

Hacking with Swift is sponsored by Proxyman

SPONSORED Proxyman: A high-performance, native macOS app for developers to easily capture, inspect, and manipulate HTTP/HTTPS traffic. The ultimate tool for debugging network traffic, supporting both iOS and Android simulators and physical devices.

Start for free

Sponsor Hacking with Swift and reach the world's largest Swift community!

Available from iOS 6 – see Hacking with Swift tutorial 3

Similar solutions…

About the Swift Knowledge Base

This is part of the Swift Knowledge Base, a free, searchable collection of solutions for common iOS questions.

BUY OUR BOOKS
Buy Pro Swift Buy Pro SwiftUI Buy Swift Design Patterns Buy Testing Swift Buy Hacking with iOS Buy Swift Coding Challenges Buy Swift on Sundays Volume One Buy Server-Side Swift Buy Advanced iOS Volume One Buy Advanced iOS Volume Two Buy Advanced iOS Volume Three Buy Hacking with watchOS Buy Hacking with tvOS Buy Hacking with macOS Buy Dive Into SpriteKit Buy Swift in Sixty Seconds Buy Objective-C for Swift Developers Buy Beyond Code

Was this page useful? Let us know!

Average rating: 3.8/5

 
Unknown user

You are not logged in

Log in or create account
 

Link copied to your pasteboard.