How to store and use MP4 files directly to an iOS application

Question

I am trying to store videos from a user's camera roll directly on the application itself using the following:

func imagePickerController(_ picker: UIImagePickerController, didFinishPickingMediaWithInfo info: [UIImagePickerController.InfoKey : Any]) {

        let videoURL = info[UIImagePickerController.InfoKey.mediaURL] as! URL
        let paths = NSSearchPathForDirectoriesInDomains(.documentDirectory, .userDomainMask, true)
        let documentsDirectory = paths[0]
        let fileName = String(Date().hashValue) + ".mp4"
        let dataPathStr = documentsDirectory + "/" + fileName
        url = dataPathStr
        let dataPath = URL(fileURLWithPath: dataPathStr)

        var videoData : NSData?
        do {
            try videoData = NSData(contentsOf: videoURL)
            videoData?.write(to: dataPath, atomically: true)
        } catch {
            print("Error saving video:")
            print(error)
        }

        self.dismiss(animated: true) {
                self.performSegue(withIdentifier: "importToCrop", sender: self)
        }
    }

I have this working as I am able to access the video after storing it by using its URL (dataPath).

However, when I close and reopen the app, I can no longer the access via the same URL - It seems like the video is deleted once the app is closed.

Is there a way to check if the video is actually deleted or maybe is there a better way to store mp4 files on the application?

Answer 1

Figured it out -- turns out the way I saved the file above was correct, but what I didn't realize is that the path to the Documents directory changes with each run.

So, to get retrieve the a file stored in your Documents directory, you would have to get the url each time by the following:

    func getVideoURL(fileName : String)-> URL {
        return FileManager.default.urls(for: .documentDirectory, in: .userDomainMask)[0].appendingPathComponent(fileName)
    }