Add PDF functionality on iOS

This guide explains how to integrate Nutrient iOS SDK into a new or existing iOS project. By the end, you’ll be able to display a PDF document using the default Nutrient user interface (UI).

Jump to example

Requirements

Creating your project

Skip this step if you’re using an existing project. If you’re starting a new iOS app, follow the steps below.

  1. Open Xcode and select File > New > Project.
  2. Select the iOS tab and choose the App template.
  3. Enter your product name (for example, Nutrient-Demo) and organization identifier (for example, com.example). You can choose either SwiftUI or Storyboard (UIKit) as the interface.
  4. Click Next, choose a location to save the project, and click Create.

Adding Nutrient to your project

  1. In Xcode, select your project.

  2. Go to the Package Dependencies tab and click +.

    package-dependencies-tab

  3. Enter the Nutrient Swift Package URL into the search field:

    https://github.com/PSPDFKit/PSPDFKit-SP
    add-package-url

  4. In the Dependency Rule fields, select:

    • Branch > master — to use the latest version
    • Version > Up to Next Minor — for controlled updates
    swiftpm-branch-master

  5. Click Add Package. Confirm the addition.

    In this confirmation step, ensure that the Add to Target column displays the correct target (usually the app target), and that the checkbox on the left is selected. For many projects — especially newly created ones — there will only be one target, so you can click the Add Package button again. However, for more complex projects with multiple targets, it’s important to double-check this setting.

Nutrient will now appear under Swift Package Dependencies.

Displaying a PDF

  1. Add your PDF file to the project by dragging it into the Xcode project navigator. Click Finish when prompted.

  2. In the file for your view (ContentView.swift for a new project), import the Nutrient iOS SDK:

    import PSPDFKit
    import PSPDFKitUI

  3. Display the PDF using the following code:

    struct ContentView: View {
        // Update to use your document name.
        let document = Document(url: Bundle.main.url(forResource: "Document", withExtension: "pdf")!)
        @PDFView.Scope private var scope
    

        var body: some View {
            NavigationStack {
                PDFView(document: document)
                    .toolbar {
                        // Add Nutrient viewer's default toolbar items to include buttons for searching, annotating, and more.
                        DefaultToolbarButtons()
                    }
                    // Set the scope for the view hierarchy so the default toolbar buttons and the `PDFView` can communicate.
                    .pdfViewScope(scope)
            }
        }
    }

  4. Build and run your application.

You’ll now see your PDF document displayed using Nutrient iOS SDK’s built-in viewer.

Next steps

For getting started on Mac Catalyst or visionOS, first follow the same instructions above, and then refer to the Mac Catalyst and visionOS guide for specific instructions.

The getting started steps mentioned in this guide are for Swift Package Manager, which is our recommendation. Alternatively, you can add Nutrient to your project manually or using CocoaPods.