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Im working on a PDF application for the iPad and would like to present the user with a list of available PDF files on the device. I feel that it would be nice if I was able to reuse the PDF files already stored on the device for example in the iBooks application instead of having to set up a separate library of PDFs just for my own app.

Does anyone know if this is possible and if it is could help to point me in right direction on where to continue my search. If it is not possible does anyone have a suggestion on another way to have a more unified file system approach on this problem rather than application specific?

If i find a solution somewhere else i will off course post the solution here as well.

ehenrik
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It's not possible. All apps are sandboxed and can not access other apps' data. If you want some unified file sharing, consider integrating with a popular web service such as Dropbox.

Ole Begemann
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Email the pdf to yourself from ibooks and "open with" the new app.
How ridiculous that the files can't be accessed somewhere central!

The iOSDev
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Alley
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I found a simple way to transfer PDFs from iBooks to any other app you have on your iDevice... However, you must be jailbroken for this to work.

Here's how:

In Cydia, download and install PDF Printer (it's in the BigBoss repo) (Note: your iDevice will respring once PDF Printer is installed) Open iBooks and open the PDF file you want to transfer. In iBooks, select the option to print / email PDF Choose print option Once print option box appears, choose PDF (to the right of "Print Option") Once PDF is "Printed" choose the open in icon on the top left of page Open the PDF in the app you want a copy kept in, such as PDF Expert. I know it seems like a lot of steps, but it's not. It's really simple and MUCH easier and faster that emailing each iBook PDF to your self and way more convenient than syncing through iTunes.

dminnici
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