LNPropertyListEditor

A property list editor for macOS, similar to the one implemented in Xcode, but with several quality of life additions, such as a visual date/time picker and a full hex editor for data objects.

The framework has full support for macOS light and dark appearance.

By implementing the LNPropertyListEditorDataTransformer protocol, you can significantly augment the way property list data is presented in the editor and represented on-disk.

Adding to Your Project

Swift Package Manager

Swift Package Manager is the recommended way to integrate LNPropertyListEditor in your project.

LNPropertyListEditor supports SPM versions 5.1.0 and above. To use SPM, you should use Xcode 11 to open your project. Click File -> Swift Packages -> Add Package Dependency, enter https://github.com/LeoNatan/LNPropertyListEditor. Select the version you’d like to use.

You can also manually add the package to your Package.swift file:

.package(url: "https://github.com/LeoNatan/LNPropertyListEditor.git", from: "1.0")

And the dependency in your target:

.target(name: "BestExampleApp", dependencies: ["LNPropertyListEditor"]),

Carthage

Add the following to your Cartfile:

github "LeoNatan/LNPropertyListEditor"

Make sure you follow the Carthage integration instructions here.

Manual

Drag the LNPropertyListEditor.xcodeproj project to your project, and add LNPropertyListEditor.framework to Embedded Binaries in your project target's General tab. Xcode should sort everything else on its own.

CocoaPods

CocoaPods is not supported. There are many reasons for this. Instead of CocoaPods, use Carthage. You can continue using CocoaPods for for your other dependencies and Carthage for LNPropertyListEditor.

Using the Framework

Swift

While the framework is written in Objective C, it uses modern Objective C syntax, so using the framework in Swift should be very easy and intuitive.

Project Integration

Import the module in your project:

@import LNPropertyListEditor;

Usage

Either using Interface Builder or in code, add an LNPropertyListEditor view to your user interface.

To set a represented object, set the propertyList property.

guard let propertyListURL = Bundle.main.url(forResource: "Some", withExtension: "plist"),
   let propertyListData = try? Data(contentsOf: propertyListURL),
   let propertyListObject = try? PropertyListSerialization.propertyList(from: propertyListData, options: [], format: nil) as? [String: AnyObject] else {
	return
}

plistEditor.propertyListObject = propertyListObject

Supported object types: Dictionaries, arrays, strings, dates, datas, booleans and numbers (dictionaries and arrays can contains nested children of the aforementioned types).

Delegate

Implement the LNPropertyListEditorDelegate protocol to listen to various events, or control what aspects of the property list can be edited.

plistEditor.delegate = self
//...
func propertyListEditor(_ editor: LNPropertyListEditor, didChange node: LNPropertyListNode, changeType: LNPropertyListNodeChangeType, previousKey: String?) {
	switch changeType {
	case .insert:
		print("🎉")
	case .move:
		print("➡️")
	case .update:
		print("🔄")
	case .delete:
		print("🗑")
  @unknown default:
		fatalError()
	}
}

For full documentation, see the LNPropertyListEditor.h header.

Data Transformer

Implement the LNPropertyListEditorDataTransformer protocol to provide display and data transformations for your property list objects.

plistEditor.dataTransformer = self
//...
func propertyListEditor(_ editor: LNPropertyListEditor, displayNameFor node: LNPropertyListNode) -> String? {
	// ...
	if let key = node.key,
	   key == "CFBundleShortVersionString" {
		return "Bundle version string (short)"
	}
	//...
}

For full documentation, see the LNPropertyListEditor.h header.

Acknowledgements

The framework uses:

• HexFiend © ridiculous_fish, 2011-2020