Delete image from app directory in iPhone

Question

I want to delete an image from my iPhone app. I use the method below, passing the name of the image as an argument.

The problem is that the image isn't deleted.

- (void)removeImage:(NSString*)fileName {

    NSFileManager *fileManager = [NSFileManager defaultManager];
    NSArray *paths = NSSearchPathForDirectoriesInDomains(NSDocumentDirectory, NSUserDomainMask, YES);
    NSString *documentsDirectory = [paths objectAtIndex:0];
    NSString *fullPath = [documentsDirectory stringByAppendingPathComponent:
                      [NSString stringWithFormat:@"%@.png", fileName]];

    [fileManager removeItemAtPath: fullPath error:NULL];
    NSLog(@"image removed: %@", fullPath);

    NSString *appFolderPath = [[NSBundle mainBundle] resourcePath];    
    NSLog(@"Directory Contents:\n%@", [fileManager directoryContentsAtPath: appFolderPath]);
}

The last two lines show the content in my app directory and the image I want to delete is still there. What am I doing wrong?

Answer 1

You are trying to delete a file in the Documents directory. You then read the contents of the bundle resources directory. These are not the same directory.

If you're trying to delete a file in the Documents directory, the you should rad that directory in your NSLog() at the end. If you're trying to delete a file inside your bundle, this is impossible. App bundles are signed and cannot be modified.

Answer 2

your code looks ok, so try adding some 'NSError' object to you code:

- (void)removeImage:(NSString*)fileName {

   NSFileManager *fileManager = [NSFileManager defaultManager];
   NSArray *paths = NSSearchPathForDirectoriesInDomains(NSDocumentDirectory, NSUserDomainMask,   YES);
   NSString *documentsDirectory = [paths objectAtIndex:0];
   NSString *fullPath = [documentsDirectory stringByAppendingPathComponent:
                      [NSString stringWithFormat:@"%@.png", fileName]];

   NSError *error = nil;
   if(![fileManager removeItemAtPath: fullPath error:&error]) {
      NSLog(@"Delete failed:%@", error);
   } else {
      NSLog(@"image removed: %@", fullPath);
   }

   NSString *appFolderPath = [[NSBundle mainBundle] resourcePath];    
   NSLog(@"Directory Contents:\n%@", [fileManager directoryContentsAtPath: appFolderPath]);
}

In the code above I passed a NSError the error parameter of removeItemAtPath. If the system can't delete the file, this method will return NO and fill the error object with the error raised.