Swift Unable to Locate and Read Property List (.Plist) File

Swift unable to locate and read property list (.plist) file

Normally, this is what you do:

In the Project Navigator (on the left), select the plist file. In the File Inspector (on the right), examine the target membership settings. You will probably find that the app target is not checked. This means that the plist file is not being copied into the app bundle when you build it. Check the app target, and all will be well.

But you can't do that, because this is a command line program. It is an executable and no more. There is no bundle to copy into. What you're trying to do is metaphysically impossible. /p>

Swift 5: How to read variables in plist files?

Your property list format is not very convenient. As you want an array anyway create the property list with an array for key animals (and name all keys lowercased)

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<!DOCTYPE plist PUBLIC "-//Apple//DTD PLIST 1.0//EN" "http://www.apple.com/DTDs/PropertyList-1.0.dtd">
<plist version="1.0">
<dict>
    <key>animals</key>
    <array>
        <dict>
            <key>name</key>
            <string>Tiger</string>
            <key>picture</key>
            <string>tiger_running</string>
        </dict>
        <dict>
            <key>name</key>
            <string>Jaguar</string>
            <key>picture</key>
            <string>jaguar_sleeping</string>
        </dict>
    </array>
</dict>
</plist>

Then create two structs

struct Root : Decodable {
    let animals : [Animal]
}

struct Animal : Decodable {
    let name, picture : String
}

and the data source array

var animals = [Animal]()

And decode the stuff

override func viewDidLoad() {
    super.viewDidLoad()
    // Do any additional setup after loading the view.
    let url = Bundle.main.url(forResource: "Animals", withExtension:"plist")!
    do {
        let data = try Data(contentsOf: url)
        let result = try PropertyListDecoder().decode(Root.self, from: data)
        self.animals = result.animals
    } catch { print(error) }
}

PropertyListDecoder and PropertyListSerialization are state of the art in Swift. The NSDictionary/NSArray API is objective-c-ish and outdated.

error: unable to read input file as a property list: The operation couldn’t be completed. (XCBUtil.PropertyListConversionError error 1.)

I have been facing the same problem with a newly imported Flutter project.
After some debugging, it seems like the issue was caused by a corrupt GoogleService-Info.plist file! Dunno why and how it was corrupted, because I have newly imported and existing project.

To solve this problem, you can follow those steps;

• Open your project in XCode
• delete the existing GoogleService-Info.plist file
• download the original one from Firebase
• then reimport/re-copy this file into your project

When this is done,
run flutter clean then try running it in iOS Simulator

This worked for me, hope it solves your problem too.

Failed to open property list: Found non-key inside dict at line 44

You have:

<key>NSPhotoLibraryUsageDescription</key>
<key>UILaunchStoryboardName</key>
<string>LaunchScreen</string>

You have two consecutive keys, and the value for NSPhotoLibraryUsageDescription is expected to be a String, to next line after <key>NSPhotoLibraryUsageDescription</key> should be <string>some text</string>

So change it:

<key>NSPhotoLibraryUsageDescription</key>
<string>Explain why user should allow to your app to access Photo Library</string>
<key>UILaunchStoryboardName</key>
<string>LaunchScreen</string>

Where is Info.plist in Xcode 13? (missing, not inside project navigator)

It's a "feature."

You don't need it anymore. From the Release Notes:

Projects created from several templates no longer require configuration files such as entitlements and Info.plist files. Configure common fields in the target’s Info tab, and build settings in the project editor. These files are added to the project when additional fields are used. (68254857)

So, instead of inside Info.plist, edit properties like NSCameraUsageDescription here:

Project -> Targets -> Info -> Custom iOS Target Properties

The first time you add/edit, Xcode will automatically generate a new Info.plist file that’s kind of synced¹ with Custom iOS Target Properties. Xcode will later merge them for you.

^{[1]: They’re not fully synced. Some properties like NSCameraUsageDescription will only appear in Custom iOS Target Properties, while Application requires iPhone environment will appear in both. I have no idea how Xcode determines this.}

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Want Info.plist back, completely?

You might want all of your app's properties in one place. Or maybe you don't trust Xcode with the merging. I spoke with an Apple engineer at WWDC21 about this... here's how to get the classic Info.plist back.

1. Create a new "Property List" file (File -> New -> File)

2. Name it Info.plist

3. Copy and paste the existing values from Project -> Targets -> Info -> Custom iOS Target Properties to Info.plist.

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