How to Create .csv File in Swift Programmatically - Tutorial

Create .csv File in Swift

Introduction to how to create CSV file in swift programmatically - Tutorial

As the heading of this tutorial says, we are going to learn how to create CSV(comma separated values) file in swift programmatically. CSV(comma separated values) or excel files as they are commonly known are not a difficult task in iOS app development using swift. In this post, we will learn the code to create CSV(comma separated values) file in swift programmatically and save it to document directory. If you are looking for objective c version then please follow the given below link 

Learn how to create .csv file in objective c 

Jump to code

Step 1: Create an array, named as "employeeArray" which will store all our records for the employees as key value objects. Also we will add dummy data to the newly created array

	class ViewController: UIViewController {
	var employeeArray:[Dictionary<String, AnyObject>] = Array()
	override func viewDidLoad() {
	super.viewDidLoad()
	// Do any additional setup after loading the view, typically from a nib.
	for i in 1...10 {
	var dct = Dictionary<String, AnyObject>()
	dct.updateValue(i as AnyObject, forKey: "EmpID")
	dct.updateValue("NameForEmplyee id = \(i)" as AnyObject, forKey: "EmpName")
	employeeArray.append(dct)
	}
	}
	}

Step 2: Now we have data with us, and its time to create CSV(comma separated values) file using swift programmatically. For this we will loop through our records in "employeeArray" and append them in a string. Then we will write this string to our document directory of the app. All the stuff goes in different function named as "createCSV", below is the code for the same

	func createCSV(from recArray:[Dictionary<String, AnyObject>]) {
	var csvString = "\("Employee ID"),\("Employee Name")\n\n"
	for dct in recArray {
	csvString = csvString.appending("\(String(describing: dct["EmpID"]!)) ,\(String(describing: dct["EmpName"]!))\n")
	}
	let fileManager = FileManager.default
	do {
	let path = try fileManager.url(for: .documentDirectory, in: .allDomainsMask, appropriateFor: nil, create: false)
	let fileURL = path.appendingPathComponent("CSVRec.csv")
	try csvString.write(to: fileURL, atomically: true, encoding: .utf8)
	} catch {
	print("error creating file")
	}
	}

Step 3: Finally we will call our function from "viewDidLoad". Below is the complete code

	class ViewController: UIViewController {
	var employeeArray:[Dictionary<String, AnyObject>] = Array()
	override func viewDidLoad() {
	super.viewDidLoad()
	for i in 1...10 {
	var dct = Dictionary<String, AnyObject>()
	dct.updateValue(i as AnyObject, forKey: "EmpID")
	dct.updateValue("NameForEmplyee id = \(i)" as AnyObject, forKey: "EmpName")
	employeeArray.append(dct)
	}
	createCSV(from: employeeArray)
	}
	func createCSV(from recArray:[Dictionary<String, AnyObject>]) {
	var csvString = "\("Employee ID"),\("Employee Name")\n\n"
	for dct in recArray {
	csvString = csvString.appending("\(String(describing: dct["EmpID"]!)) ,\(String(describing: dct["EmpName"]!))\n")
	}
	let fileManager = FileManager.default
	do {
	let path = try fileManager.url(for: .documentDirectory, in: .allDomainsMask, appropriateFor: nil, create: false)
	let fileURL = path.appendingPathComponent("CSVRec.csv")
	try csvString.write(to: fileURL, atomically: true, encoding: .utf8)
	} catch {
	print("error creating file")
	}
	}
	}

Note: Please remove "comma" for your data in order to create accurate CSV file.

Where to go from here:

In this post, we learned how to create CSV file in swift programmatically. If you have any query then please free to ask using our comment section and we will respond back to you as soon as we can. Thank you :)