Open Radar

 
Summary:
Before Apple introduced UIDocumentBrowserViewController in iOS 11, we were about to merge a Pull Request that would move our local storage to a Shared App Container.

Why? We wanted (and did!) build an iMessage extension to allow easy sharing of PDF files directly inside iMessage. We had to abandon this project because using Shared App Containers would stop us from showing up in the “On my iPad” category.

Other apps seem to ‘solve’ that by building their own storage extension, including many apps in one way or another competing with PDF Viewer. These apps get more screen real estate by showing directly in the Location listing. We asked at WWDC 2017 about providing such a file provider as workaround and were told that this is against the guidelines and likely not something that would pass App Review. Yet, here we are, one of the few apps playing along with the guidelines, and punished with being able to offer less functionality to users, and also having less visibility.

I would like to request a guideline if we should now also become our own dedicated Location and abandon the “On my iPad” category. This would be a win for us, but it makes the “On my iPad” just less useful and can’t possibly be in Apple’s interest. Some clarification and stronger enforcement of these rules would be appreciated. Thank you.

Steps to Reproduce:
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Expected Results:
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Actual Results:
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Version:
iOS 11.4.1 and IOS 12b2

Notes:
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