How can I access native osx NSWorkspace object from MAUI to execute openfile?

Question

I am trying to open a file (pdf) using the default OSX application. Based on the Apple docs I can use the openFile command like this:

NSWorkspace.shared.openFile("/Myfiles/README", withApplication: "TextEdit")

docs: https://developer.apple.com/documentation/appkit/nsworkspace

How can I access the NSWorkspace object from my MAUI platform specific code? I tried to include AppKit but it is not there.

Answer 1

Hello @Yiannis B ,
The underlying platform about Mac that supports MAUI uses Mac Catalyst, NSWorkspace is not available for MacCatalyst, it's available on macOS 10.0+.

I am trying to open a file (pdf) using the default OSX application

You could try using Launcher to open another app via a file. Or try to use UIDocumentInteractionController, or try to use PDFView（PDFView cannot open another app）.
In addition, MacCatalyst apps are granted access to a part of AppKit in the SDK by Apple. If you need the full Mac Platform API Support with MAUI/MacCatalyst, you can create a feature request at https://github.com/dotnet/maui .

---Update---
This is a Catalyst limitation. Catalyst is essentially the iOS API running on a Mac and has limited functionality by Apple's design. It uses iOS's UIKit rather than MacOS's AppKit. So, you can use UIApplication.SharedApplication.OpenUrlAsync instead of NSWorkspace.shared.openFile, and it will open the share options menu.

Best Regards,
Wenyan Zhang

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