Getting Started
Foxit PDF SDK for iOS helps developers integrate powerful Foxit PDF technology into iOS and macOS apps with ease. With the Foxit SDK, even developers new to PDF can quickly build professional PDF viewers on iOS.
For product capabilities, architecture details, and the feature comparison table, see Foxit PDF SDK for Mobile overview.
SDK architecture
Foxit PDF SDK for iOS uses the same three-layer model as Foxit PDF SDK for Web and Foxit PDF SDK for Mobile. See the full mobile architecture description for component details and diagrams.
| Layer | Key classes | Role | Use cases |
|---|---|---|---|
| UIExtensions (Full UI) | UIExtensionsManager | Full-UI reader component (open source) | Quickly build a feature-complete PDF reader with built-in toolbar, annotations, search, and more |
| PDFViewCtrl (Basic Viewer) | FSPDFViewCtrl | Viewer control without UI | Custom UI while relying on SDK rendering, zoom, scroll, and other view capabilities |
| Core SDK | FSPDFDoc, FSPDFPage, FSRenderer, etc. | Low-level PDF APIs | Direct PDF structure and content operations without any UI |
NOTE
Foxit PDF SDK for iOS, the Web SDK, and the Android SDK are built on top of Foxit PDF SDK for Desktop/Server. Core SDK means a low-level PDF API usable without UI; PDFViewCtrl means it depends on the viewer control; UIExtensions means it is provided by the built-in UI component.
System requirements
| Platform | OS requirements | CPU / architecture |
|---|---|---|
| iOS | 11.0+ or 13.0+ | Apple Silicon / Intel (handled by Xcode) |
| macOS | 10.15+ (Mac Catalyst) | Apple Silicon / Intel (handled by Xcode) |
Note
- Requires Xcode 11.0 or later for iOS and Mac Catalyst builds.
- As of SDK 7.5.1, only 64-bit Mac devices are supported. Since iOS 11, Apple requires all apps to use a 64-bit architecture. See Apple documentation.
Package layout
After unpacking the SDK, you will find these main directories and files:
| Directory / file | Description |
|---|---|
docs/ | SDK documentation |
| ├─ API reference | API documentation |
| ├─ Development guides | Integration and usage guides |
| └─ Version upgrade guides | Per-version changes and upgrade notes |
icc_profile/ | Color profiles |
libs/ | Core libraries and required resources |
samples/ | Sample projects |
legal.txt | Legal and copyright information |
release_notes.txt | Release notes |
getting_started.pdf | Getting started guide |
libs folder
The libs directory contains the Foxit PDF SDK for iOS core libraries, UI extensions, and optional modules:
| Category | Files | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Core SDK | FoxitRDK.framework / FoxitRDK.xcframework | .xcframework supports Mac Catalyst builds for iPad apps on Mac |
| UI Extension | uiextensions (open source)uiextensionsDynamic.frameworkuiextensionsDynamic.xcframework | — |
| Scanning | pdfscanFoxitPDFScanUI.framework | — |
| Third-party / tools | FoxitPDF.podspecprepare-framework-to-publish-to-appstore.sh | .podspec for CocoaPods.sh strips architectures not accepted by the App Store before release |