Convert UIImage to NSData and convert back to UIImage in Swift?

Ios Problem Overview

I'm trying to save a UIImage to NSData and then read the NSData back to a new UIImage in Swift. To convert the UIImage to NSData I'm using the following code:

let imageData: NSData = UIImagePNGRepresentation(myImage)

How do I convert imageData (i.e., NSData) back to a new UIImage?

Ios Solutions

Solution 1 - Ios

UIImage(data:imageData,scale:1.0) presuming the image's scale is 1.

In swift 4.2, use below code for get Data().

image.pngData()

Solution 2 - Ios

Thanks. Helped me a lot. Converted to Swift 3 and worked

To save: let data = UIImagePNGRepresentation(image)

To load: let image = UIImage(data: data)

Solution 3 - Ios

Use imageWithData: method, which gets translated to Swift as UIImage(data:)

let image : UIImage = UIImage(data: imageData)

Solution 4 - Ios

Now in Swift 4.2 you can use pngData() new instance method of UIImage to get the data from the image

let profileImage = UIImage(named:"profile")!
let imageData = profileImage.pngData()

Solution 5 - Ios

Details

Xcode 10.2.1 (10E1001), Swift 5

Solution 1

guard let image = UIImage(named: "img") else { return }
let jpegData = image.jpegData(compressionQuality: 1.0)
let pngData = image.pngData()

Solution 2.1

extension UIImage {
    func toData (options: NSDictionary, type: CFString) -> Data? {
        guard let cgImage = cgImage else { return nil }
        return autoreleasepool { () -> Data? in
            let data = NSMutableData()
            guard let imageDestination = CGImageDestinationCreateWithData(data as CFMutableData, type, 1, nil) else { return nil }
            CGImageDestinationAddImage(imageDestination, cgImage, options)
            CGImageDestinationFinalize(imageDestination)
            return data as Data
        }
    }
}

Usage of solution 2.1

// about properties: https://developer.apple.com/documentation/imageio/1464962-cgimagedestinationaddimage
let options: NSDictionary =     [
    kCGImagePropertyOrientation: 6,
    kCGImagePropertyHasAlpha: true,
    kCGImageDestinationLossyCompressionQuality: 0.5
]

// https://developer.apple.com/documentation/mobilecoreservices/uttype/uti_image_content_types
guard let data = image.toData(options: options, type: kUTTypeJPEG) else { return }
let size = CGFloat(data.count)/1000.0/1024.0
print("\(size) mb")

Solution 2.2

extension UIImage {

    func toJpegData (compressionQuality: CGFloat, hasAlpha: Bool = true, orientation: Int = 6) -> Data? {
        guard cgImage != nil else { return nil }
        let options: NSDictionary =     [
                                            kCGImagePropertyOrientation: orientation,
                                            kCGImagePropertyHasAlpha: hasAlpha,
                                            kCGImageDestinationLossyCompressionQuality: compressionQuality
                                        ]
        return toData(options: options, type: .jpeg)
    }

    func toData (options: NSDictionary, type: ImageType) -> Data? {
        guard cgImage != nil else { return nil }
        return toData(options: options, type: type.value)
    }
    // about properties: https://developer.apple.com/documentation/imageio/1464962-cgimagedestinationaddimage
    func toData (options: NSDictionary, type: CFString) -> Data? {
        guard let cgImage = cgImage else { return nil }
        return autoreleasepool { () -> Data? in
            let data = NSMutableData()
            guard let imageDestination = CGImageDestinationCreateWithData(data as CFMutableData, type, 1, nil) else { return nil }
            CGImageDestinationAddImage(imageDestination, cgImage, options)
            CGImageDestinationFinalize(imageDestination)
            return data as Data
        }
    }

    // https://developer.apple.com/documentation/mobilecoreservices/uttype/uti_image_content_types
    enum ImageType {
        case image // abstract image data
        case jpeg                       // JPEG image
        case jpeg2000                   // JPEG-2000 image
        case tiff                       // TIFF image
        case pict                       // Quickdraw PICT format
        case gif                        // GIF image
        case png                        // PNG image
        case quickTimeImage             // QuickTime image format (OSType 'qtif')
        case appleICNS                  // Apple icon data
        case bmp                        // Windows bitmap
        case ico                        // Windows icon data
        case rawImage                   // base type for raw image data (.raw)
        case scalableVectorGraphics     // SVG image
        case livePhoto                  // Live Photo

        var value: CFString {
            switch self {
            case .image: return kUTTypeImage
            case .jpeg: return kUTTypeJPEG
            case .jpeg2000: return kUTTypeJPEG2000
            case .tiff: return kUTTypeTIFF
            case .pict: return kUTTypePICT
            case .gif: return kUTTypeGIF
            case .png: return kUTTypePNG
            case .quickTimeImage: return kUTTypeQuickTimeImage
            case .appleICNS: return kUTTypeAppleICNS
            case .bmp: return kUTTypeBMP
            case .ico: return kUTTypeICO
            case .rawImage: return kUTTypeRawImage
            case .scalableVectorGraphics: return kUTTypeScalableVectorGraphics
            case .livePhoto: return kUTTypeLivePhoto
            }
        }
    }
}

Usage of solution 2.2

let compressionQuality: CGFloat = 0.4
guard let data = image.toJpegData(compressionQuality: compressionQuality) else { return }
printSize(of: data)

let options: NSDictionary =     [
                                    kCGImagePropertyHasAlpha: true,
                                    kCGImageDestinationLossyCompressionQuality: compressionQuality
                                ]
guard let data2 = image.toData(options: options, type: .png) else { return }
printSize(of: data2)

> ## Problems ##

Image representing will take a lot of cpu and memory resources. So, in this case it is better to follow several rules:

- do not run jpegData(compressionQuality:) on main queue

- run only one jpegData(compressionQuality:) simultaneously

Wrong:

for i in 0...50 {
    DispatchQueue.global(qos: .utility).async {
        let quality = 0.02 * CGFloat(i)
        //let data = image.toJpegData(compressionQuality: quality)
        let data = image.jpegData(compressionQuality: quality)
        let size = CGFloat(data!.count)/1000.0/1024.0
        print("\(i), quality: \(quality), \(size.rounded()) mb")
    }
}

Right:

let serialQueue = DispatchQueue(label: "queue", qos: .utility, attributes: [], autoreleaseFrequency: .workItem, target: nil)

for i in 0...50 {
    serialQueue.async {
        let quality = 0.02 * CGFloat(i)
        //let data = image.toJpegData(compressionQuality: quality)
        let data = image.jpegData(compressionQuality: quality)
        let size = CGFloat(data!.count)/1000.0/1024.0
        print("\(i), quality: \(quality), \(size.rounded()) mb")
    }
}

Solution 6 - Ios

To save as data:

From StoryBoard, if you want to save "image" data on the imageView of MainStoryBoard, following codes will work.

let image = UIImagePNGRepresentation(imageView.image!) as NSData?

To load "image" to imageView: Look at exclamation point "!", "?" closely whether that is quite same as this one.

imageView.image = UIImage(data: image as! Data)

"NSData" type is converted into "Data" type automatically during this process.

Solution 7 - Ios

For safe execution of code, use if-let block with Data to prevent app crash & , as function UIImagePNGRepresentation returns an optional value.

if let img = UIImage(named: "TestImage.png") {
    if let data:Data = UIImagePNGRepresentation(img) {
       // Handle operations with data here...         
    }
}

> Note: Data is Swift 3+ class. Use Data instead of NSData with > Swift 3+

Generic image operations (like png & jpg both):

if let img = UIImage(named: "TestImage.png") {  //UIImage(named: "TestImage.jpg")
        if let data:Data = UIImagePNGRepresentation(img) {
               handleOperationWithData(data: data)     
        } else if let data:Data = UIImageJPEGRepresentation(img, 1.0) {
               handleOperationWithData(data: data)     
        }
}

*******
func handleOperationWithData(data: Data) {
     // Handle operations with data here...
     if let image = UIImage(data: data) {
        // Use image...
     }
}

By using extension:

extension UIImage {
    
    var pngRepresentationData: Data? {
        return UIImagePNGRepresentation(self)
    }

    var jpegRepresentationData: Data? {
        return UIImageJPEGRepresentation(self, 1.0)
    }
}

*******
if let img = UIImage(named: "TestImage.png") {  //UIImage(named: "TestImage.jpg")
      if let data = img.pngRepresentationData {
              handleOperationWithData(data: data)     
      } else if let data = img.jpegRepresentationData {
              handleOperationWithData(data: data)     
     }
}
    
*******
func handleOperationWithData(data: Data) {
     // Handle operations with data here...
     if let image = UIImage(data: data) {
        // Use image...
     }
}

Solution 8 - Ios

Image to Data:-

    if let img = UIImage(named: "xxx.png") {
        let pngdata = img.pngData()
    }

   if let img = UIImage(named: "xxx.jpeg") {
        let jpegdata = img.jpegData(compressionQuality: 1)
    }

Data to Image:-

guard let image = UIImage(data: pngData) else { return }

Solution 9 - Ios

Swift 5

let the image you create as UIImage be image

image.pngData() as NSData?

Solution 10 - Ios

Use this for a simple solution

static var UserProfilePhoto = UIImage()
guard let image = UIImage(named: "Photo") else { return }
guard let pngdata = image.pngData() else { return }
UserProfilePhoto = UIImage(data: pngdata)!

Content Type	Original Author	Original Content on Stackoverflow
Question	pete	View Question on Stackoverflow
Solution 1 - Ios	algal	View Answer on Stackoverflow
Solution 2 - Ios	Ivan Sinigaglia	View Answer on Stackoverflow
Solution 3 - Ios	Sergey Kalinichenko	View Answer on Stackoverflow
Solution 4 - Ios	Sh_Khan	View Answer on Stackoverflow
Solution 5 - Ios	Vasily Bodnarchuk	View Answer on Stackoverflow
Solution 6 - Ios	zemunkh	View Answer on Stackoverflow
Solution 7 - Ios	Krunal	View Answer on Stackoverflow
Solution 8 - Ios	Yogendra Singh	View Answer on Stackoverflow
Solution 9 - Ios	dakrawat	View Answer on Stackoverflow
Solution 10 - Ios	Super Developer	View Answer on Stackoverflow