What is the easiest way to incorporate the iPhone's default Photo Album into a custom app?

Question

Is it possible to simply incorporate the iPhone's Photo Album in a custom application in the same way it is done within the default camera application? If so, how?

I know I can use the ALAssetsLibrary and what not to create my own Photos Album ... but there isn't anything I want to customize. I just want the same capabilities that you get as if you accessed it from the camera application (e.g. can share, slideshow, navigate between albums, etc... etc...) with a "Done" button to get back to my application.

Thanks -wg

Answer 1

You'll probably want to take a look at the UIImagePickerController class and the associated programming guide (link below).

UIKit provides access to the user’s photo library through the UIImagePickerController class. This controller displays a photo picker interface, which provides controls for navigating the user’s photo library and selecting an image to return to your application. You also have the option of enabling user editing controls, which let the user the pan and crop the returned image. This class can also be used to present a camera interface.

The DeviceFeaturesProgramming Guide discusses this topic in decent detail:

http://developer.apple.com/iphone/library/documentation/General/Conceptual/SystemIntegrationGuide_iPhoneOS/UsingTheCameraAndPhotoLibrary/UsingTheCameraAndPhotoLibrary.html#//apple_ref/doc/uid/TP40009529-CH3-SW1

Answer 2

The answer is unfortunately no :(