How to access Qt resource data from non-Qt functions

Question

As I understand it, the way to packages non-code resources such as data files in a Qt app is using the resource system. However, what if I want to access a resource using a

Answer 1

You can copy the resource file into a temporary folder. To do this, use a QTemporaryDir which creates a temporary folder and deletes it automatically when the program is finished. To access the path of that folder, use the QTemporaryDir::path() method. Here is an example of how you can use it:

#include     //You need to include this header
QTemporaryDir temporaryDir;
//Copy the resource file into the temporary folder
QFile::copy(":/exampleprefix/examplefile.txt", temporaryDir.path() + "/examplefile.txt");
//Read the file
std::ifstream fileStream(QString(temporaryDir.path() + "/examplefile.txt").toLatin1().data());
//etc