Whenever I want to get data from a plist file I use the following code:
NSString *filePath = [[NSBundle mainBundle] pathForResource:@\"FILE_NAME\" ofType:@\"plis
I do not think there is another way (unless it is the info.plist file then see Damo's comment), instead I would focus on figuring out why the filePath is nil, perhaps the plist file is no longer under target>build phases>copy bundle resources?