Different font output for same NSAttributedString with CATextLayer and NSTextView - macos

In macOS using the same NSMutableAttributedString for a CATextLayer and a NSTextView seems to give different rendering results. The NSTextView has a slightly larger font than a CATextLayer. This behavior seems to occur with any type of font structure (NSFont, CTFontCreateWithName, etc) fed to the controls. Even not defining a font will cause this to happen when the controls default to the system font. Here's a distilled down snippet that will run as a Playground. It creates a CATextLayer on the left side and a NSTextView on the right side. Uses the exact same font and string. Anyone solved this one yet?
import Cocoa
let attributes = [NSAttributedString.Key.font: NSFont(name: "Helvetica", size: 23.0)!,
NSAttributedString.Key.foregroundColor: NSColor.gray]
let theString = NSMutableAttributedString(string: "The Quick Brown Fox Jumped Over The Lazy Dogs Back", attributes: attributes)
var parentView = NSView(frame: NSRect(origin: NSPoint(x: 0, y: 0), size: CGSize(width: 300, height: 300)))
// create CATextLayer - left side
var textLayer = CATextLayer()
textLayer.isWrapped = true
textLayer.contentsScale = NSScreen.main!.backingScaleFactor
textLayer.backgroundColor = CGColor.white
textLayer.foregroundColor = CGColor.black
textLayer.string = theString
var layerView = NSView(frame: NSRect(origin: CGPoint(x: 0, y: 0), size: CGSize(width: 90, height: 300)))
layerView.wantsLayer = true
layerView.layer = textLayer
parentView.addSubview(layerView)
// create NSTextView - right side
var textView = NSTextView(frame: NSRect(origin: NSPoint(x: 100, y: 0), size: CGSize(width: 90, height: 300)))
textView.textStorage?.setAttributedString(theString as NSAttributedString)
parentView.addSubview(textView)
// final display
parentView

The final ruling is - NSTextView and CATextLayer are going to render differently. Here is what Apple says:
"This is an interesting question and I have visited this before with other developers. Yes, you are correct. The text rendering inside of CATextLayers is different than in an NSTextView. I have talked with engineering about these differences before and I do not think there is a solution to the problem you have posed using CATextLayer. Here is why:
Attributed strings drawn to a CATextLayer use different attributes than regular attributed strings. These are described here - https://developer.apple.com/documentation/coretext/styling_attributed_strings. There is some pairity with some of the regular attributed string attributes so you'll see some strings will seem to work, but some of the atrributes used by regular attributed strings are not supported. For example, strike-through text is not supported.
CATextLayer also has a different concept of sizing and spacing than when drawing to regular layers. This is undocumented and I do not know how to reconcile these difference with NSTextView output.
So, in summary, yes, for the reasons mentioned above, I expect that sometimes whatever you are drawing to CATextLayer will look different than what you are seeing drawn inside of an NSTextView. These differences are not documented and we do not have a forumula to map between text drawn in CATextLayer and NSTextView. I recommend using a layer-backed view instead."

Related

Automatically wrap NSTextField using Auto Layout

How does one go about having auto-layout automatically wrap an NSTextField to multiple lines as the width of the NSTextField changes?
I have numerous NSTextFields displaying static text (i.e.: labels) in an inspector pane. As the inspector pane is resized by the user, I would like the right hand side labels to reflow to multiple lines if need be.
(The Finder's Get Info panel does this.)
But I haven't been able to figure out the proper combination of auto layout constraints to allow this behavior. In all case, the NSTextFields on the right refuse to wrap. (Unless I explicitly add a height constraint that would allow it to.)
The view hierarchy is such that each gray band is a view containing two NSTextFields, the property name on the left and the property value on the right. As the user resizes the inspector pane, I would like the property value label to auto-resize it's height as need-be.
Current situation:
What I would like to have happen:
(Note that this behavior is different than most Stack Overflow questions I came across regarding NSTextFields and auto layout. Those questions wanted the text field to grow while the user is typing. In this situation, the text is static and the NSTextField is configured to look like a label.)
Update 1.0
Taking #hamstergene's suggestion, I subclassed NSTextField and made a little sample application. For the most part, it now works, but there's now a small layout issue that I suspect is a result of the NSTextField's frame not being entirely in sync with what auto-layout expects it to be. In the screenshot below, the right-hand side labels are all vertically spaced with a top constraint. As the window is resized, the Where field is getting properly resized and wrapped. However, the Kind text field does not get pushed down until I resize the window "one more pixel".
Example: If I resize the window to just the right width that the Where textfield does it's first wrap, then I get the results in the middle image. If I resize the window one more pixel, then the Kind field's vertical location is properly set.
I suspect that's because auto-layout is doing it's pass and then the frames are getting explicitly set. I imagine auto-layout doesn't see that on that pass but does it it on the next pass, and updates the positions accordingly.
Assuming that's the issue, how do I inform auto-layout of these changes I'm doing in setFrameSize so that it can run the layout again. (And, most importantly, not get caught in recursive state of layout-setFrameSize-layout-etc...)
Solution
I've come up with a solution that appears to work exactly how I was hoping. Instead of subclassing NSTextField, I just override layout in the superview of the NSTextField in question. Within layout, I set the preferredMaxLayoutWidth on the text field and then trigger a layout pass. That appears to be enough to get it mostly working, but it leaves the annoying issue of the layout being briefly "wrong". (See note above).
The solution to that appears to be to call setNeedsDisplay and then everything Just Works.
- (void)layout {
NSTextField *textField = ...;
NSRect oldTextFieldFrame = textField.frame;
[textField setPreferredMaxLayoutWidth:NSWidth(self.bounds) - NSMinX(textField.frame) - 12.0];
[super layout];
NSRect newTextFieldFrame = textField.frame;
if (oldTextFieldFrame.size.height != newTextFieldFrame.size.height) {
[self setNeedsDisplay:YES];
}
}
The simplest way to get this working, assuming you're using an NSViewController-based solution is this:
- (void)viewDidLayout {
[super viewDidLayout];
self.aTextField.preferredMaxLayoutWidth = self.aTextField.frame.size.width;
[self.view layoutSubtreeIfNeeded];
}
This simply lets the constraint system solve for the width (height will be unsolvable on this run so will be what ever you initially set it to), then you apply that width as the max layout width and do another constraint based layout pass.
No subclassing, no mucking with a view's layout methods, no notifications. If you aren't using NSViewController you can tweak this solution so that it works in most cases (subclassing textfield, in a custom view, etc.).
Most of this came from the swell http://www.objc.io/issue-3/advanced-auto-layout-toolbox.html (look at the Intrinsic Content Size of Multi-Line Text section).
If inspector pane width will never change, just check "First Runtime Layout Width" in IB (note it's 10.8+ feature).
But allowing inspector to have variable width at the same time is not possible to achieve with constraints alone. There is a weak point somewhere in AutoLayout regarding this.
I was able to achieve reliable behaviour by subclassing the text field like this:
- (NSSize) intrinsicContentSize;
{
const CGFloat magic = -4;
NSSize rv;
if ([[self cell] wraps] && self.frame.size.height > 1)
rv = [[self cell] cellSizeForBounds:NSMakeRect(0, 0, self.bounds.size.width + magic, 20000)];
else
rv = [super intrinsicContentSize];
return rv;
}
- (void) layout;
{
[super layout];
[self invalidateWordWrappedContentSizeIfNeeded];
}
- (void) setFrameSize:(NSSize)newSize;
{
[super setFrameSize:newSize];
[self invalidateWordWrappedContentSizeIfNeeded];
}
- (void) invalidateWordWrappedContentSizeIfNeeded;
{
NSSize a = m_previousIntrinsicContentSize;
NSSize b = self.intrinsicContentSize;
if (!NSEqualSizes(a, b))
{
[self invalidateIntrinsicContentSize];
}
m_previousIntrinsicContentSize = b;
}
In either case, the constraints must be set the obvious way (you have probably already tried it): high vertical hugging priority, low horizontal, pin all four edges to superview and/or sibling views.
Set in the size inspector tab in section Text Field Preferred Width to "First Runtime layout Width"
This works for me and is a bit more elegant. Additionally i've made a little sample project on Github
public class DynamicTextField: NSTextField {
public override var intrinsicContentSize: NSSize {
if cell!.wraps {
let fictionalBounds = NSRect(x: bounds.minX, y: bounds.minY, width: bounds.width, height: CGFloat.greatestFiniteMagnitude)
return cell!.cellSize(forBounds: fictionalBounds)
} else {
return super.intrinsicContentSize
}
}
public override func textDidChange(_ notification: Notification) {
super.textDidChange(notification)
if cell!.wraps {
validatingEditing()
invalidateIntrinsicContentSize()
}
}
}

Xcode 5, why isn't the image resizing?

Hello I am trying to resize a UIImage, but even though I'm not getting any errors it is not working.
hers the code of .h file
IBOutlet UIImageView *Fish;
heres the code of .m file
Fish.frame = CGRectMake(0, 0, 300, 293);
What am I doing wrong?
Thanks for any help
The image is probably not resizing because you are just resizing the image view. Make sure in your storyboard that you make the image view (Fish), have the move ScaleToFill. I can't do screenshot due to reputation ( sorry :( )
Alternately, if your goal is not to resize the image view but to resize the image it is holding, you can do this:
UIImage *image = Fish.image;
UIImage *image = YourImageView.image;
UIImage *tempImage = nil;
CGSize targetSize = CGSizeMake(80,60);
UIGraphicsBeginImageContext(targetSize);
CGRect thumbnailRect = CGRectMake(0, 0, 0, 0);
thumbnailRect.origin = CGPointMake(0.0,0.0);
thumbnailRect.size.width = targetSize.width;
thumbnailRect.size.height = targetSize.height;
[image drawInRect:thumbnailRect];
tempImage = UIGraphicsGetImageFromCurrentImageContext();
UIGraphicsEndImageContext();
YourImageView.image = tempImage;
and you would set thumbnailRect to whatever size you want.
Hope this helps! Please search Nerdy Lime on the app store to find all of my apps! Thanks!
I bet your outlet is not hooked up. In your "viewDidLoad" method, try doing this:
if(Fish)
{
Fish.frame = CGRectMake(0, 0, 300, 293);
} else {
NSLog(#"Fish is null; why did I forget to connect the outlet in my storyboard or xib?");
}
And this isn't the best way to resize your UIImageView. If you're using regular springs & struts, you can grow an outlet by clicking the springs & struts to grow based on the superview's size, e.g.:
And if you're doing AutoLayout, there's a different thing you can do (basically pin your view to all four sides of the superview).
Here is how I do it:
1) select the outlet / object you want to add constraints to (in your case, it'll be the fish image view)
2) see the segmented control at the bottom of the Interface Builder window? Click on the second one and you'll see a popover view open up with a list of possible constraints to add.
3) In my example, I'm adding constraints in my ImageView to always be 10 pixels from each edge of the superview (note the four "10"s and solid red lines meaning I'm adding four constraints).
AutoLayout is a pain to get accustomed to (and I'm still learning it myself), but I suspect that once one gets the hang of it, it'll be a powerful new tool especially as Apple brings in additional iOS screen sizes in the very near future.

How to subclass NSTextAttachment?

Here is my problem:
I use Core Data to store rich text input from iOS and/or OS X apps and would like images pasted into the NSTextView or UITextView to:
a) retain their original resolution, and
b) on display to be scaled to fit the textView correctly, which means scaling based on the size of the view on the device.
Currently I am using - (void)textStorage:(NSTextStorage *)textStorage didProcessEditing:(NSTextStorageEditActions)editedMask range:(NSRange)editedRange changeInLength:(NSInteger)delta to look for attachments and to then generate an image with a scale factor and assigning it to the textAttachment.image attribute.
This kind of works because I just change the scale factor and the original image gets retained but I believe a more elegant solution would be to use a NSTextAttachmentContainer subclass and to return from this an appropriately sized CGREct with
- (CGRect)attachmentBoundsForTextContainer:(NSTextContainer *)textContainer proposedLineFragment:(CGRect)lineFrag glyphPosition:(CGPoint)position characterIndex:(NSUInteger)charIndex
So my question is how do I create and insert such a subclass ?
Do I use the textStorage:didProcessEditing to iterate over each attachment and replace its NSTextAttachmentContainer with a class of my own, or can I simply create a Category and then somehow use this category to change the default behaviour. The latter seems much less intrusive but how do I get my textViews to automatically use this Category?
Oops: Just noticed NSTextAttachmentContainer is a protocol so I assume then creating a Category on NSTextAttachment and overriding the method above is an option.
Mmm: can't use Category to override an existing class method so I guess subclassing is the only option in which case how do I get the UITextView to use my attachment subclass, or do I have to iterate over the attributedString to replace all NSTextAttachments with instances of MYTextAttachment. And what will be the impact of unarchiving this string on OS X into say the default OS X NSTextAttachment (which is different from the iOS class) ?
Based on this excellent article, if you want to make use of
- (CGRect)attachmentBoundsForTextContainer:(NSTextContainer *)textContainer proposedLineFragment:(CGRect)lineFrag glyphPosition:(CGPoint)position characterIndex:(NSUInteger)charIndex
to scale an image text attachment, you have to create your own subclass of NSTextAttachment
#interface MYTextAttachment : NSTextAttachment
#end
with the scale operation in the implementation:
#implementation MYTextAttachment
- (CGRect)attachmentBoundsForTextContainer:(NSTextContainer *)textContainer proposedLineFragment:(CGRect)lineFrag glyphPosition:(CGPoint)position characterIndex:(NSUInteger)charIndex {
CGFloat width = lineFrag.size.width;
// Scale how you want
float scalingFactor = 1.0;
CGSize imageSize = [self.image size];
if (width < imageSize.width)
scalingFactor = width / imageSize.width;
CGRect rect = CGRectMake(0, 0, imageSize.width * scalingFactor, imageSize.height * scalingFactor);
return rect;
}
#end
based on
lineFrag.size.width
which give you (or what I have understood as) the width taken by the textView on which you have (will) set the attributed text "embedding" your custom text attachment.
Once the subclass of NSTextAttachment created, all you have to do is make use of it. Create an instance of it, set an image, then create a new attributed string with it and append it to a NSMutableAttributedText per example:
MYTextAttachment* _textAttachment = [MYTextAttachment new];
_textAttachment.image = [UIImage ... ];
[_myMutableAttributedString appendAttributedString:[NSAttributedString attributedStringWithAttachment:_immediateTextAttachment]];
For info it seems that
- (CGRect)attachmentBoundsForTextContainer:(NSTextContainer *)textContainer proposedLineFragment:(CGRect)lineFrag glyphPosition:(CGPoint)position characterIndex:(NSUInteger)charIndex
is called whenever the textview is asked to be relayout-ed.
Hope it helps, even though it doesn't answer every aspect of your problem.
Swift 3 (based on #Bluezen's answer):
class MyTextAttachment : NSTextAttachment {
override func attachmentBounds(for textContainer: NSTextContainer?, proposedLineFragment lineFrag: CGRect, glyphPosition position: CGPoint, characterIndex charIndex: Int) -> CGRect {
guard let image = self.image else {
return CGRect.zero
}
let height = lineFrag.size.height
// Scale how you want
var scalingFactor = CGFloat(0.8)
let imageSize = image.size
if height < imageSize.height {
scalingFactor *= height / imageSize.height
}
let rect = CGRect(x: 0, y: 0, width: imageSize.width * scalingFactor, height: imageSize.height * scalingFactor)
return rect
}
}
Note that I am scaling based on height, as I was getting a lineFrag width value of 10000000 in my particular use case. Also note that I replaced scalingFactor = ... with scalingFactor *= ... so that I could use an additional, non-unity scaling factor (0.8 in this case).

Cocoa: How to dynamically size the NSTextField?

I created a label:
NSTextField *label = [NSTextField alloc] initWithFrame:NSMakeRect(50, 50, 100, 50)];
[txtField setStringValue:inputString];
[txtField setEditable:false];
The length of inputString is unknown at compile time, so how can I resize the label so that it fits all in one line and center it after giving it the inputString?
I'm still new to Cocoa, so thanks for the help!
Use NSControl's "- (void)sizeToFit" method. That will resize the textField according to the text in it.
To make text centered, you can do it in the Interface Builder and that settings will not change as you update the size of the textField using sizeToFit.

How to let NSTextField grow with the text in auto layout?

Auto layout in Lion should make it fairly simple to let a text field (and hence a label) grow with text it holds.
The text field is set to wrap in Interface Builder.
What is a simple and reliable way to do this?
The method intrinsicContentSize in NSView returns what the view itself thinks of as its intrinsic content size.
NSTextField calculates this without considering the wraps property of its cell, so it will report the dimensions of the text if laid out in on a single line.
Hence, a custom subclass of NSTextField can override this method to return a better value, such as the one provided by the cell's cellSizeForBounds: method:
-(NSSize)intrinsicContentSize
{
if ( ![self.cell wraps] ) {
return [super intrinsicContentSize];
}
NSRect frame = [self frame];
CGFloat width = frame.size.width;
// Make the frame very high, while keeping the width
frame.size.height = CGFLOAT_MAX;
// Calculate new height within the frame
// with practically infinite height.
CGFloat height = [self.cell cellSizeForBounds: frame].height;
return NSMakeSize(width, height);
}
// you need to invalidate the layout on text change, else it wouldn't grow by changing the text
- (void)textDidChange:(NSNotification *)notification
{
[super textDidChange:notification];
[self invalidateIntrinsicContentSize];
}
Swift 4
Editable Autosizing NSTextField
Based on Peter Lapisu's Objective-C post
Subclass NSTextField, add the code below.
override var intrinsicContentSize: NSSize {
// Guard the cell exists and wraps
guard let cell = self.cell, cell.wraps else {return super.intrinsicContentSize}
// Use intrinsic width to jive with autolayout
let width = super.intrinsicContentSize.width
// Set the frame height to a reasonable number
self.frame.size.height = 750.0
// Calcuate height
let height = cell.cellSize(forBounds: self.frame).height
return NSMakeSize(width, height);
}
override func textDidChange(_ notification: Notification) {
super.textDidChange(notification)
super.invalidateIntrinsicContentSize()
}
Setting self.frame.size.height to 'a reasonable number' avoids some bugs when using FLT_MAX, CGFloat.greatestFiniteMagnitude or large numbers. The bugs occur during operation when the user select highlights the text in the field, they can drag scroll up and down off into infinity. Additionally when the user enters text the NSTextField is blanked out until the user ends editing. Finally if the user has selected the NSTextField and then attempts to resize the window, if the value of self.frame.size.height is too large the window will hang.
The accepted answer is based on manipulating intrinsicContentSize but that may not be necessary in all cases. Autolayout will grow and shrink the height of the text field if (a) you give the text field a preferredMaxLayoutWidth and (b) make the field not editable. These steps enable the text field to determine its intrinsic width and calculate the height needed for autolayout. See this answer and this answer for more details.
Even more obscurely, it follows from the dependency on the text field's editable attribute that autolayout will break if you are using bindings on the field and fail to clear the Conditionally Sets Editable option.

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