I'd like to set up a custom NSView in Interface-Builder, but I don't get it to work for OSX.
In my ViewController's .xib, I added a custom view and set the Class to MyCustomView. I created MyCustomView.h, MyCustomView.m and MyCustomView.xib.
In MyCustomView.xib, I set the Class to MyCustomView as well. In MyCustomView.m, - (void)awakeFromNib is called, but - (id)initWithCoder:(NSCoder *)aDecoder and - (id) awakeAfterUsingCoder:(NSCoder*)aDecoder aren't.
What I'd like to achieve is that in my ViewController, the view I added is "filled" with the view I set up in MyCustomView.xib. What's the best way to do that?
EDIT: I don't think I was clear enough...
I've got my ViewController containing a Custom View called MyCustomView.
This view should be of type MyCustomView, where
MyCustomView.h
MyCustomView.m
MyCustomView.xib
exists. I already set the File's Owner of MyCustomView.xib to MyCustomView and I already set the CustomView in my ViewController to MyCustomView - but it doesn't work.
If I do it with
- (void)awakeFromNib {
NSString* nibName = NSStringFromClass([self class]);
NSArray* topLevelObjects;
[[NSBundle mainBundle] loadNibNamed:nibName
owner:nil
topLevelObjects:&topLevelObjects];
NSView* view = topLevelObjects[0];
[view setFrame:[self bounds]];
[self addSubview:view];
}
I only get a view of type NSView, not MyCustomView... Is there no easy way to tell the ViewController.xib that it's a MyCustomView?
EDIT 2: I uploaded a simple project
At https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/119600/Testproject.zip you find a simple project with the MyCustomView (not in a ViewController but in the window.xib) - but it doesn't show the button which is in MyCustomView.xib. I'd like to achieve exactly that - what's the simplest, best way?
EDIT - apologies, my existing answer failed to take into account the need to connect outlets and actions. This way should do it...
Given the files...
MyCustomView.h
MyCustomView.m
MyCustomView.xib
In MyCustomView.h
declare IBOutlets for your interface elements. You need at least one, to hold a pointer to the top-level view in the xib file
#property (nonatomic, strong) IBOutlet NSView *view;
In MyCustomView.xib
ensure that there is only one top-level view
set file's owner class to MyCustomView in the Identity Inspector
ensure that the top-level view is set to the default NSView class.
now you can connect IBOutlets declared in MyCustomView.h to interface objects in the xib file. At very least you need to connect up the top-level view to your view outlet.
In MyCustomView.m:
- (id)initWithFrame:(NSRect)frame
{
NSString* nibName = NSStringFromClass([self class]);
self = [super initWithFrame:frame];
if (self) {
if ([[NSBundle mainBundle] loadNibNamed:nibName
owner:self
topLevelObjects:nil]) {
[self.view setFrame:[self bounds]];
[self addSubview:self.view];
[self.myCustomButton setTitle:#"test success"];
}
}
return self;
}
In your window's xib file, add a custom NSView and change it's class to MyCustomView.
in OSX prior to 10.8 the method loadNibNamed was a class method - use it instead if you need backwards compatibility, but it is deprecated now:
[NSBundle loadNibNamed:#"NibView" owner:self]
Note that MyCustomView.xib's view is NOT MyCustomView's view, but the sole subview of it's view (this is similar to the way a tableViewCell possesses a single contentView).
In the project sample you have posted, you need to make the following changes:
in MyCustomView.h
. add an NSView property
in MyCustomView.xib:
. change the top-level view from MyCustomView custom class to NSView (the default)
. set the File's Owner to MyCustomView.
. connect IBOutlets from File's owner's view and myCustomButton to interface view and button
. for testing make the view a lot smaller and push the button up to the top right (you won't see it in your window as it is here)
in MyCustomView.m:
. replace all of your implementation code with the initWithFrame method here
In order to load a custom subclass of a view or a control (or any other class that can be used in Interface Builder for that matter), you need to add the base version (NSView in your case, and as you have done), then select that object in the window and go to the Identity Inspector (Cmd-Opt 3).
Instead of the pre-defined value for Class (NSView, in your case), type in the name of your custom subclass. Voilà!
A small detail related to the IB UX is that you'll probably have to move the focus from the input field in order for that change to be registered when you build and run the app.
Related
Is there support for NSSplitViewController/NSSplitViewItem for XIBs? I see only NSSplitView
Can I just drag&drop NSViewController and subclass it as NSSplitViewController? How do I add NSSplitViewItem that it mostly works out of the box?
I can easily see support for them in storyboards.
The split view controller is not part of the object library for xib files. The easiest way to use split view controllers is to use storyboards.
If you are unwilling to use storyboards, your best option is to create a subclass of NSSplitViewController and select the checkbox to also create a xib file.
Add a split view to the split view controller xib file. Write code to load the xib file to set up the split view controller.
UPDATE
Look at the NSNib class reference for information on loading a xib file. The File's Owner of the xib file is your NSSplitViewController subclass. You may be able to use that information to set the split view controller. The worst case scenario is that you have to write code to load the split view from the xib file, set the split view controller's split view to the split view you loaded, and add the split view items to the split view controller. See the NSSplitViewController class reference for more information.
Yes it's possible. But it needs some wiring.
First add a custom subclass of NSSplitViewItem and expose viewController property as IBOutlet. Compiler will throw a warning so don't forget to mark property as dynamic.
#interface MySplitViewItem : NSSplitViewItem
#property IBOutlet NSViewController *viewController;
#end
#implementation MySplitViewItem
#dynamic viewController;
#end
In your XIB add 3 NSViewController objects. One of them change to custom class NSSplitViewController. It is important to note that one should NOT add NSSplitView. Wire NSViewControllers to it's views. Also add 2 objects and add custom class of MySplitViewItem which has exposed the viewController and wire it.
Last step. It is important to set property splitItems of NSSplitViewController before the views are loaded! Otherwise you are caught with NSAssert macro.
- (void)applicationDidFinishLaunching:(NSNotification *)aNotification
{
NSNib *nib = [[NSNib alloc] initWithNibNamed:#"Empty" bundle:nil];
NSMutableArray *test = [NSMutableArray new];
NSMutableArray *splitItems = [NSMutableArray new];
NSSplitViewController *controller;
[nib instantiateWithOwner:self topLevelObjects:&test];
for (id object in test) {
if ([object isKindOfClass:[NSSplitViewController class]]) {
controller = object;
}
if ([object isKindOfClass:[NSSplitViewItem class]]) {
[splitItems addObject:object];
}
}
[controller setValue:splitItems forKey:#"splitViewItems"];
[[self window] setContentViewController:controller];
}
Here is a proof that everything is wired correctly. Note that I did not touch delegate in XIB and it is wired. Magic, I know.
PS: XIB has to be set to prefer Coder + auto layout.
Why do I prefer XIB? Because we can create larger XIB which doesn't suffer from data isolation (Easily can do bindings across NSViewControllers).
I have also experimented to add splitViewItems in viewDidLoad or setView or awakeFromNib: in custom subclass of NSSplitViewController (with exposed NSSplitViewItem properties). If someone finds solution here it will be greatly appreciated.
Solution that requires code only:
- (NSSplitViewController *)profilesSVC
{
if (!_profilesSVC) {
NSSplitViewController *splitVC = [[NSSplitViewController alloc] init];
ProfilesViewController *profilesVC = [[ProfilesViewController alloc] initWithNibName:#"Profiles" bundle:nil];
NSSplitViewItem *leftItem = [NSSplitViewItem splitViewItemWithViewController:profilesVC];
[splitVC addSplitViewItem:leftItem];
ProfileViewController *profileVC = [[ProfileViewController alloc] initWithNibName:#"Profile" bundle:nil];
NSSplitViewItem *rightItem = [NSSplitViewItem splitViewItemWithViewController:profileVC];
[splitVC addSplitViewItem:rightItem];
_profilesSVC = splitVC;
}
return _profilesSVC;
}
I too wanted to add a splitView controller to my projet (macOS app) that doesn't use storyboards.
As it turned out, this was rather easy (in XCode 12.4).
As suggested, one has to to add NSViewController objects to the xib and wire each view property to the corresponding 'pane' (subview of the split view) in interface builder.
Then create a subclass of NSSplitViewController (no need to create a xib file).
Add a third NSViewController object to the xib and change its class to your subclass. Then wire both it's view and splitView properties to your splitView. It doesn't load any view if you just wire the splitView property.
Using a subclass of NSSplitViewController may not be required, but it's convenient as you may set the splitViewItems within viewDidLoad (below). Since this object is (automatically) the delegate of the splitView, you can also override delegate methods if you wish.
That object should have outlets leading to the NSViewController objects which you previously wired to the panes in IB.
I set two outlets named leftController and rightController.
My awakeFromNib method looks like this (sorry, I don't use swift):
- (void) viewDidLoad {
self.splitView.wantsLayer = YES; // I think this is required if you use a left sidebar with vibrancy (which I do below). Otherwise appkit complains and forces the use of CA layers anyway
NSSplitViewItem *left =[NSSplitViewItem sidebarWithViewController:leftController];
[self addSplitViewItem:left];
NSSplitViewItem *right =[NSSplitViewItem splitViewItemWithViewController:rightController];
right.minimumThickness = 420;
[self addSplitViewItem:right];
}
Voilà!
However, I get crashes if I set thick dividers in IB as appkit calls splitView:shouldHideDividerAtIndex too early, when there is apparently no divider yet. Worse, it may pass a negative divider index (!!). But you may override the method and act accordingly and I have no issue with thin dividers.
I'm new to Xcode and objective c. I want to create a button (probably a UIBarButtonItem, for a navigation bar) with a particular appearance, which I will use repeatedly in different views. I've searched at length but can't figure out how.
Would it be appropriate to subclass UIBarButtonItem? I tried to do that, but I was quickly in over my head. Once I create the .h and .m files as a subclass of UIBarButtonItem, do I then have to instantiate a UIBarButtonItem? Do those files not automatically create a button object for me (imported from the parent class), which I can refer to as self? It seems like it would be weird to instantiate a button within its own subclass.
One thing I want to do is add the line,
button.titleLabel.lineBreakMode = NSLineBreakByWordWrapping;
but I'm at a loss as to how to create reusable button with that property.
Even if that is completely the wrong approach to creating a reusable custom button, I clearly need to improve my understanding of objects, so explanation of my misunderstandings would be much appreciated!
Please?
You can do this without subclassing - by making a category (a preferred way of doing things in Objective-C). With a category you can provide custom methods for an object without having to subclass it. You can't (easily) provide custom properties, but in your case this is not relevant.
Using a Category
This is how your category header file could look:
// UIButton+StyledButton.h
#import <UIKit/UIKit.h>
#interface UIButton (StyledButton)
- (void) styleButton;
#end
Then in the implementation file:
//
// UIButton+StyledButton.m
//
#import "UIButton+StyledButton.h"
#implementation UIButton (StyledButton)
- (void) styleButton {
//style your button properties here
self.titleLabel.lineBreakMode = NSLineBreakByWordWrapping;
}
('self' refers to the button object, which also acquires the custom methods you write in the category.)
To use it, #import "UIButton+StyledButton.h" then you can do this sort of thing...
on viewDidLoad {
[super viewDidLoad];
UIButton* myButton = [[UIButton alloc] initWithFrame:myFrame];
[myButton styleButton];
}
Using a Subclass
The subclassed equivalent would look something like this:
The header file...
// MyCustomButton.h
#import <UIKit/UIKit.h>
#interface MyCustomButton : UIButton
- (id)initWithCoder:(NSCoder *)coder;
- (id)initWithFrame:(CGRect)frame;
#end
The implementation file...
// MyCustomButton.m
#import "MyCustomButton.h"
#implementation MyCustomButton
- (id)initWithFrame:(CGRect)frame
{
self = [super initWithFrame:frame];
if (self) {
[self styleButton];
}
return self;
}
- (id)initWithCoder:(NSCoder *)coder
{
self = [super initWithCoder:coder];
if (self) {
[self styleButton];
}
return self;
}
- (void) styleButton {
//style your button properties here
self.titleLabel.lineBreakMode = NSLineBreakByWordWrapping;
}
You provide two init methods - initWithFrame is the method to call when alloc/initing the object in code; initWithCoder is the init method called by the system if loading the object from a storyboard or xib.
To create one of your custom buttons in code, you alloc/init as you would any other object:
MyCustomButton* button = [[MyCustomButton alloc] initWithFrame:buttonFrame];
You wouldn't also alloc/init the superclass instance, this is done by the initWithFrame: method in the subclass when it calls [super initWithFrame:frame]. self refers to your custom subclass instance, but that includes all of the (public) properties and methods from it's superclass - unless you have implemented overrides in the subclass.
To use your subclassed button in a storyboard/xib, just drag out a regular button then set it's type to your custom button class in the Identity Inspector. The initWithCoder method is called automatically when the button is loaded from the storyboard/xib into a view.
update
From your comments, you seem to harbour a few confusions still, so here are some highly compressed de-obfuscating notes...
Keep away from subclassing UINavigationController unless you really know what you are doing. It's rarely necessary.
The buttons on a navController's interface are properties of it's contained viewControllers. Look up the navigationItem property of UIViewController (similarly - in the case of a UIToolbar - the View Controller has a toolbarItems property). This allows Navigation Controllers to be context-aware.
The 'viewDidLoad' in my example is assumed to be in a regular UIViewController. My example is also a category on the regular UIBUtton which has no formal relationship with UIBarButtonItem.
Try getting a UIButton category to work with a regular ViewController first before experimenting with UIBarButtonItem (which does not inherit from UIButton).
UIBarbuttonItem has no initWithFrame, because the thing that organises the bar (UINavigationBar or UIToolbar) - in this case a Navigation Controller - is responsible for it's ultimate size and positioning. The viewController governs the relative order of barButtonItems, and whether they appear on the left or the right, and the content and (some aspects of) it's appearance, but the rest is up to the NavController.
I am looking at rebuilding the settings section of my app using the new functionality provided by storyboards. Not wanting to touch the rest of my app at this point, so my main NIB will be staying.
Now when going from my NIB'ed tabBar to another NIB I just add a viewController to the tabBar in IB and then set the NIB Name property to the NIB which I want to load when that tab is pressed.
But there is no 'storyboard name' property that I can see, so how is this done?
There is no "official" way to do it at the moment, but you can do it using some tricks.
1) add your view controller to your tabbar in nib in the usual way. Leave the nib field empty.
2) create your storyboard and add your viewcontroller. Set the class and set a storyboard ID (I'll use "theID" for this example)
3) add a static bool var to your .m file, outside implementation or interface
static BOOL aFlag = NO;
4) in your viewcontroller class override this method:
- (id) awakeAfterUsingCoder:(NSCoder *)aDecoder
{
if (!aFlag){
aFlag = YES;
UIStoryboard *storyboard = [UIStoryboard storyboardWithName:#"Storyboard" bundle:nil];
return [storyboard instantiateViewControllerWithIdentifier:#"theID"];
} else {
return self;
}
}
essentially:
when you load the object from the tab bar nib, a first call to "initWithCoder" is made, and the object loads without nib
after initWithCoder, awakeAfterUsingCoder is called and there you substitute the object with another loaded from storyboard. Object of the same class but archived in the storyboard
when you load the object from the storyboard, another call to both initWithCoder and awakeAfterUsingCoder. You use the flag to avoid a loop and return self (at the second call, the object is loaded from storyboard so returning self is ok)
I tried and it works good ;-)
If you want here is an example project: http://www.lombax.it/files/testTabNib.zip
This has been asked before, but I cannot find a definitive answer.
I would like to design a custom UIView class. I would like to do the layout in XCode 4 in a XIB file. Ideally:
I have the files MyView.h, MyView.m and MyView.xib.
The code defines the behavior and the XIB file defines the layout.
The code may have outlets into the XIB file to reference the layout elements.
The loader of the view could be different objects.
I'd like to be able to load the view by:
MyView *v = [MyView myView];
I've tried lots of different methods of setting the File's Owner and loading the XIB via NSBundle, but I keep getting key value coding problems.
Can anyone share the basic method to do this?
I have a repo of my current code here. As you can see, it generates a key value coding error.
Oh, I seem to have figured it out.
Keys are the following:
The XIB file UIView only needs to be a generic UIView. No need to set it to your subclass.
The File's Owner needs to be your subclass.
Outlets go to the File's Owner.
In your custom UIView, load the NIB as follows:
- (id)initWithFrame:(CGRect)frame
{
self = [super initWithFrame:frame];
if (self) {
UINib *nib = [UINib nibWithNibName:NSStringFromClass([self class]) bundle:nil];
UIView *v = [[nib instantiateWithOwner:self options:nil] lastObject];
v.frame = self.frame;
[self addSubview:v];
}
return self;
}
How exactly do you instantiate it? In my "container" class I have an outlet for my custom view as a property, but when I try to do self.customView = [[CustomView alloc] init];
the view does not come on screen, even though I know that it's correctly initialized because I can see the NSLog()s I put in my custom view's initWithFrame: method.
From within my main view controller, BEFORE instatiating the new class, the view is as I've defined it in the storyboard: <CustomView: 0x6a83bb0; frame = (38 153; 244 153); autoresize = RM+BM; layer = <CALayer: 0x6a83c60>>
However, inside the custom view's initWithFrame:, the frame is {{0, 0}, {0, 0}} and the view is <UIView: 0x68ca160; frame = (0 0; 0 0); autoresize = W+H; layer = <CALayer: 0x68d1800>>.
After the initialization has taken place, the main view's property for the custom view is barely (null), which baffles me.
I'm sure I'm missing something very simple here. Are you even supposed to define the custom view's within the main view in the storyboard at all?
Thanks!
I created a custom view in interface builder with a few buttons in it. I created a class in code for it as the "Files owner" to connect the buttons to action methods.
How do I use this class then?
I cannot just do it like this...
StartScreen *ss = [[StartScreen alloc] initWithFrame: ...];
[self.window.contentView addSubView: ss];
...
because this only produces an empty view. (of course: the StartScreen class doesn't know anything about the nib file yet.)
What I want to do is something like:
StartScreen *ss = LoadCustomViewFromNib(#"StartScreen");
[self.window.contentView addSubView: ss];
or maybe i have to say something like
[self iWannaBeANibWithName: #"StartScreen"];
in the constructor of StartScreen?
pls help...
(btw I am developing for Mac OS X 10.6)
One option is to make StartScreen a subclass of NSViewController, maybe changing its name to StartScreenController. This is a potentially more modular solution in case you have IBActions in your nib file and/or you want to place view controlling code in its own class.
Declare StartScreenController as a subclass of NSViewController
Declare IBOutlets in StartScreenController if needed
Set the nib file’s owner class to be StartScreenController
Connect the file’s owner view outlet to the view object, and other outlets if needed
Then:
StartScreenController *ss = [[StartScreenController alloc] initWithNibName:#"nibname" bundle:nil];
[self.window.contentView addSubView:ss.view];
…
If you’re not using garbage collection, don’t forget to release ss when it’s not needed any longer.
The Nib loading functions are part of the NSBundle class. You can use it like this...
#implementation StartScreen
- (id) init {
if ((self = [super init])) {
if (![NSBundle loadNibNamed:#"StartScreen" owner:self])
// error
// continue initializing
}
return self;
}
See NSBundle Additions reference.