Mouse Event in Outline View - cocoa

Question

I have a window which contains a split view. One of the "splits" contains an outline view. I have a window controller (which is the file owner for the window's XIB). The window controller is the delegate and data source of the outline view.
When I call the -(void)mouseDown:(NSEvent *)e method in the window controller only the toolbar responds to the method - the outline view does not.
How do I get the mouse events, e.g. the mouseDown, of the outline view?

Answer 1

To get the mouse event of the outline view:
Subclass the outline view.
In Interface Builder (IB) > Library panel > Classes tab select NSOutlineView
Right-click NSOutlineView and select "New Subclass..."
Complete the following pop-up windows selecting "Generate Source Files" and add the fils to your project
Select the NSOutlineView
In Inspector Panel > Identity tab > Class Identity > Class select your new class
Implement your mouse event method
In Xcode > your new subclass of your outline view > the implementation (.m) file type your method e.g.
(void)mouseDown:(NSEvent *)theEvent {
/* CODE YOU WANT EXECUTED WHEN MOUSE IS CLICKED */
NSLog(#"Mouse down occurred");
// call this to get the usual behaviour of your outline
// view in addition to your custom code
[super mouseDown:theEvent];
}
It may be useful to know that one can get mouse events by using [NSEvent modifierFlags]. This is will work not just for the outline view but for views throughout the app. For example, in the window controller (referred to in the question) I could include code like:
if ([NSEvent modifierFlags] == NSAlternateKeyMask) { // if the option key is being pressed
/*SOME CODE*/
}