How can I change the z-value, or just send to back or to front the objects in Interface Builder?
i.e. I would like to move to front the "Label" in this View:
You need to reorder then in Interface Builder. It seems like you're using Xcode 4. So, first, click on the arrow in the bottom left corner of IB to expand the side panel:
Next, click and drag the views that you'd like to rearrange.
The lower an item is on the list from the top of the list, the higher its "z-index".
with that object selected, goto (menu) Editor>Arrangement> . There will be 4 options with activated appropriate options.
xCode 10.3 (2019):
I had the same problem when copying/pasting a background image view. I couldn't drag it to change its z-order in the Document Outline panel (in Interface Builder).
The answer was just to restart xCode.
I think that re-indexed/re-built the storyboard and I could drag it higher in the list (thus making it lower in the z-order + behind the other controls).
Related
In XCode 7, on a Swift 2 project, when I place a label onto the View, why is the label centred in XCode, but in the Simulator it's show off to the right?
This is just playing at the moment, where I don't want to play with constraints just yet (which I believe will be used later).
I had the same problem when working through a demo, and this worked for me. Try using the 4.7 inch size view controller:
Look in the middle left hand menu (the Document Outline), if not shown it’s under Editor > Hide Document Outline (a misnomer, clicking it will Show or Hide it).
Click on the View Controller so it's highlighted.
Click on the 4th tab of the right hand one (Utilities: the Attributes Inspector). If not shown it’s under View > Utilities > Show Attributes Inspector.
Under Simulated Metrics is a Size option to change from “Inferred” to “iPhone 4.7-inch”.
You'll need to realign things again, but now these should look central in the View and in the Simulator.
Constraints, when you want to get to them, will probably be more helpful in this regard.
I have an OS X app originally built using Xcode 4, now using Xcode 7. When "springs-and-struts" was superseded by constraints, I reworked the UI to use constraints. Simple enough, and seemed to work well.
Fast forward two years after first release, and for the second release I needed to add controls and increase the height of the main app view. Unfortunately, my test team is using smaller screens and cannot see the whole view. They need to resize vertically.
Problem - even though the resize controls box is checked, the window cannot be resized. The controls do not show at run time. I tried
Setting lower minimum window content size height, but that did not change anything.
Changing content compression resistance did not change anything.
I am thinking this issue has something to do with constraints.... Any ideas on how to get resize to work?
Edit: After playing with a new test app some, I am more certain the problem is due to constraints. I have a control where I have constrained leading and trailing space to superview and width - there went horizontal resize.
I really need to have a view where the user can resize the window, but scroll the content. However, in this case, the content is other controls. I think on iOS, I would use a UIScrollView. On OS X, I have tried a scroll view control and have tried embedding in a scroll view, and neither have the desired effect.
I had the same issue and solved it by adding a view to be used as a "container" in the view controller.
Pin the top left corner of the "container view" to the view controller (leading space 0 and top space 0). Add equal width and height constraints on the "container view" to the view controller. Then move all your objects into the "container view" and add your object constraints on the "container view" not the view controller.
In my case, it happened in this way (Xcode 13.1).
I mistakenly added a view from IB outside of the window view hierarchy. The new view was added as a separated object (a top node in the interface builder file). I added the new view into the window by drag-n-drop.
I found the new view had different behaviours, for example, I couldn't set the top space constraint. With this view in the view hierarchy, I couldn't change the window size (content view size) at all.
I removed the view and added another in the view hierarchy, it worked as normal.
I think IB initialises the view differently if it is a separated object (top node of the interface builder file).
Problem: UIView size is "locked" when designing with Auto Layout in IB
I've uploaded a 20 second video that illustrates my problem, but let me describe it. You may recognize the project: it's right out of Apple's WWDC 2012 "Introduction to Auto Layout." I've got a simple iPhone view in Interface Builder where I've already got a button and label along the bottom. The next step is to add a UIView. Here's where things get ugly.
When I drag the UIView out of the palette in Interface Builder and onto the iPhone window, as soon as I let it go it seems to become locked in to its starting size. I place it in the upper left corner, and I'd like to drag it horizontally to the right side of the window, and vertically to where it will be up against (minus the padding) the button and label along the bottom. But, when I try to resize it, I cannot. It's stuck on its original size!
The video illustrating my problem is here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jsW4UwnCEkw
You can see me grab the right edge of the view and try to pull it along to the right side of the window, but it won't expand. You can then see me move the entire view to the right side (it retains its size) and then try the opposite: grabbing the left side and trying to expand it so that it sizes up against the left side of the window. In both cases, the view is simply locked to its original size.
What gives! Auto Layout in Interface Builder is just the most frustrating thing. How do I resize a view by dragging? Thanks!
(Note: Xcode 4.6.3.)
In IB, in the series of buttons in the lower right hand corner, click on the rightmost button:
When you do, you'll see a "When resizing Views Apply Constraints To..." pop-up menu:
Make sure that "Siblings and Ancestors" is not checked.
Is it possible to lock or freeze elements in storyboard editor so that they are ignored, when clicking and dragging?
My problem is that I have several elements underneath two big UIViews that cover the whole window. So in order to for example move a button underneath them I first have to move the big views out of the way, move the button, then move them back.
Is there a better way?
When I select the element in the tree-view on the left, it gets deselected as soon as I click on the storyboard. Perhaps there's a keyboard shortcut to keep the selection while dragging?
There isn't I'm afraid, at least not that I've ever been aware of.
You can use the object navigator / tree-view on the left to select your items, then you can move objects around using the x/y/w/h properties on the size inspector.
Another solution could be to set the items you don't want to drag around to hidden while you're dragging other elements around.
Let's say I have a split view, and I want to fill half of it with a table view (a fairly common use case, I would think). Is there any way to tell the table view to size itself to fit the split view or do I really have to size it manually?
I've done this, the way Jon Hess mentions first. Assuming you're using Interface Builder version 3:
Drag and resize your GUI (tableview from what I understand?) component to fit into the enclosing area the way you want it.
Click it to select it.
Press Command-Shift-I to open the inspector window for this GUI component. The inspector window should now actually show that you've selected a "Scroll View".
Click the "ruler" heading to be able to set the sizing. You'll see to the right an animated representation of how your GUI component will behave within its enclosing GUI component, and to the left another represenation of the same, without animation, but with four springs and two struts that you can turn on or off.
Turn all six things on, making them red.
Voilà :-)
It's generally easier to create the subviews first, then use the Layout/Embed Objects In/Split View menu item to create the split view around them.
As far as I know, doing it manually is the only way to go. However, if you turn on "snap to cocoa guidelines", the inner view will snap to the edges of the enclosing view as you drag towards them. This makes it easier than having to manually mouse the edges into place, or manually edit the sizes to match.
You can set all of the springs and struts of the table view to "on" in the size inspector and that will cause the table view to fill the split view. Alternatively, you can use the outline view in the main document window to place the tableview's enclosing scroll view directly into the splitview instead of in an intermediary custom view.