swift block selection of custom section header cell - ios

Question

I have a UITableView with custom section headers, made via the storyboard using a custom prototype cell with a Identifier of "headerCell", along with a Cocoa Touch Class called "HeaderViewCell" subclassing UITableViewCell.
func tableView(_ tableView: UITableView, viewForHeaderInSection section: Int) -> UIView? {
let headerCell = tableView.dequeueReusableCell(withIdentifier: "headerCell") as! HeaderViewCell
headerCell.sectionTitle.text = viewModel.items[section].sectionTitle
headerCell.section = section
headerCell.delegate = self
return headerCell
}
The button in the cell fires a delegate func passing in the section that was assigned to it.
Everything works great- setting the title, tapping the button I needed, etc... EXCEPT that when you tap the blank space between the section title (on the left) and button (on the right), the section header highlights as if it's a cell in the section, and then performs the segue for the first row in the section.
Selection is set to "None" in the attributes inspector. If I toggle User Interaction Enabled, then the button does not work.
I've found lots of posts where people are trying to register taps on the section headers (answer: with tap gestures), but exhausted myself in search of how to block them. In the didSelectRow at delegate method, I see the same IndexPath I would as if I clicked on the row and not the header, so I can't block it from there.
Being that using a custom prototype cell is the most widely suggested response to a custom section header, I would have expected this to have been an issue for someone else as well. ?

Answer 1

"HeaderViewCell" subclassing UITableViewCell.
Stop right there. That's totally wrong. Your section header should not be a UITableViewCell. It should be a UITableViewHeaderFooterView (or a subclass thereof).
As soon as you make that change (along with any needed corresponding changes to registration of the header view type), your problem will go away.

Answer 2

Matt's answer should would work.
Create a Subclass of type UITableViewHeaderFooterView and name it CustomHeaderView
class CustomHeaderView: UITableViewHeaderFooterView {
// programmatically add the sectionTitle and whatever else inside here. Matt said there isn’t a storyboard or nib for a HeaderFooterView so do it programmatically
}
Then inside inside viewForHeaderInSection use tableView.dequeueReusableHeaderFooterView and cast it as the CustomHeaderView
func tableView(_ tableView: UITableView, viewForHeaderInSection section: Int) -> UIView? {
// don't forget to rename the identifier
let customHeaderView = tableView.dequeueReusableHeaderFooterView(withIdentifier: "customHeaderView") as! CustomHeaderView
customHeaderView.sectionTitle.text = viewModel.items[section].sectionTitle
customHeaderView.section = section
customHeaderView.delegate = self
return customHeaderView
}
If not try this.
If you don't want the cell to highlight first set the selection style to .none:
Either set .selectionStyle = .none inside the HeaderCell itself
or
func tableView(_ tableView: UITableView, viewForHeaderInSection section: Int) -> UIView? {
let headerCell = tableView.dequeueReusableCell(withIdentifier: "headerCell") as! HeaderViewCell
headerCell.sectionTitle.text = viewModel.items[section].sectionTitle
headerCell.section = section
headerCell.delegate = self
headerCell.selectionStyle = .none // set it here
return headerCell
}
Then in didSelectRowAtIndexPath find out the type of cell that is being selected. If it's a HeaderCell then just return and the cell shouldn't push. If it's any of the other type of cells (eg PushCell) then those cells should perform the segue:
override func tableView(_ tableView: UITableView, didSelectRowAt indexPath: IndexPath) {
// if it's a HeaderCell then do nothing but print
if let _ = tableView.cellForRowAtIndexPath(indexPath) as? HeaderCell {
tableView.deselectRow(at: indexPath, animated: true)
print("+++++HeaderCell was tapped")
return // nothing should happen
}
// if it's a PushCell then push
if let _ = tableView.cellForRowAtIndexPath(indexPath) as? PushCell {
print("-----PushCell was tapped")
performSegue(withIdentifier...
// or if your using navigationController?.pushViewController(...
}
}