How do I get the tableView by the custom cell? - ios

How do I get tableView by custom cell in the CustomCell?
- (UITableViewCell *)tableView:(UITableView *)tableView cellForRowAtIndexPath:(NSIndexPath *)indexPath{
CustomCell *cell = [tableView dequeueReusableCellWithIdentifier:#"CustomCell" forIndexPath:indexPath];
return cell;
}
#implementation CustomCell
- (void)awakeFromNib {
[super awakeFromNib];
// How do I get tableView by custom cell in the CustomCell?
}
#end

To answer the question, Apple does not provide a public API for that and you would have to do it using what is known about view hierarchies.
A tableViewCell would always be part of a tableView. Technically, a tableViewCell would always be in a tableView's view hierarchy or a tableViewCell would always have some superview out there that is a tableView. Here is a method similar to this one:
- (UITableView *)getParentTableView:(UITableViewCell *)cell {
UIView *parent = cell.superview;
while ( ![parent isKindOfClass:[UITableView class]] && parent.superview){
parent = parent.superview;
}
if ([parent isKindOfClass:[UITableView class]]){
UITableView *tableView = (UITableView *) parent;
return tableView;
} else {
// This should not be reached unless really you do bad practice (like creating the cell with [[UITableView alloc] init])
// This means that the cell is not part of a tableView's view hierarchy
// #throw NSInternalInconsistencyException
return nil;
}
}
More generally, Apple did not provide such public API for a reason. It is indeed best practice for the cell to use other mechanisms to avoid querying the tableView, like using properties that can be configured at runtime by the user of the class in tableView:cellForRowAtIndexPath:.

Related

How to set up this custom UITableViewCell

I have taken over an iOS project and have to refactor a list of views into a UITableView. I am using Storyboards and have subclassed UITableViewCell. One subclass is called MenuItemCell and has a headerLabel, detailLabel, and priceLabel which are properties set up in the Storyboard and configured in MenuItemCell. I am able to manipulate these via cellForAtIndexPath like this:
-(UITableViewCell *)tableView:(UITableView *)tableView cellForRowAtIndexPath:(NSIndexPath *)indexPath{
static NSString *MenuItemCellIdentifier=#"MenuItemCell";
id dic=self.tmpMenu.listItems[indexPath.row];
if([dic isKindOfClass:[MenuItem class]]){
MenuItemCell *cell = [self.menuTV dequeueReusableCellWithIdentifier:MenuItemCellIdentifier];
MenuItem *menuItem=(MenuItem *)dic;
cell.menuItem=menuItem;
cell.headerLabel.text=menuItem.header;
cell.headerLabel.numberOfLines=0;
cell.priceLabel.text=menuItem.price;
// how to handle this custom spotView
if([menuItem hasInstoreImage]){
UIView *instoreImageDot=[self circleWithColor:[UIColor redColor] radius:4];
[cell.spotView addSubview:instoreImageDot]; // ON SCROLLING, this populates to all the different table cells
}
return cell;
}
return nil;
}
The last piece is that there is a custom UIView called spotView. Currently, I am creating this circle in code in my controller via circleWithColor and trying to add to [cell.spotView] but scrolling causes this to populate on different table cells. How should I set this up? I have added a method to my custom view but this suffers from the same problem.
Cells get reused, you will need to tell the tableView to remove the custom View
if([menuItem hasInstoreImage]){
UIView *instoreImageDot=[self circleWithColor:[UIColor redColor] radius:4];
[cell.spotView addSubview:instoreImageDot];
}else{
//remove it if condition is not met
//or You can add a place holder view instead
}
What is happening is that iOS is reusing cells as you scroll and some of the reused cells already have the instoreImageDot view added as a subview.
You really shouldn't do layout stuff in the cellForRowAtIndexPath method. It should only ever be used to dequeue a reusable cell and then set the data for the cell. All the layout stuff should be handled by the cell itself.
Don't create the instoreImageDot in the controller. Add a method in your custom cell - something like (written in C#, but should be easy to translate):
UpdateCell(MenuItem item, bool hasInstoreIamge)
{
menuItem = item;
headerLabel.text = item.header;
priceLabel.text = item.price;
headerLabel.numberOfLines=0;
if (hasInstoreImage)
{
// code to add the instoreImageDot as a subview of the cell
}
}
Also in the Custom Cell, Implement the prepareForReuse method and inside this method, remove the instoreImageDot view from the cell - so that it can only ever be added once.
- (void)prepareForReuse {
if([self.subviews containsObject:instoreImageDot])
{
[instoreImageDot removeFromSuperview];
}
[super prepareForReuse];
}
Now your cellForRowAtIndexPath method can look like:
-(UITableViewCell *)tableView:(UITableView *)tableView cellForRowAtIndexPath:(NSIndexPath *)indexPath{
static NSString *MenuItemCellIdentifier=#"MenuItemCell";
id dic=self.tmpMenu.listItems[indexPath.row];
if([dic isKindOfClass:[MenuItem class]]){
MenuItemCell *cell = [self.menuTV dequeueReusableCellWithIdentifier:MenuItemCellIdentifier];
MenuItem *menuItem=(MenuItem *)dic;
cell.UpdateCell(menuItem, [menuItem hasInstoreImage]);
return cell;
}
return nil;
}

UILabel is nil in cellForRowAtIndexPath

I am using a Storyboard's prototype cell with a custom table cell class and the UILabels are nil in cellForRowAtIndexPath. Xcode's Identifier is correct, the cell is initialized, and the default UILabels (i.e. textLabel and detailTextLabel) are initialized but not the custom UILabels I added and setup IBOutlets for. A couple things I have tried:
I tried removing the registerClass calls in ViewDidLoad but that crashes since the cells need it to be initialized as the custom class GenericDetailCell.
viewWithTag returns nil
I tried iterating through all the subviews of UITableView to see if I was getting the wrong cell. The correct cell is getting returned by dequeueReusableCellWithIdentifier
Has anyone run into this?
#implementation PeopleGroupPickerViewController
{
NSArray *people;
NSArray *searchResults;
}
- (void)viewDidLoad
{
[super viewDidLoad];
people = [[DAL sharedInstance] getPeople:false];
[self.tableView registerClass:[GenericDetailCell class] forCellReuseIdentifier:#"PersonCell"];
[self.searchDisplayController.searchResultsTableView registerClass:[GenericDetailCell class] forCellReuseIdentifier:#"PersonCell"];
// stackoverflow.com/questions/5474529
[self.searchDisplayController setActive:YES];
[self.searchDisplayController.searchBar becomeFirstResponder];
}
#pragma mark - Table view data source
- (NSInteger)numberOfSectionsInTableView:(UITableView *)tableView
{
if(tableView == self.searchDisplayController.searchResultsTableView)
{
return 1;
}
else
{
return 1;
}
}
- (NSInteger)tableView:(UITableView *)tableView numberOfRowsInSection:(NSInteger)section
{
if(tableView == self.searchDisplayController.searchResultsTableView)
{
return searchResults.count;
}
else
{
return people.count;
}
}
- (UITableViewCell *)tableView:(UITableView *)tableView cellForRowAtIndexPath:(NSIndexPath *)indexPath
{
GenericDetailCell *cell = [tableView dequeueReusableCellWithIdentifier:#"PersonCell" forIndexPath:indexPath];
Person_ *thisPerson;
if(tableView == self.searchDisplayController.searchResultsTableView)
{
thisPerson = (Person_ *) searchResults[indexPath.row];
NSLog(#"searchResultsTableView, %#",thisPerson.sName);
}
else
{
thisPerson = (Person_ *) people[indexPath.row];
NSLog(#"UITableView, %#",thisPerson.sName);
}
Person_ *thisSpouse = [[DAL sharedInstance] getSpouse:thisPerson People:people];
// cell.fieldName and cell.fieldValue are nil, cell is not nil
cell.fieldName.text = thisPerson.sName;
cell.fieldValue.text = thisSpouse.sName;
return cell;
}
GenericDetailCell.h:
#interface GenericDetailCell : UITableViewCell
#property (nonatomic,weak) IBOutlet UILabel *fieldName;
#property (nonatomic,weak) IBOutlet UILabel *fieldValue;
#end
Seems to me you might be attempting to combine a UITableViewCell predefined style (e.g. UITableViewCellStyleSubtitle) with a custom cell.
In your storyboard, if you have selected a predefined style for your Prototype cell, other controls will not be recognised.
To remedy this problem, in the Attribute Inspector for your Prototype UITableViewCell, select "Custom" type. Then add into the Prototype cell all the controls you require, including those needed to replace the default controls previously added automatically into the predefined cell type.

Fails to call delegate/datasource methods in UITableView implementation

I have created .h and .m files for UITableView called mainTableViewgm.h and mainTableViewgm.m resp. and I am calling -initWithFrame: method from my main view controller to this mainTableViewgm.m implementation file
[[mainTableViewgm alloc]initWithFrame:tableViewOne.frame]
Note that this tableview is in my main view controller. But I have created separate files for the tableView and have also set the custom class to mainTableViewgm in storyboard.
the -initWithFrame: methods appears as follows
- (id)initWithFrame:(CGRect)frame
{
//NSLog(#"kource data");
self = [super initWithFrame:frame];
if (self)
{
[self setDelegate:self];
[self setDataSource:self];
[self tableView:self cellForRowAtIndexPath:0];
[self tableView:self numberOfRowsInSection:1];
// Initialization code
}
return self;
}
-(NSInteger)tableView:(UITableView *)tableView numberOfRowsInSection:(NSInteger)section
{
NSLog(#"kource data");
return 1;
}
-(UITableViewCell *)tableView:(UITableView *)tableView cellForRowAtIndexPath:(NSIndexPath *)indexPath
{
NSLog(#"kource data2");
UITableViewCell*cellOne =[[UITableViewCell alloc]init];
cellOne.detailTextLabel.text=#"text did appear";
return cellOne;
}
the -initWithFrame: is being called fine along with the 'if (self)' block in this method. But the problem is numberOfRowsInSection: and cellForRowAtIndexPath: are not being automatically called here . kource data/kource data2 never appear in log. What do I do to load the table? Are the delegate/datasource being set incorrectly?
I must mention that I have also set the UITableViewDelegate and UITableviewDataSource protocols:
#interface mainTableViewgm : UITableView <UITableViewDelegate,UITableViewDataSource>
#end
Help will be much appreciated. Thank you.
Your tableview is not loaded when the controller is initializing, so you cannot do that in the init methods. You have to move your code to the viewDidLoad method.
Also you are not setting the delegate and datasource on the tableview object (probably a type, you are setting them on the view controller). It should look like this:
- (void)viewDidLoad:(BOOL)animated {
[super viewDidLoad:animated];
[self.tableView setDelegate:self];
[self.tableView setDataSource:self]; // <- This will trigger the tableview to (re)load it's data
}
Next thing is to implement the UITableViewDataSource methods correctly. UITableViewCell *cellOne =[[UITableViewCell alloc] init]; is not returning a valid cell object. You should use at least initWithStyle:. And take a look how to use dequeueReusableCellWithIdentifier:forIndexPath:. A typical implementation would look like this:
- (UITableViewCell *)tableView:(UITableView *)tableView cellForRowAtIndexPath:(NSIndexPath *)indexPath {
static NSString *CellIdentifier = #"Cell";
// Reuse/create cell
UITableViewCell *cell = [tableView dequeueReusableCellWithIdentifier:CellIdentifier];
if (cell == nil) {
cell = [[UITableViewCell alloc] initWithStyle:UITableViewCellStyleDefault reuseIdentifier:CellIdentifier];
}
// Update cell contents
cell.textLabel.text = #"Your text here";
cell.detailTextLabel.text=#"text did appear";
return cell;
}
I can't believe I've been doing XCode programming for two years, and still hit this issue.
I had the same problem with XCode 6.1 - I was setting my UITableView's delegate & dataSource in the viewWillAppear function, but none of the delegate functions were kicking in.
However, if I right-clicked on the UITableView on the Storyboard, the circles for delegate and dataSource were empty.
The solution, then, is to hold down the CTRL key, and drag from each of these circles up to the name of your UIView which contains your UITableView:
After doing this, my UITableView happily populated itself.
(So, we're upto v6.1 of XCode now are we ? Do you think Apple ever going to make this thing, you know, friendly...? I would quite like to add a Bookmark in my code... that'd be a nice feature.)

UITextField inside UITableViewCell - method for preventing text reset

I have a UITableView tall enough that it necessitates scrolling. The top-most cell in the table contains a UITextField for the user to enter some text.
The standard way to build this might be to create and add the text field and add it to a cell created or recycled in cellFOrRowAtIndexPath: However, this constant re-creation means that the text entered in the field is erased when the cell is scrolled out and back into view.
The solutions I've found so far suggest using UITextField delegation to track the text as it changes and store it in an iVar or property. I would like to know why this is recommended instead of the simpler approach I am using:
I am creating the UITextField in the init method of the UITableViewController and immediately storing it in a property. In cellFOrROwAtIndexPath I am simply adding the pre-existing field instead of initializing a new one. The cell itself can be recycled without issue, but because I am always using the one and only UITextField, the content is maintained.
Is this a reasonable approach? What might go wrong? Any improvements (perhaps I could still create the field in cellForRowAtIndexPath but first check if the property is nil?)
When you are creating cells in cellForRowAtIndexPath you have to use one reusable identifier for that first cell (ie. cellId1) and another for the rest (ie. cellId2).
If you do this, when you get the cell for the first element by calling [tableView dequeueReusableCellWithIdentifier:#"cellId1"] you will always get the same Object and will not be reused by other cells.
- (UITableViewCell *)tableView:(UITableView *)tableView cellForRowAtIndexPath:(NSIndexPath *)indexPath {
MyCell *cell = nil;
// Only for first row
if (indexPath.row == 0) {
static NSString *cellId1 = #"cellId1";
cell = [tableView dequeueReusableCellWithIdentifier:cellId1];
if (cell == nil) {
cell = [[MyCell alloc] initWithStyle:UITableViewCellStyleDefault reuseIdentifier:cellId1];
}
}
else {
static NSString *cellId2 = #"cellId2";
cell = [tableView cellId2];
if (cell == nil) {
cell = [[MyCell alloc] initWithStyle:UITableViewCellStyleDefault cellId2];
}
}
// do whatever
return cell;
}
If there is only one UITextField, then I agree that your approach would be better/same as compared to using UITextField delegation (I think).
However, let us assume that you want to "expand" your view so that there are about 7-8 or more TextFields now. Then if you go about using your approach, then the problem will be that you will be storing 7-8 or more TextFields in memory and maintaining them.
In such a situation, a better approach would be that you create only that number of textfields as visible on screen. Then you create a dictionary which would maintain the content present in the textfield (which you can get by UITextFieldDelegate methods). This way, the same textfield can be used when the cell is reused. Only the values will change and will be dictated by the values in the dictionary.
On a sidenote, do minimal creation in cellForRowAtIndexPath as that is called during every table scroll and so creating a textField in cellForRowAtIndexPath can be expensive.
#import "ViewController.h"
#import "TxtFieldCell.h"
#define NUMBER_OF_ROWS 26
#interface ViewController ()<UITableViewDataSource, UITableViewDelegate, UITextFieldDelegate>
#property (weak, nonatomic) IBOutlet UITableView *tablView;
#end
#implementation ViewController
- (void)viewDidLoad {
[super viewDidLoad];
self.tablView.datasource = self; //set textfield delegate in storyboard
textFieldValuesArray = [[NSMutableArray alloc] init];
for(int i=0; i<NUMBER_OF_ROWS; i++){
[textFieldValuesArray addObject:#""];
}
}
- (void)didReceiveMemoryWarning {
[super didReceiveMemoryWarning];
}
#pragma mark - TableView Datasource
- (UITableViewCell *)tableView:(UITableView *)tableView cellForRowAtIndexPath:(NSIndexPath *)indexPath {
TxtFieldCell *cell = [tableView dequeueReusableCellWithIdentifier:#"TxtFieldCellId" forIndexPath:indexPath];
cell.txtField.tag = indexPath.row;
if (textFieldValuesArray.count > 0) {
NSString *strText = [textFieldValuesArray objectAtIndex:indexPath.row];
cell.txtField.text = strText;
}
return cell;
}
- (NSInteger)tableView:(UITableView *)tableView numberOfRowsInSection:(NSInteger)section {
return NUMBER_OF_ROWS;
}
#pragma mark - TextField Delegate
- (void)textFieldDidEndEditing:(UITextField *)textField {
[textFieldValuesArray replaceObjectAtIndex:textField.tag withObject:textField.text];
}

Styling custom UITableViewCell in initWithCoder: not working

I have some issues with a custom UITableViewCell and how to manage things using storyboards. When I put the styling code in initWithCoder: it doesn't work but if I put it in tableView: cellForRowAtIndexPath: it works. In storyboard I have a prototype cell with its class attribute set to my UITableViewCell custom class. Now the code in initWithCoder: does get called.
SimoTableViewCell.m
#implementation SimoTableViewCell
#synthesize mainLabel, subLabel;
-(id) initWithCoder:(NSCoder *)aDecoder {
if ( !(self = [super initWithCoder:aDecoder]) ) return nil;
[self styleCellBackground];
//style the labels
[self.mainLabel styleMainLabel];
[self.subLabel styleSubLabel];
return self;
}
#end
TableViewController.m
- (UITableViewCell *)tableView:(UITableView *)tableView cellForRowAtIndexPath:(NSIndexPath *)indexPath
{
static NSString *CellIdentifier = #"NearbyLandmarksCell";
SimoTableViewCell *cell = [tableView dequeueReusableCellWithIdentifier:CellIdentifier forIndexPath:indexPath];
//sets the text of the labels
id<SimoListItem> item = (id<SimoListItem>) [self.places objectAtIndex:[indexPath row]];
cell.mainLabel.text = [item mainString];
cell.subLabel.text = [item subString];
//move the labels so that they are centered horizontally
float mainXPos = (CGRectGetWidth(cell.contentView.frame)/2 - CGRectGetWidth(cell.mainLabel.frame)/2);
float subXPos = (CGRectGetWidth(cell.contentView.frame)/2 - CGRectGetWidth(cell.subLabel.frame)/2);
CGRect mainFrame = cell.mainLabel.frame;
mainFrame.origin.x = mainXPos;
cell.mainLabel.frame = mainFrame;
CGRect subFrame = cell.subLabel.frame;
subFrame.origin.x = subXPos;
cell.subLabel.frame = subFrame;
return cell;
}
I have debugged the code and found that the dequeue... is called first, then it goes into the initWithCoder: and then back to the view controller code. What is strange is that the address of the cell in memory changes between return self; and when it goes back to the controller. And if I move the styling code back to the view controller after dequeue... everything works fine. It's just I don't want to do unnecessary styling when reusing cells.
Cheers
After initWithCoder: is called on the cell, the cell is created and has its properties set. But, the relationships in the XIB (the IBOutlets) on the cell are not yet complete. So when you try to use mainLabel, it's a nil reference.
Move your styling code to the awakeFromNib method instead. This method is called after the cell is both created and fully configured after unpacking the XIB.

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