I have 2 view controller with navigation controller. First view controller has 4 text field and second view controller has 4 text field. To navigate first view controller to second I am using following code:
let storyboard = UIStoryboard(name: "Main", bundle: nil)
var destinationVC:UIViewController
destinationVC = storyboard.instantiateViewController(withIdentifier: "SecondVC") as! SecondVC
navigationController?.show(destinationVC, sender: self)
To first from second view controller I am using
navigationController?.popViewController(animated: true)
However, even if the fields I have filled in first view controller keep the values when I go from first to second values I have written have disappear because of popviewcontroller method. What is the best way to remember values in second view controller?
You can have singleton where you can store the values as dictionary(or something else)
class Settings: NSObject {
static let shared = Settings()
public var dictionaryToStore: [String: String]?
private init() {
super.init()
}
}
And in your controller when poping
Settings.shared.dictionaryToStore = {"key1": textfield1.text, "key2": textfield2.text, ...
}
And in viewDidLoad
override func viewDidLoad() {
super.viewDidLoad()
textfield1.text = Settings.shared.dictionaryToStore["key1"]
textfield2.text = Settings.shared.dictionaryToStore["key2"]
...
}
Also you can create custom object and store it.
EDIT 1 **
To have variables after app has been terminated you can save dictionary in UserDefaults
class Settings: NSObject {
static let shared = Settings()
public var dictionaryToStore: [String: String]? {
set(newValue) {
let defaults = UserDefaults.standard
defaults.set(newValue, forKey: "SomeKey")
}
get {
let defaults = UserDefaults.standard
let loadedValue = defaults.object(forKey: "SomeKey")
return loadedKey
}
}
private init() {
super.init()
}
}
The key reason for values not to be remembered on the SecondVC is that you're using new instances of SecondVC each time you open it.
So you better create an instance (first 3 lines of your code do that job) of SecondVC once, somewhere in the beginning of FirstVC, and use it in show() func everytime you need to show SecondVC instead of creating multiple instance of SecondVC each time.
In that case you'll see all values "remembered" in the SecondVC.
You can use key-value storage like NSUserDefaults in your secondViewController to save data when viewController will disappear and load on viewDidLoad. Or save your data in some struct/object instance and pass it when you push secondViewController.
if you want to pass data from you first view controller to second view
how to pass data from first viewcontroller to second viewcontroller
in above code though you are making new instance of you view controller still you can pass data by setting variable of second view controller in first view controller before
navigationController?.show(destinationVC, sender: self)
like
destnationVC.variableTOSet = valueTopass
and then
navigationController?.show(destinationVC, sender: self)
and then in second view controller use that variable to use value
so that how you can pass data from your first controller to second view controller
now if you want to pass data from your second viewController to first controller then you can use delegates
Say I have multiple view controllers in my Swift app and I want to be able to pass data between them. If I'm several levels down in a view controller stack, how do I pass data to another view controller? Or between tabs in a tab bar view controller?
(Note, this question is a "ringer".) It gets asked so much that I decided to write a tutorial on the subject. See my answer below.
Your question is very broad. To suggest there is one simple catch-all solution to every scenario is a little naïve. So, let's go through some of these scenarios.
The most common scenario asked about on Stack Overflow in my experience is the simple passing information from one view controller to the next.
If we're using storyboard, our first view controller can override prepareForSegue, which is exactly what it's there for. A UIStoryboardSegue object is passed in when this method is called, and it contains a reference to our destination view controller. Here, we can set the values we want to pass.
override func prepare(for segue: UIStoryboardSegue, sender: Any?) {
if segue.identifier == "MySegueID" {
if let destination = segue.destination as? SecondController {
destination.myInformation = self.myInformation
}
}
}
Alternatively, if we're not using storyboards, then we're loading our view controller from a nib. Our code is slightly simpler then.
func showNextController() {
let destination = SecondController(nibName: "SecondController", bundle: nil)
destination.myInformation = self.myInformation
show(destination, sender: self)
}
In both cases, myInformation is a property on each view controller holding whatever data needs to be passed from one view controller to the next. They obviously don't have to have the same name on each controller.
We might also want to share information between tabs in a UITabBarController.
In this case, it's actually potentially even simpler.
First, let's create a subclass of UITabBarController, and give it properties for whatever information we want to share between the various tabs:
class MyCustomTabController: UITabBarController {
var myInformation: [String: AnyObject]?
}
Now, if we're building our app from the storyboard, we simply change our tab bar controller's class from the default UITabBarController to MyCustomTabController. If we're not using a storyboard, we simply instantiate an instance of this custom class rather than the default UITabBarController class and add our view controller to this.
Now, all of our view controllers within the tab bar controller can access this property as such:
if let tbc = self.tabBarController as? MyCustomTabController {
// do something with tbc.myInformation
}
And by subclassing UINavigationController in the same way, we can take the same approach to share data across an entire navigation stack:
if let nc = self.navigationController as? MyCustomNavController {
// do something with nc.myInformation
}
There are several other scenarios. By no means does this answer cover all of them.
This question comes up all the time.
One suggestion is to create a data container singleton: An object that gets created once and only once in the life of your application, and persists for the life of your app.
This approach is well suited for a situation when you have global app data that needs to be available/modifiable across different classes in your app.
Other approaches like setting up one-way or 2-way links between view controllers are better suited to situations where you are passing information/messages directly between view controllers.
(See nhgrif's answer, below, for other alternatives.)
With a data container singleton, you add a property to your class that stores a reference to your singleton, and then use that property any time you need access.
You can set up your singleton so that it saves it's contents to disk so that your app state persists between launches.
I created a demo project on GitHub demonstrating how you can do this. Here is the link:
SwiftDataContainerSingleton project on GitHub
Here is the README from that project:
SwiftDataContainerSingleton
A demonstration of using a data container singleton to save application state and share it between objects.
The DataContainerSingleton class is the actual singleton.
It uses a static constant sharedDataContainer to save a reference to the singleton.
To access the singleton, use the syntax
DataContainerSingleton.sharedDataContainer
The sample project defines 3 properties in the data container:
var someString: String?
var someOtherString: String?
var someInt: Int?
To load the someInt property from the data container, you'd use code like this:
let theInt = DataContainerSingleton.sharedDataContainer.someInt
To save a value to someInt, you'd use the syntax:
DataContainerSingleton.sharedDataContainer.someInt = 3
The DataContainerSingleton's init method adds an observer for the UIApplicationDidEnterBackgroundNotification. That code looks like this:
goToBackgroundObserver = NSNotificationCenter.defaultCenter().addObserverForName(
UIApplicationDidEnterBackgroundNotification,
object: nil,
queue: nil)
{
(note: NSNotification!) -> Void in
let defaults = NSUserDefaults.standardUserDefaults()
//-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
//This code saves the singleton's properties to NSUserDefaults.
//edit this code to save your custom properties
defaults.setObject( self.someString, forKey: DefaultsKeys.someString)
defaults.setObject( self.someOtherString, forKey: DefaultsKeys.someOtherString)
defaults.setObject( self.someInt, forKey: DefaultsKeys.someInt)
//-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
//Tell NSUserDefaults to save to disk now.
defaults.synchronize()
}
In the observer code it saves the data container's properties to NSUserDefaults. You can also use NSCoding, Core Data, or various other methods for saving state data.
The DataContainerSingleton's init method also tries to load saved values for it's properties.
That portion of the init method looks like this:
let defaults = NSUserDefaults.standardUserDefaults()
//-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
//This code reads the singleton's properties from NSUserDefaults.
//edit this code to load your custom properties
someString = defaults.objectForKey(DefaultsKeys.someString) as! String?
someOtherString = defaults.objectForKey(DefaultsKeys.someOtherString) as! String?
someInt = defaults.objectForKey(DefaultsKeys.someInt) as! Int?
//-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
The keys for loading and saving values into NSUserDefaults are stored as string constants that are part of a struct DefaultsKeys, defined like this:
struct DefaultsKeys
{
static let someString = "someString"
static let someOtherString = "someOtherString"
static let someInt = "someInt"
}
You reference one of these constants like this:
DefaultsKeys.someInt
Using the data container singleton:
This sample application makes trival use of the data container singleton.
There are two view controllers. The first is a custom subclass of UIViewController ViewController, and the second one is a custom subclass of UIViewController SecondVC.
Both view controllers have a text field on them, and both load a value from the data container singlelton's someInt property into the text field in their viewWillAppear method, and both save the current value from the text field back into the `someInt' of the data container.
The code to load the value into the text field is in the viewWillAppear: method:
override func viewWillAppear(animated: Bool)
{
//Load the value "someInt" from our shared ata container singleton
let value = DataContainerSingleton.sharedDataContainer.someInt ?? 0
//Install the value into the text field.
textField.text = "\(value)"
}
The code to save the user-edited value back to the data container is in the view controllers' textFieldShouldEndEditing methods:
func textFieldShouldEndEditing(textField: UITextField) -> Bool
{
//Save the changed value back to our data container singleton
DataContainerSingleton.sharedDataContainer.someInt = textField.text!.toInt()
return true
}
You should load values into your user interface in viewWillAppear rather than viewDidLoad so that your UI updates each time the view controller is displayed.
Another alternative is to use the notification center (NSNotificationCenter) and post notifications. That is a very loose coupling. The sender of a notification doesn't need to know or care who's listening. It just posts a notification and forgets about it.
Notifications are good for one-to-many message passing, since there can be an arbitrary number of observers listening for a given message.
Swift 4
There are so many approaches for data passing in swift. Here I am adding some of the best approaches of it.
1) Using StoryBoard Segue
Storyboard segues are very much useful for passing data in between Source and Destination View Controllers and vice versa also.
// If you want to pass data from ViewControllerB to ViewControllerA while user tap on back button of ViewControllerB.
#IBAction func unWindSeague (_ sender : UIStoryboardSegue) {
if sender.source is ViewControllerB {
if let _ = sender.source as? ViewControllerB {
self.textLabel.text = "Came from B = B->A , B exited"
}
}
}
// If you want to send data from ViewControllerA to ViewControllerB
override func prepare(for segue: UIStoryboardSegue, sender: Any?) {
if segue.destination is ViewControllerB {
if let vc = segue.destination as? ViewControllerB {
vc.dataStr = "Comming from A View Controller"
}
}
}
2) Using Delegate Methods
ViewControllerD
//Make the Delegate protocol in Child View Controller (Make the protocol in Class from You want to Send Data)
protocol SendDataFromDelegate {
func sendData(data : String)
}
import UIKit
class ViewControllerD: UIViewController {
#IBOutlet weak var textLabelD: UILabel!
var delegate : SendDataFromDelegate? //Create Delegate Variable for Registering it to pass the data
override func viewDidLoad() {
super.viewDidLoad()
// Do any additional setup after loading the view.
textLabelD.text = "Child View Controller"
}
#IBAction func btnDismissTapped (_ sender : UIButton) {
textLabelD.text = "Data Sent Successfully to View Controller C using Delegate Approach"
self.delegate?.sendData(data:textLabelD.text! )
_ = self.dismiss(animated: true, completion:nil)
}
}
ViewControllerC
import UIKit
class ViewControllerC: UIViewController , SendDataFromDelegate {
#IBOutlet weak var textLabelC: UILabel!
override func viewDidLoad() {
super.viewDidLoad()
// Do any additional setup after loading the view.
}
#IBAction func btnPushToViewControllerDTapped( _ sender : UIButton) {
if let vcD = self.storyboard?.instantiateViewController(withIdentifier: "ViewControllerD") as? ViewControllerD {
vcD.delegate = self // Registring Delegate (When View Conteoller D gets Dismiss It can call sendData method
// vcD.textLabelD.text = "This is Data Passing by Referenceing View Controller D Text Label." //Data Passing Between View Controllers using Data Passing
self.present(vcD, animated: true, completion: nil)
}
}
//This Method will called when when viewcontrollerD will dismiss. (You can also say it is a implementation of Protocol Method)
func sendData(data: String) {
self.textLabelC.text = data
}
}
Instead of creating a data controller singelton I would suggest to create a data controller instance and pass it around. To support dependency injection I would first create a DataController protocol:
protocol DataController {
var someInt : Int {get set}
var someString : String {get set}
}
Then I would create a SpecificDataController (or whatever name would currently be appropriate) class:
class SpecificDataController : DataController {
var someInt : Int = 5
var someString : String = "Hello data"
}
The ViewController class should then have a field to hold the dataController. Notice that the type of dataController is the protocol DataController. This way it's easy to switch out data controller implementations:
class ViewController : UIViewController {
var dataController : DataController?
...
}
In AppDelegate we can set the viewController's dataController:
func application(_ application: UIApplication, didFinishLaunchingWithOptions launchOptions: [UIApplicationLaunchOptionsKey: Any]?) -> Bool {
if let viewController = self.window?.rootViewController as? ViewController {
viewController.dataController = SpecificDataController()
}
return true
}
When we move to a different viewController we can pass the dataController on in:
override func prepareForSegue(segue: UIStoryboardSegue, sender: AnyObject?) {
...
}
Now when we wish to switch out the data controller for a different task we can do this in the AppDelegate and do not have to change any other code that uses the data controller.
This is of course overkill if we simply want to pass around a single value. In this case it's best to go with nhgrif's answer.
With this approach we can separate view form the logic part.
As #nhgrif pointed out in his excellent answer, there are lots of different ways that VCs (view controllers) and other objects can communicate with each other.
The data singleton I outlined in my first answer is really more about sharing and saving global state than about communicating directly.
nhrif's answer lets you send information directly from the source to the destination VC. As I mentioned in reply, it's also possible to send messages back from the destination to the source.
In fact, you can set up an active one-way or 2-way channel between different view controllers. If the view controllers are linked via a storyboard segue, the time to set up the links is in the prepareFor Segue method.
I have a sample project on Github that uses a parent view controller to host 2 different table views as children. The child view controllers are linked using embed segues, and the parent view controller wires up 2-way links with each view controller in the prepareForSegue method.
You can find that project on github (link). I wrote it in Objective-C, however, and haven't converted it to Swift, so if you're not comfortable in Objective-C it might be a little hard to follow
SWIFT 3:
If you have a storyboard with identified segues use:
func prepare(for segue: UIStoryboardSegue, sender: Any?)
Although if you do everything programmatically including navigation between different UIViewControllers then use the method:
func navigationController(_ navigationController: UINavigationController, willShow viewController: UIViewController, animated: Bool)
Note: to use the second way you need to make your UINavigationController, you are pushing UIViewControllers on, a delegate and it needs to conform to the protocol UINavigationControllerDelegate:
class MyNavigationController: UINavigationController, UINavigationControllerDelegate {
override func viewDidLoad() {
self.delegate = self
}
func navigationController(_ navigationController: UINavigationController, willShow viewController: UIViewController, animated: Bool) {
// do what ever you need before going to the next UIViewController or back
//this method will be always called when you are pushing or popping the ViewController
}
}
It depends when you want to get data.
If you want to get data whenever you want, can use a singleton pattern. The pattern class is active during the app runtime. Here is an example of the singleton pattern.
class AppSession: NSObject {
static let shared = SessionManager()
var username = "Duncan"
}
class ViewController: UIViewController {
override func viewDidLoad() {
super.viewDidLoad()
print(AppSession.shared.username)
}
}
If you want to get data after any action, can use NotificationCenter.
extension Notification.Name {
static let loggedOut = Notification.Name("loggedOut")
}
#IBAction func logoutAction(_ sender: Any) {
NotificationCenter.default.post(name: .loggedOut, object: nil)
}
NotificationCenter.default.addObserver(forName: .loggedOut, object: nil, queue: OperationQueue.main) { (notify) in
print("User logged out")
}
The way that I would do it would be instead of passing data between view controllers, I would just declare a variable globally. You can even do this with a function!
For example:
var a = "a"
func abc() {
print("abc")
}
class ViewController: UIViewController {
}
So I have my main view controller and I have my settings view controller. When I go into the settings and flip a switch and go back to the main, my settings view controller goes back to its default settings and same with the name. How can I make it so it will save the data while the app is open and not go back to its default values?
Thanks
I prefer to use delegates instead of checking the user defaults every time I leave the settings page.
protocol SettingsViewControllerDelegate: class {
func settingsDidChange()
}
class SettingsViewController: UIViewController {
weak var delegate: SettingsViewControllerDelegate?
func someSettingChanged(){
let defaults = UserDefaults.standard
//... get the new settings
defaults.set(newSettingsValue, forKey: "settingsKey")
defaults.synchronize()
delegate?.settingsDidChange()
}
}
class MainViewController: UIViewController {
func showSettingsVC(){
let settingsViewController = //Initialization method
settingsViewController.delegate = self
self.show(settingsViewController, sender: self)
}
}
extension MainViewController: SettingsViewControllerDelegate{
func settingsDidChange() {
let defaults = UserDefaults.standard
if let settingsValue = defaults.value(forKey: "settingsKey"){
//// do the appropriate changes
}
}
}
you can store your button state in userdefault
here is the example for swift 3:
you can get button state in actioin for valuechanged then you can store that in
UserDefaults.standard.set(false, forKey: "buttonState")
let buttonState = UserDefaults.standard.bool(forKey: "buttonState")
if buttonState == true {
}
UserDefaults.standard.synchronize()
1) When view will appear call for setting screen get your data from NSUserDefaults and then fill data to options.
2) When user changes something update your UserDefaults and dont forget to Synchronize it.
Context: iOS App written in Swift 3 powered by Firebase 3.0
Challenge: On my app, the user's currentScore is stored on Firebase. This user can complete/un-complete tasks (that will increase/decrease its currentScore) from several ViewControllers.
Overview of the App's architecture:
ProfileVC - where I fetch the currentUser's data from Firebase & display the currentScore.
⎿ ContainerView
⎿ CollectionViewController - users can update their score from here
⎿ DetailsVC - (when users tap on a collectionView cell) - again users can update their score from here.
Question: I need to pass the currentScore to the VCs where the score can be updated. I thought about using prepare(forSegue) in cascade but this doesn't work since it passes "nil" before the query on ProfileVC is finished.
I want to avoid having a global variable as I've been told it's bad practice.
Any thoughts would be much appreciated.
Why don't you create a function that will pull all data before you do anything else.
So in ViewDidLoad call...
pullFirebaseDataASYNC()
Function will look like below...
typealias CompletionHandler = (_ success: Bool) -> Void
func pullFirebaseDataASYNC() {
self.pullFirebaseDataFunction() { (success) -> Void in
if success {
// Perform all other functions and carry on as normal...
Firebase function may look like...
func pullFirebaseDataFunction(completionHandler: #escaping CompletionHandler) {
let refUserData = DBProvider.instance.userDataRef
refUserData.observeSingleEvent(of: .value, with: { snapshot in
if let dictionary = snapshot.value as? [String: AnyObject] {
self.userCurrentScore = dictionary["UserScore"] as! Int
completionHandler(true)
}
})
}
Then when you segue the information across...
In ProfileVC
Create 2 properties
var containerVC: ContainerVC!
var userCurrentScore = Int()
Include the below function in ProfileVC...
override func prepare(for segue: UIStoryboardSegue, sender: Any?) {
if segue.identifier == "ProfileToContainerSegue" {
let destination = segue.destination as! ContainerVC
containerVC = destination
containerVC.userCurrentScore = userCurrentScore
}
}
In ContainerVC create a property
var userCurrentScore = Int()
Ways to improve could be an error message to make sure all the information is pulled from Firebase before the user can continue...
Then the information can be segued across the same way as above.
Try instantiation, first embed a navigation controller to your first storyboard, and then give a storyboardID to the VC you are going to show.
let feedVCScene = self.navigationController?.storyboard?.instantiateViewController(withIdentifier: "ViewControllerVC_ID") as! ViewController
feedVCScene.scoreToChange = current_Score // scoreToChange is your local variable in the class
// current_Score is the current score of the user.
self.navigationController?.pushViewController(feedVCScene, animated: true)
PS:- The reason why instantiation is much healthier than a modal segue storyboard transfer , it nearly removes the memory leaks that you have while navigating to and fro, also avoid's stacking of the VC's.
I'm trying to add an intro sequence to my code so that if it's the first time the app is opened, the user can enter some basic information (which I can then store in UserDefaults).
The way that I was thinking of doing this is by having a variable called isFirstTime which is initially set to true. Every time the app is opened, it'll check if there is a value for isFirstTime in UserDefaults. If it isn't there, it'll trigger the View Controller that has my intro sequence to appear. Once the intro sequence is finished, isFirstTime will be set to false and then stored in UserDefaults.
Is this a correct implementation, or is there a more efficient way?
EDIT: If anyone is interested, this is the code I used to implement my intro sequence. I first assign a boolean variable outside of my View Controller that keeps track of whether it's the first time opening the app or not.
var isFirstTime = true
Then, in my ViewDidAppear (it does not work in the ViewDidLoad method), I added this code which checks whether or not I already have a UserDefault for my isFirstTime variable. If yes, I then execute the rest of my program, but if not, I start up my intro sequence's View Controller.
if UserDefaults.standard.object(forKey: "isFirstTime") != nil{
// Not the first time app is opened
isFirstTime = false // I use isFirstTime elsewhere in my code too.
} else {
let introVC = self.storyboard?.instantiateViewController(withIdentifier: "intro")
self.present(introVC!, animated: false, completion: nil)
}
In my intro sequence View Controller, when I am done with my gathering the user's basic information, I do two things: the first is changing the value of isFirstTime and setting it as a UserDefault, and the second is dismissing the View Controller.
isFirstTime = false
UserDefaults.standard.set(isFirstTime, forKey: "isFirstTime")
dismiss(animated: false, completion: nil)
You can achieve it easily. This is code which I have used for it.
Step 1 First create a file called UserDefaultManager.swift
import UIKit
// User Defaults Manager Constants
let kIsFirstTimeLaunch = "IsFirstTimeLaunch"
class UserDefaultsManager: NSObject {
// MARK: Setter Methods
class func setIsFirstTimeLaunch(flag: Bool) {
NSUserDefaults.standardUserDefaults().setBool(flag, forKey:kIsFirstTimeLaunch)
NSUserDefaults.standardUserDefaults().synchronize()
}
// MARK: Getter Methods
class func isFirstTimeLaunch() -> Bool {
return NSUserDefaults.standardUserDefaults().boolForKey(kIsFirstTimeLaunch)
}
// MARK: Reset Methods
class func resetIsFirstTimeLaunch() {
NSUserDefaults.standardUserDefaults().removeObjectForKey(kIsFirstTimeLaunch)
NSUserDefaults.standardUserDefaults().synchronize()
}
}
Step 2: In your Implementation file check it like below :
if(!UserDefaultsManager.isFirstTimeLaunch()) {
// Your code here.
let introVC = self.storyboard?.instantiateViewController(withIdentifier: "intro")
self.present(introVC!, animated: false, completion: nil)
// Update value in user defaults
UserDefaultsManager.setIsFirstTimeLaunch(true)
}