Programmatically add label to Message App in Swift? - ios

Question

I know this is new with iOS10 and all, but Im trying to build a simple ms messageappextension app, and all the tutorials Ive found add their labels, buttons, etc via storyboard.
I hate autlayout and don't use storyboard, so I need to find how to add elements programmatically. This is what Ive tried:
//main label
pointsLabel.frame = CGRect(x: 0, y: 0, width: view.bounds.width * 0.5, height: view.bounds.height * 0.1)
pointsLabel.center = CGPoint(x: view.bounds.width * 0.5, y: view.bounds.width * 0.7)
pointsLabel.textColor = UIColor.red
pointsLabel.textAlignment = .center
pointsLabel.text = "Testing 123"
pointsLabel.font = UIFont(name: "Helvetica", size: screenSize.height * (30/screenSize.height))
view.addSubview(pointsLabel)
This is how Id normally make a label, and this works when the MSMessagesAppViewController is in full view like this:
However when its like this even though the positioning of the center is based on view.bounds, when the view shrinks here, the label is still displayed out of view:
Ive found that this is called when the size changes, however even resetting the center here does nothing:
override func willTransition(to presentationStyle: MSMessagesAppPresentationStyle) {
// Called before the extension transitions to a new presentation style.
// Use this method to prepare for the change in presentation style.
print(view.bounds.height)
pointsLabel.center = CGPoint(x: view.bounds.width * 0.5, y: view.bounds.width * 0.7)
}
Other than just switching back in forth between different heights, what is the correct way to add a label programmatically?

Answer 1

Change your center calculation to use the height of the superview for y, rather than a portion of the width:
pointsLabel.center = CGPoint(x: view.bounds.width * 0.5, y: view.bounds.height * 0.5)
While compact, the width is actually greater than the height, so view.bounds.width * 0.7 was pushing your label off the screen.