iOS/Swift: how to detect touch action on a UITextField - ios

Question

I would like to detect the touch action on a UITextField.
It seems the "Touch Up Inside" action is not fired by touching inside the textfield.

Answer 1

It seems "Touch Up Inside" is not enabled for UITextField, but "Touch Down" works.
So the solution is as follows:
Swift 4.x
myTextField.addTarget(self, action: #selector(myTargetFunction), for: .touchDown)
#objc func myTargetFunction(textField: UITextField) {
print("myTargetFunction")
}
Swift 3.x
myTextField.addTarget(self, action: #selector(myTargetFunction), for: UIControlEvents.touchDown)
#objc func myTargetFunction(textField: UITextField) {
print("myTargetFunction")
}

Answer 2

Swift 4 and higher:
class ViewController: UIViewController, UITextFieldDelegate {
func textFieldDidBeginEditing(_ textField: UITextField) {
if textField == myTextField {
print("You edit myTextField")
}
}
}
This is a delegate function.

Answer 3

here's Swfit:
and you don't need to use the "touchUpInside" just use the delegate methods like so:
Make your View controller a delegate:
class ViewController: UIViewController, UITextFieldDelegate{
func textFieldDidBeginEditing(textField: UITextField) -> Bool {
if textField == myTextField {
return true // myTextField was touched
}
}
Here's the other delegate methods:
protocol UITextFieldDelegate : NSObjectProtocol {
optional func textFieldShouldBeginEditing(textField: UITextField) -> Bool // return NO to disallow editing.
optional func textFieldDidBeginEditing(textField: UITextField) // became first responder
optional func textFieldShouldEndEditing(textField: UITextField) -> Bool // return YES to allow editing to stop and to resign first responder status. NO to disallow the editing session to end
optional func textFieldDidEndEditing(textField: UITextField) // may be called if forced even if shouldEndEditing returns NO (e.g. view removed from window) or endEditing:YES called
optional func textField(textField: UITextField, shouldChangeCharactersInRange range: NSRange, replacementString string: String) -> Bool // return NO to not change text
optional func textFieldShouldClear(textField: UITextField) -> Bool // called when clear button pressed. return NO to ignore (no notifications)
optional func textFieldShouldReturn(textField: UITextField) -> Bool // called when 'return' key pressed. return NO to ignore.
}
from swift docs:
struct UIControlEvents : RawOptionSetType {
init(_ rawValue: UInt)
init(rawValue: UInt)
static var TouchDown: UIControlEvents { get } // on all touch downs
static var TouchDownRepeat: UIControlEvents { get } // on multiple touchdowns (tap count > 1)
static var TouchDragInside: UIControlEvents { get }
static var TouchDragOutside: UIControlEvents { get }
static var TouchDragEnter: UIControlEvents { get }
static var TouchDragExit: UIControlEvents { get }
static var TouchUpInside: UIControlEvents { get }
static var TouchUpOutside: UIControlEvents { get }
static var TouchCancel: UIControlEvents { get }
static var ValueChanged: UIControlEvents { get } // sliders, etc.
static var EditingDidBegin: UIControlEvents { get } // UITextField
static var EditingChanged: UIControlEvents { get }
static var EditingDidEnd: UIControlEvents { get }
static var EditingDidEndOnExit: UIControlEvents { get } // 'return key' ending editing
static var AllTouchEvents: UIControlEvents { get } // for touch events
static var AllEditingEvents: UIControlEvents { get } // for UITextField
static var ApplicationReserved: UIControlEvents { get } // range available for application use
static var SystemReserved: UIControlEvents { get } // range reserved for internal framework use
static var AllEvents: UIControlEvents { get }
}
UITextField doesn't respond to "touchUpInside" see to the right side, you'll find it's acceptable control events

Answer 4

Update For Swift 3
Here is the code for Swift 3:
myTextField.addTarget(self, action: #selector(myTargetFunction), for: .touchDown)
This is the function:
func myTargetFunction() {
print("It works!")
}

Answer 5

I referred to the UIControlEvents documentation from Apple and came up with the following:
First add UITextFieldDelegate to your class then,
textBox.delegate = self
textBox.addTarget(self, action: #selector(TextBoxOn(_:)),for: .editingDidBegin)
textBox.addTarget(self, action: #selector(TextBoxOff(_:)),for: .editingDidEnd)
with the following functions:
func TextBoxOff(_ textField: UITextField) {
code
}
}
func TextBox(_ textField: UITextField) {
code
}
}

Answer 6

For Swift 3.1:
1) Create a gesture recognizer:
let textViewRecognizer = UITapGestureRecognizer()
2) Add a handler to the recognizer:
textViewRecognizer.addTarget(self, action: #selector(tappedTextView(_:)))
3) Add the recognizer to your text view:
textView.addGestureRecognizer(textViewRecognizer)
4) Add the handler to your class:
func tappedTextView(_ sender: UITapGestureRecognizer) {
print("detected tap!")
}

Answer 7

To make this a little clearer these things need to be in place. I used this to make it so if a user entered something in an app of my own's credit textField anything in the debit textField is deleted.
UITextFieldDelegate needs to be declared in the View controller i.e class SecondViewController:
The detector functions func myDebitDetector func myCreditDetector need to be in the ViewController class.
put debit.addTarget and credit.addtarget inside view will appear.
#IBOutlet weak var debit: UITextField! and #IBOutlet weak var credit: UITextField! are textfields on the storyboard and connected to the viewController.
class SecondViewController: UIViewController, UIPickerViewDelegate, UIPickerViewDataSource, UITextFieldDelegate {
#IBOutlet weak var credit: UITextField!
#IBOutlet weak var debit: UITextField!
func myDebitDetector(textfield: UITextField ){
print("using debit")
credit.text = ""
}
func myCreditDetector(textfield: UITextField) {
print("using cedit")
debit.text = ""
}
override func viewWillAppear(animated: Bool) {
debit.addTarget(self, action: "myDebitDetector:", forControlEvents: UIControlEvents.TouchDown)
credit.addTarget(self, action: "myCreditDetector:", forControlEvents: UIControlEvents.TouchDown)
....
}
}

Answer 8

Set the UITextField delegate to your view controller
Obj-C
textField.delegate = self;
Swift
textField.delegate = self
Implement the delegate method
Obj-c
-(void)textField:(UITextField*)textField didBeginEditing {
// User touched textField
}
Swift
func textFieldDidBeginEditing(textField: UITextField!) { //delegate method
}

Answer 9

Swift 3.0 Version:
textFieldClientName.addTarget(self, action: Selector(("myTargetFunction:")), for: UIControlEvents.touchDown)

Answer 10

Swift 4.2.
Try .editingDidEnd instead of .touchDown and delegate.
myTextField.addTarget(self, action: #selector(myTargetFunction), for: .editingDidEnd)
#objc func myTargetFunction(textField: UITextField) {
print("textfield pressed")
}

Answer 11

On xamarin.iOS i easy to use:
YourTextField.WeakDelegate = this;
[...]
[Export("textFieldDidBeginEditing:")]
public void TextViewChanged(UITextField textField)
{
if (YourTextField.Equals(textField))
IsYourTextFileFocused = true;
}

Answer 12

** Swift 4.0 + **
Use custom action like this
YourTextField.addTarget(self, action: #selector(myTargetFunction(_:)), for: .allEditingEvents)
#IBAction private func myTargetFunction(_ sender: Any) {
if let textField = sender as? UITextField {
// get textField here
}
}