How to update UILabel? - ios

.h file:
#property (strong, nonatomic) IBOutlet UILabel *frequencyDetailLabel;
.m file:
-(void)viewWillAppear:(BOOL)animated {
[super viewWillAppear:animated];
//LOCALIZATION
..
self.frequencyDetailLabel.text = NSLocalizedString(#"Select", nil);
}
Then later in my code I try changing the text:
self.frequencyDetailLabel.text = NSLocalizedString(#"Done", nil);
Things I have done so far:
Made sure the IBOutlet connection is working properly.
Instead of changing the text, I tried changing the textcolor and it worked.
Check if the UILabel was null/nil, it is not.
Made sure both were pointing at same UILabel
In my localizable.strings, both Keys exists.
Anything else I should try?
Edit:
unwind method
- (IBAction)unwindFromFrequencyViewController:(UIStoryboardSegue *)segue {
if ([segue.sourceViewController isKindOfClass:[FrequencyTableViewController class]]) {
FrequencyTableViewController *frequencyViewController = segue.sourceViewController;
// if the user clicked Cancel, we don't want to set a frequency (skips code)
if (frequencyViewController.frequency) {
NSLog(#"THIS RAN");
self.howOften = frequencyViewController.frequency;
if ([frequencyViewController.frequency intValue] == 1) {
NSLog(#"THIS RAN1");
self.frequencyDetailLabel.text = #"Every day";
return;
} else {
NSLog(#"THIS RAN2");
self.frequencyDetailLabel.text = NSLocalizedString(#"Done", nil);
}
}
}
}

Found solution in another question: UILabel text not being updated
dispatch_async(dispatch_get_main_queue(), ^{
[self.someLabel setText:someString];
});

Related

UIBarButtonItem doesn't change default blue color after enabled

In my code I have:
#property (weak, nonatomic) IBOutlet UIBarButtonItem *btnStart;
And then:
- (void)viewDidLoad {
[super viewDidLoad];
self.btnStart.enabled = NO;
}
The button change color to gray and if I touch it, nothing happens, it's right. I've another piece of code:
-(void)session:(MCSession *)session peer:(MCPeerID *)peerID didChangeState:(MCSessionState)state {
if (state == MCSessionStateConnected) {
NSLog(#"I'm connected to peer '%#'", peerID.displayName);
self.btnStart.enabled = YES;
}
}
The problem is that the button doesn't change color, until I touch it. The NSLog works perfectly.
You need to update UI elements on the main thread.
Do something like this:
dispatch_async(dispatch_get_main_queue(), ^{
//add the needed code below
self.btnStart.enabled = YES;
});

Disable Button until all textfields have been Filled Xcode

I have looked everywhere for this answer but I haven't gotten a simple easy to follow answer to this question. I have 8 text fields that I need to fill out before I click and submit before moving onto the next page. I have hooked up each of the textfields to view controller.h file but I don't know how to disable the submit button easily step by step. Thank you so much for the help in advance.
I have tried this from a previous post but I could not get it to work..
Make an Outlet for every UITextField and create an IBAction in your .h:
IBOutlet UITextField *textField1;
IBOutlet UITextField *textField2;
IBOutlet UITextField *textField3;
IBOutlet UIButton *button
- (IBAction)editingChanged;
Connect all the outlets and connect the IBAction to every textfield with editingChanged:
- (IBAction)editingChanged {
if ([textfield1.text length] != 0 && [textfield2.text length] != 0 && [textfield3.text length] != 0) {
[button setEnabled:YES];
}
else {
[button setEnabled:NO];
}
}
Note that you can also use [textfield.text isEqualToString:#""] and put a ! in front of it (!means 'not' in objective-c) to recognize the empty textField, and say 'if the textField is empty do...'
- (void)viewDidLoad {
[super viewDidLoad];
[button setEnabled:NO];
}
try this,
1) You need to add textfiled delegate function to all your textfiled.
.h
#interface ViewController : UIViewController <UITextFieldDelegate>
.m
- (void)viewDidLoad
{
[super viewDidLoad];
//set submit button disable
submitbtn.enable=NO
textfiled1.delegate = self;
textfiled2.delegate = self;
textfiled3.delegate = self;
textfiled4.delegate = self;
textfiled5.delegate = self;
textfiled6.delegate = self;
textfiled7.delegate = self;
textfiled8.delegate = self;
}
- (void)textFieldDidEndEditing:(UITextField *)textField
{
//check your all texfield length if not equal to zero in below if(condition)
if(alltextfiled_length != 0)
{
submitbtn.enable=YES
}
else
{
submitbtn.enable=NO
}
}
I suggest you read the documentation on connecting outlets.
To handle changes in the text fields your view controller class could conform to the UITextFieldDelegate protocol, assign your view controller as the delegate of each text field, and implement - (BOOL)textFieldShouldReturn:(UITextField *)textField which will be called when tapping the Return button on each text field's keyboard.

How do I display an alternate message if an object does not exist in my array? Objective C

The object of this application is to translate between english and spanish words.
(Checks text input against all array values to see if it's there and then compares that index to the second array, and displays the parallel value).
That part is working. If the word entered does not exist in the array, I am supposed to have a message like 'No translation available' display in the label. My problem is, I can either get the message to display for nothing or everything - rather than just when it is supposed to.
#import "TranslatorViewController.h"
#interface TranslatorViewController ()
#property (weak, nonatomic) IBOutlet UITextField *textField;
#property (weak, nonatomic) IBOutlet UILabel *label;
- (IBAction)translate:(id)sender;
#property (nonatomic, copy) NSArray *english;
#property (nonatomic, copy) NSArray *spanish;
#end
#implementation TranslatorViewController
- (void)viewDidLoad
{
[super viewDidLoad];
// Do any additional setup after loading the view, typically from a nib.
_textField.delegate = self;
}
- (void)didReceiveMemoryWarning
{
[super didReceiveMemoryWarning];
// Dispose of any resources that can be recreated.
}
//make the keyboard go away
-(BOOL) textFieldShouldReturn:(UITextField *)textField {
{[textField resignFirstResponder];}
return YES;
}
- (instancetype)initWithCoder:(NSCoder*)aDecoder {  self = [super initWithCoder:aDecoder]; if(self) {  // Add your custom init code here
self.english = #[#"phone",
#"dog",
#"sad",
#"happy",
#"crocodile"];
self.spanish = #[#"telefono",
#"perro",
#"triste",
#"felize",
#"cocodrilo"];
}  return self; }
- (IBAction)translate:(id)sender {
//loop through the array
NSString *englishWord = self.textField.text;
for (int index=0; index<[self.english count]; index++)
if([[self.english objectAtIndex:index]
isEqualToString:englishWord])
//retrieve the accompanying spanish word if english word exists in the array
{NSString *spanishWord = [self.spanish objectAtIndex:index];
//and display it in the label
self.label.text = spanishWord;}
//Need code to display 'no translation' if word was not found.
}
#end
The simplest way to do this is probably to set the label's text field to "No translation" before entering the loop. If no match is found, the label will never be re-set to anything else.
There are lots of other ways to structure logic to give you this result. I might tighten up that last loop of code by doing this instead:
NSString * englishWord = self.textField.text;
NSUInteger spanishWordIndex = [self.english indexOfObject:englishWord];
if (spanishWordIndex == NSNotFound) {
self.label.text = #"No translation";
} else {
self.label.text = self.spanish[spanishWordIndex];
}
Why not use an NSDictionary?
- (instancetype)initWithCoder:(NSCoder*)aDecoder {
self = [super initWithCoder:aDecoder];
if(self) {  // Add your custom init code here
self.translationDict = #{#"phone":#"telefono",
#"dog":#"perro",
#"sad": #"triste",
#"happy": #"felize",
#"crocodile": #"cocodrilo"]; // self.translationDict is an NSDictionary
}
return self;
}
- (IBAction)translate:(id)sender {
NSString *englishWord = self.textField.text;
NSString *spanishWord=self.translationDict[englishWord];
if (spanishWord == nil) {
spanishWord="No Translation";
}
self.label.text=spanishWord;
}
I put
self.label.text = #"No translation available";
before the if statement which is I believe what Ben Zotto was trying to say! I just wasn't sure how to actually do it at first.
I'm a newb with this stuff.
But that did what I needed it to.
Thanks all!
Reformatted the answer to include your entire code. You should be able to just copy paste into your code.
- (IBAction)translate:(id)sender {
NSString *englishWord = self.textField.text;
NSString *spanishWord = #"No translation found.";
for (int index=0; index<[self.english count]; index++)
{
if([[self.english objectAtIndex:index] isEqualToString:englishWord])
{
//retrieve the accompanying spanish word if english word exists in the array
spanishWord = [self.spanish objectAtIndex:index];
}
}
self.label.text = spanishWord;
}

Checking UITextField.text from the delegate?

In my application, I have 3 UITextField declared in my header:
#property (strong, nonatomic) IBOutlet UITextField *email;
#property (strong, nonatomic) IBOutlet UITextField *username;
#property (strong, nonatomic) IBOutlet UITextField *password;
Once I have the values, I assign them to my variables and continue on with other account creation processes.
What I am trying to do is the following, as of right now, my UITextField "Tab" from one another using the .tag property declared in the delegate method as follows:
-(BOOL)textFieldShouldReturn:(UITextField*)textField;
{
NSInteger nextTag = textField.tag + 1;
UIResponder* nextResponder = [textField.superview viewWithTag:nextTag];
if (nextResponder) {
[nextResponder becomeFirstResponder];
} else {
[textField resignFirstResponder];
}
return NO;
}
I have an additional alertView that contains a label that alerts the users for things such as:
-> Username already exists, Email already exists, Valid password must contain at least 5 characters, etc..
Instead of alerting the users that they have made any of the mistakes mentioned above when the click on the "sign up" button, i'd like of them to know of their mistakes as soon as the textfield resigns firstResponder and has at least 1 character in it's .text property.
Can someone please point me in the right direction, thanks!
UPDATE
I have attempted to implement the textFieldDidEndEditing delegate method:
-(BOOL)textFieldDidEndEditing:(UITextField*)textField {
if (self.passwordTF.text.length <=4)
{
NSString *noValidPW = #"Passwords must be atleast 5 characters";
NSMutableAttributedString *noValidPWAttrString = [[NSMutableAttributedString alloc] initWithString:noValidPW attributes:alertAttrs];
self.alertLabel.attributedText = noValidPWAttrString;
[UIView transitionWithView:[self redAlert]
duration:0.2
options:UIViewAnimationOptionTransitionCrossDissolve
animations:NULL
completion:NULL];
self.redAlert.hidden = NO;
}
return NO;
}
But that is not working, that is giving me the password alert as soon as I stop editing ANY field, not just the password field.
Update
This is the code that generates animates my alert :
NSString *noValidPW = #"Passwords must be atleast 5 characters";
NSMutableAttributedString *noValidPWAttrString = [[NSMutableAttributedString alloc] initWithString:noValidPW attributes:alertAttrs];
self.alertLabel.attributedText = noValidPWAttrString;
[UIView transitionWithView:[self redAlert]
duration:0.2
options:UIViewAnimationOptionTransitionCrossDissolve
animations:NULL
completion:NULL];
self.redAlert.hidden = NO;
I have similar alerts for other error types (for other textfields), so its important to be able to check which textfield was the one that just ended being edited, does it have any characters on its .text property? If so, it needs to pass the validation code I provided right above this.
You can use -textFieldDidEndEditing: for that. Your missing piece was making sure that the textField that called the delegate method is the one you are interested in.
E.g.:
- (void)textFieldDidEndEditing:(UITextField *)textField
{
// Check only if the user didn't leave the textfield blank
if ([textField.text length] >= 1)
{
if (textField == self.password)
{
NSString *passwordText = textField.text;
if ([passwordText length] < 5)
{
[self showPasswordLengthError];
}
else if ( /* check other password stuff */ )
{
[self showPasswordOtherError];
}
}
else if (textField == self.username)
{
// Check username conditions and show errors accordingly
}
else if (textField == self.email)
{
// Check email stuff
}
// etc.
}
}
- (void)showPasswordLengthError
{
NSString *noValidPW = #"Passwords must be at least 5 characters";
NSMutableAttributedString *noValidPWAttrString = [[NSMutableAttributedString alloc] initWithString:noValidPW attributes:alertAttrs];
self.alertLabel.attributedText = noValidPWAttrString;
[UIView transitionWithView:[self redAlert]
duration:0.2
options:UIViewAnimationOptionTransitionCrossDissolve
animations:NULL
completion:NULL];
self.redAlert.hidden = NO;
// Hide alertLabel after 5 sec
[self performSelector:#selector(hideAlertLabel) withObject:nil afterDelay:5.0];
}
- (void)hideAlertLabel
{
self.redAlert.hidden = YES;
}

How to navigate through textfields (Next / Done Buttons)

How can I navigate through all my text fields with the "Next" Button on the iPhone Keyboard?
The last text field should close the Keyboard.
I've setup the IB the Buttons (Next / Done) but now I'm stuck.
I implemented the textFieldShouldReturn action but now the Next and Done Buttons close the Keyboard.
In Cocoa for Mac OS X, you have the next responder chain, where you can ask the text field what control should have focus next. This is what makes tabbing between text fields work. But since iOS devices do not have a keyboard, only touch, this concept has not survived the transition to Cocoa Touch.
This can be easily done anyway, with two assumptions:
All "tabbable" UITextFields are on the same parent view.
Their "tab-order" is defined by the tag property.
Assuming this you can override textFieldShouldReturn: as this:
-(BOOL)textFieldShouldReturn:(UITextField*)textField
{
NSInteger nextTag = textField.tag + 1;
// Try to find next responder
UIResponder* nextResponder = [textField.superview viewWithTag:nextTag];
if (nextResponder) {
// Found next responder, so set it.
[nextResponder becomeFirstResponder];
} else {
// Not found, so remove keyboard.
[textField resignFirstResponder];
}
return NO; // We do not want UITextField to insert line-breaks.
}
Add some more code, and the assumptions can be ignored as well.
Swift 4.0
func textFieldShouldReturn(_ textField: UITextField) -> Bool {
let nextTag = textField.tag + 1
// Try to find next responder
let nextResponder = textField.superview?.viewWithTag(nextTag) as UIResponder!
if nextResponder != nil {
// Found next responder, so set it
nextResponder?.becomeFirstResponder()
} else {
// Not found, so remove keyboard
textField.resignFirstResponder()
}
return false
}
If the superview of the text field will be a UITableViewCell then next responder will be
let nextResponder = textField.superview?.superview?.superview?.viewWithTag(nextTag) as UIResponder!
There is a much more elegant solution which blew me away the first time I saw it. Benefits:
Closer to OSX textfield implementation where a textfield knows where the focus should go next
Does not rely on setting or using tags -- which are, IMO fragile for this use case
Can be extended to work with both UITextField and UITextView controls -- or any keyboard entry UI control
Doesn't clutter your view controller with boilerplate UITextField delegate code
Integrates nicely with IB and can be configured through the familiar option-drag-drop to connect outlets.
Create a UITextField subclass which has an IBOutlet property called nextField. Here's the header:
#interface SOTextField : UITextField
#property (weak, nonatomic) IBOutlet UITextField *nextField;
#end
And here's the implementation:
#implementation SOTextField
#end
In your view controller, you'll create the -textFieldShouldReturn: delegate method:
- (BOOL)textFieldShouldReturn:(UITextField *)textField {
if ([textField isKindOfClass:[SOTextField class]]) {
UITextField *nextField = [(SOTextField *)textField nextField];
if (nextField) {
dispatch_async(dispatch_get_current_queue(), ^{
[nextField becomeFirstResponder];
});
}
else {
[textField resignFirstResponder];
}
}
return YES;
}
In IB, change your UITextFields to use the SOTextField class. Next, also in IB, set the delegate for each of the 'SOTextFields'to 'File's Owner' (which is right where you put the code for the delegate method - textFieldShouldReturn). The beauty of this design is that now you can simply right-click on any textField and assign the nextField outlet to the next SOTextField object you want to be the next responder.
Moreover, you can do cool things like loop the textFields so that after the last one loses focus, the first one will receive focus again.
This can easily be extended to automatically assign the returnKeyType of the SOTextField to a UIReturnKeyNext if there is a nextField assigned -- one less thing manually configure.
Here's one without delegation:
tf1.addTarget(tf2, action: #selector(becomeFirstResponder), for: .editingDidEndOnExit)
tf2.addTarget(tf3, action: #selector(becomeFirstResponder), for: .editingDidEndOnExit)
ObjC:
[tf1 addTarget:tf2 action:#selector(becomeFirstResponder) forControlEvents:UIControlEventEditingDidEndOnExit];
[tf2 addTarget:tf3 action:#selector(becomeFirstResponder) forControlEvents:UIControlEventEditingDidEndOnExit];
Works using the (mostly unknown) UIControlEventEditingDidEndOnExit UITextField action.
You can also easily hook this up in the storyboard, so no delegation or code is required.
Edit: actually I cannot figure out how to hook this up in storyboard. becomeFirstResponder does not seem to be a offered action for this control-event, which is a pity. Still, you can hook all your textfields up to a single action in your ViewController which then determines which textField to becomeFirstResponder based on the sender (though then it is not as elegant as the above programmatic solution so IMO do it with the above code in viewDidLoad).
Here is my solution for this problem.
To solve this (and because I hate relying on tags to do stuff) I decided to add a custom property to the UITextField object. In other words I created a category on UITextField like this :
UITextField+Extended.h
#interface UITextField (Extended)
#property(retain, nonatomic)UITextField* nextTextField;
#end
UITextField+Extended.m
#import "UITextField+Extended.h"
#import <objc/runtime.h>
static char defaultHashKey;
#implementation UITextField (Extended)
- (UITextField*) nextTextField {
return objc_getAssociatedObject(self, &defaultHashKey);
}
- (void) setNextTextField:(UITextField *)nextTextField{
objc_setAssociatedObject(self, &defaultHashKey, nextTextField, OBJC_ASSOCIATION_RETAIN_NONATOMIC);
}
#end
Now, here is how I use it :
UITextField *textField1 = ...init your textfield
UITextField *textField2 = ...init your textfield
UITextField *textField3 = ...init your textfield
textField1.nextTextField = textField2;
textField2.nextTextField = textField3;
textField3.nextTextField = nil;
And implement the textFieldShouldReturn method :
- (BOOL)textFieldShouldReturn:(UITextField *)theTextField {
UITextField *next = theTextField.nextTextField;
if (next) {
[next becomeFirstResponder];
} else {
[theTextField resignFirstResponder];
}
return NO;
}
I now have kind of a linked list of UITextField, each one knowing who's next in the line.
Hope it'll help.
A swift extension that applies mxcl's answer to make this particularly easy (adapted to swift 2.3 by Traveler):
extension UITextField {
class func connectFields(fields:[UITextField]) -> Void {
guard let last = fields.last else {
return
}
for i in 0 ..< fields.count - 1 {
fields[i].returnKeyType = .Next
fields[i].addTarget(fields[i+1], action: "becomeFirstResponder", forControlEvents: .EditingDidEndOnExit)
}
last.returnKeyType = .Done
last.addTarget(last, action: #selector(UIResponder.resignFirstResponder), forControlEvents: .EditingDidEndOnExit)
}
}
It's easy to use:
UITextField.connectFields([field1, field2, field3])
The extension will set the return button to "Next" for all but the last field and to "Done" for the last field, and shift focus / dismiss the keyboard when these are tapped.
Swift < 2.3
extension UITextField {
class func connectFields(fields:[UITextField]) -> Void {
guard let last = fields.last else {
return
}
for var i = 0; i < fields.count - 1; i += 1 {
fields[i].returnKeyType = .Next
fields[i].addTarget(fields[i+1], action: "becomeFirstResponder", forControlEvents: .EditingDidEndOnExit)
}
last.returnKeyType = .Done
last.addTarget(last, action: "resignFirstResponder", forControlEvents: .EditingDidEndOnExit)
}
}
SWIFT 3:
use like this -
UITextField.connectFields(fields: [field1, field2])
Extension:
extension UITextField {
class func connectFields(fields:[UITextField]) -> Void {
guard let last = fields.last else {
return
}
for i in 0 ..< fields.count - 1 {
fields[i].returnKeyType = .next
fields[i].addTarget(fields[i+1], action: #selector(UIResponder.becomeFirstResponder), for: .editingDidEndOnExit)
}
last.returnKeyType = .go
last.addTarget(last, action: #selector(UIResponder.resignFirstResponder), for: .editingDidEndOnExit)
}
}
A more consistent and robust way is to use NextResponderTextField
You can configure it totally from interface builder with no need for setting the delegate or using view.tag.
All you need to do is
Set the class type of your UITextField to be NextResponderTextField
Then set the outlet of the nextResponderField to point to the next responder it can be anything UITextField or any UIResponder subclass. It can be also a UIButton and the library is smart enough to trigger the TouchUpInside event of the button only if it's enabled.
Here is the library in action:
I like the OO solutions that have already been suggested by Anth0 and Answerbot. However, I was working on a quick and small POC, so I didn't want to clutter things with subclasses and categories.
Another simple solution is to create an NSArray of fields and lookup the next field when you press next. Not an OO solution, but quick, simple, and easy to implement. Also, you can see and modify the ordering at a glance.
Here's my code (built upon other answers in this thread):
#property (nonatomic) NSArray *fieldArray;
- (void)viewDidLoad {
[super viewDidLoad];
fieldArray = [NSArray arrayWithObjects: firstField, secondField, thirdField, nil];
}
- (BOOL) textFieldShouldReturn:(UITextField *) textField {
BOOL didResign = [textField resignFirstResponder];
if (!didResign) return NO;
NSUInteger index = [self.fieldArray indexOfObject:textField];
if (index == NSNotFound || index + 1 == fieldArray.count) return NO;
id nextField = [fieldArray objectAtIndex:index + 1];
activeField = nextField;
[nextField becomeFirstResponder];
return NO;
}
I always return NO because I don't want a line break inserted. Just thought I'd point that out since when I returned YES it would automatically exit the subsequent fields or insert a line break in my TextView. It took me a bit of time to figure that out.
activeField keeps track of the active field in case scrolling is necessary to unobscure the field from the keyboard. If you have similar code, make sure you assign the activeField before changing the first responder. Changing first responder is immediate and will fire the KeyboardWasShown event immediately.
Here is an implementation of tabbing using a category on UIControl. This solution has all of the advantages of the methods from Michael and Anth0, but works for all UIControls, not just UITextFields. It also works seamlessly with Interface Builder and storyboards.
Source and sample app: GitHub repository for UIControlsWithTabbing
Usage:
- (BOOL)textFieldShouldReturn:(UITextField *)textField
{
[textField transferFirstResponderToNextControl];
return NO;
}
Header:
//
// UIControl+NextControl.h
// UIControlsWithTabbing
//
#import <UIKit/UIKit.h>
#interface UIControl (NextControl)
#property (nonatomic, weak) IBOutlet UIControl *nextControl;
- (BOOL)transferFirstResponderToNextControl;
#end
Implementation:
#import "UIControl+NextControl.h"
#import <objc/runtime.h>
static char defaultHashKey;
#implementation UIControl (NextControl)
- (UIControl *)nextControl
{
return objc_getAssociatedObject(self, &defaultHashKey);
}
- (void)setNextControl:(UIControl *)nextControl
{
objc_setAssociatedObject(self, &defaultHashKey, nextControl, OBJC_ASSOCIATION_RETAIN_NONATOMIC);
}
- (BOOL)transferFirstResponderToNextControl
{
if (self.nextControl)
{
[self.nextControl becomeFirstResponder];
return YES;
}
[self resignFirstResponder];
return NO;
}
#end
I have tried many codes and finally, this worked for me in Swift 3.0 Latest [March 2017]
The ViewController class should be inherited the UITextFieldDelegate for making this code working.
class ViewController: UIViewController,UITextFieldDelegate
Add the Text field with the Proper Tag number and this tag number is used to take the control to appropriate text field based on incremental tag number assigned to it.
override func viewDidLoad() {
userNameTextField.delegate = self
userNameTextField.tag = 0
userNameTextField.returnKeyType = UIReturnKeyType.next
passwordTextField.delegate = self
passwordTextField.tag = 1
passwordTextField.returnKeyType = UIReturnKeyType.go
}
In the above code, the returnKeyType = UIReturnKeyType.next where will make the Key pad return key to display as Next you also have other options as Join/Go etc, based on your application change the values.
This textFieldShouldReturn is a method of UITextFieldDelegate controlled and here we have next field selection based on the Tag value incrementation
func textFieldShouldReturn(_ textField: UITextField) -> Bool {
if let nextField = textField.superview?.viewWithTag(textField.tag + 1) as? UITextField {
nextField.becomeFirstResponder()
} else {
textField.resignFirstResponder()
return true;
}
return false
}
After you exit from one text field, you call [otherTextField becomeFirstResponder] and the next field gets focus.
This can actually be a tricky problem to deal with since often you'll also want to scroll the screen or otherwise adjust the position of the text field so it's easy to see when editing. Just make sure to do a lot of testing with coming into and out of the text fields in different ways and also leaving early (always give the user an option to dismiss the keyboard instead of going to the next field, usually with "Done" in the nav bar)
-(BOOL)textFieldShouldReturn:(UITextField *)textField
{
[[self.view viewWithTag:textField.tag+1] becomeFirstResponder];
return YES;
}
I am surprised by how many answers here fail to understand one simple concept: navigating through controls in your app is not something the views themselves should do. It's the controller's job to decide which control to make the next first responder.
Also most answers only applied to navigating forward, but users may also want to go backwards.
So here's what I've come up with. Your form should be managed by a view controller, and view controllers are part of the responder chain. So you're perfectly free to implement the following methods:
#pragma mark - Key Commands
- (NSArray *)keyCommands
{
static NSArray *commands;
static dispatch_once_t once;
dispatch_once(&once, ^{
UIKeyCommand *const forward = [UIKeyCommand keyCommandWithInput:#"\t" modifierFlags:0 action:#selector(tabForward:)];
UIKeyCommand *const backward = [UIKeyCommand keyCommandWithInput:#"\t" modifierFlags:UIKeyModifierShift action:#selector(tabBackward:)];
commands = #[forward, backward];
});
return commands;
}
- (void)tabForward:(UIKeyCommand *)command
{
NSArray *const controls = self.controls;
UIResponder *firstResponder = nil;
for (UIResponder *const responder in controls) {
if (firstResponder != nil && responder.canBecomeFirstResponder) {
[responder becomeFirstResponder]; return;
}
else if (responder.isFirstResponder) {
firstResponder = responder;
}
}
[controls.firstObject becomeFirstResponder];
}
- (void)tabBackward:(UIKeyCommand *)command
{
NSArray *const controls = self.controls;
UIResponder *firstResponder = nil;
for (UIResponder *const responder in controls.reverseObjectEnumerator) {
if (firstResponder != nil && responder.canBecomeFirstResponder) {
[responder becomeFirstResponder]; return;
}
else if (responder.isFirstResponder) {
firstResponder = responder;
}
}
[controls.lastObject becomeFirstResponder];
}
Additional logic for scrolling offscreen responders visible beforehand may apply.
Another advantage of this approach is that you don't need to subclass all kinds of controls you may want to display (like UITextFields) but can instead manage the logic at controller level, where, let's be honest, is the right place to do so.
A very easy method for dismissing the keyboard when the 'Done' button is pressed is:
Create a new IBAction in the header
- (IBAction)textFieldDoneEditing:(id)sender;
In the implementation file (.m file) add the following method:
- (IBAction)textFieldDoneEditing:(id)sender
{
[sender resignFirstResponder];
}
Then, when you come to link the IBAction to the textfield - link to the 'Did End On Exit' event.
First set keyboard return key in xib, otherwise you can write code in viewdidload:
passWord.returnKeyType = UIReturnKeyNext;
-(BOOL)textFieldShouldReturn:(UITextField *)textField
{
if(textField == eMail) {
[textField resignFirstResponder];
[userName becomeFirstResponder];
}
if (textField==userName) {
[textField resignFirstResponder];
[passWord becomeFirstResponder];
}
if (textField==passWord) {
[textField resignFirstResponder];
[country becomeFirstResponder];
}
if (textField==country) {
[textField resignFirstResponder];
}
return YES;
}
If someone wants like this. I think this is the closest to the requirements asked for in question
Here is how I have implemented this one
Add accessory view for each text field for which you want the setup, using
func setAccessoryViewFor(textField : UITextField) {
let toolBar = UIToolbar()
toolBar.barStyle = .default
toolBar.isTranslucent = true
toolBar.sizeToFit()
// Adds the buttons
// Add previousButton
let prevButton = UIBarButtonItem(title: "<", style: .plain, target: self, action: #selector(previousPressed(sender:)))
prevButton.tag = textField.tag
if getPreviousResponderFor(tag: textField.tag) == nil {
prevButton.isEnabled = false
}
// Add nextButton
let nextButton = UIBarButtonItem(title: ">", style: .plain, target: self, action: #selector(nextPressed(sender:)))
nextButton.tag = textField.tag
if getNextResponderFor(tag: textField.tag) == nil {
nextButton.title = "Done"
}
let spaceButton = UIBarButtonItem(barButtonSystemItem: .flexibleSpace, target: nil, action: nil)
toolBar.setItems([prevButton,spaceButton,nextButton], animated: false)
toolBar.isUserInteractionEnabled = true
textField.inputAccessoryView = toolBar
}
Use following functions to handle taps
func nextPressed(sender : UIBarButtonItem) {
if let nextResponder = getNextResponderFor(tag: sender.tag) {
nextResponder.becomeFirstResponder()
} else {
self.view.endEditing(true)
}
}
func previousPressed(sender : UIBarButtonItem) {
if let previousResponder = getPreviousResponderFor(tag : sender.tag) {
previousResponder.becomeFirstResponder()
}
}
func getNextResponderFor(tag : Int) -> UITextField? {
return self.view.viewWithTag(tag + 1) as? UITextField
}
func getPreviousResponderFor(tag : Int) -> UITextField? {
return self.view.viewWithTag(tag - 1) as? UITextField
}
You will need to give the textFields tags in sequence in which you want the next/prev button to respond.
Solution in Swift 3.1, After connecting your textfields IBOutlets set your textfields delegate in viewDidLoad, And then navigate your action in textFieldShouldReturn
class YourViewController: UIViewController,UITextFieldDelegate {
#IBOutlet weak var passwordTextField: UITextField!
#IBOutlet weak var phoneTextField: UITextField!
override func viewDidLoad() {
super.viewDidLoad()
self.passwordTextField.delegate = self
self.phoneTextField.delegate = self
// Set your return type
self.phoneTextField.returnKeyType = .next
self.passwordTextField.returnKeyType = .done
}
func textFieldShouldReturn(_ textField: UITextField) -> Bool{
if textField == self.phoneTextField {
self.passwordTextField.becomeFirstResponder()
}else if textField == self.passwordTextField{
// Call login api
self.login()
}
return true
}
}
I have added to PeyloW's answer in case you're looking to implement a previous/next button functionality:
- (IBAction)moveThroughTextFields:(UIBarButtonItem *)sender
{
NSInteger nextTag;
UITextView *currentTextField = [self.view findFirstResponderAndReturn];
if (currentTextField != nil) {
// I assigned tags to the buttons. 0 represent prev & 1 represents next
if (sender.tag == 0) {
nextTag = currentTextField.tag - 1;
} else if (sender.tag == 1) {
nextTag = currentTextField.tag + 1;
}
}
// Try to find next responder
UIResponder* nextResponder = [self.view viewWithTag:nextTag];
if (nextResponder) {
// Found next responder, so set it.
// I added the resign here in case there's different keyboards in place.
[currentTextField resignFirstResponder];
[nextResponder becomeFirstResponder];
} else {
// Not found, so remove keyboard.
[currentTextField resignFirstResponder];
}
}
Where you subclass the UIView like this:
#implementation UIView (FindAndReturnFirstResponder)
- (UITextView *)findFirstResponderAndReturn
{
for (UITextView *subView in self.subviews) {
if (subView.isFirstResponder){
return subView;
}
}
return nil;
}
#end
Hi to everyone please see this one
- (void)nextPrevious:(id)sender
{
UIView *responder = [self.view findFirstResponder];
if (nil == responder || ![responder isKindOfClass:[GroupTextField class]]) {
return;
}
switch([(UISegmentedControl *)sender selectedSegmentIndex]) {
case 0:
// previous
if (nil != ((GroupTextField *)responder).previousControl) {
[((GroupTextField *)responder).previousControl becomeFirstResponder];
DebugLog(#"currentControl: %i previousControl: %i",((GroupTextField *)responder).tag,((GroupTextField *)responder).previousControl.tag);
}
break;
case 1:
// next
if (nil != ((GroupTextField *)responder).nextControl) {
[((GroupTextField *)responder).nextControl becomeFirstResponder];
DebugLog(#"currentControl: %i nextControl: %i",((GroupTextField *)responder).tag,((GroupTextField *)responder).nextControl.tag);
}
break;
}
}
I tried to solve this problem using a more sophisticated approach based on assigning each cell (or UITextField) in a UITableView a unique tag value that can be later retrieved:
activate-next-uitextfield-in-uitableview-ios
I hope this helps!
I've just created new Pod when dealing with this stuff GNTextFieldsCollectionManager. It automatically handles next/last textField problem and is very easy to use:
[[GNTextFieldsCollectionManager alloc] initWithView:self.view];
Grabs all textfields sorted by appearing in view hierarchy (or by tags), or you can specify your own array of textFields.
A safer and more direct way, assuming:
the text field delegates are set to your view controller
all of the text fields are subviews of the same view
the text fields have tags in the order you want to progress (e.g., textField2.tag = 2, textField3.tag = 3, etc.)
moving to the next text field will happen when you tap the return button on the keyboard (you can change this to next, done, etc.)
you want the keyboard to dismiss after the last text field
Swift 4.1:
extension ViewController: UITextFieldDelegate {
func textFieldShouldReturn(_ textField: UITextField) -> Bool {
let nextTag = textField.tag + 1
guard let nextTextField = textField.superview?.viewWithTag(nextTag) else {
textField.resignFirstResponder()
return false
}
nextTextField.becomeFirstResponder()
return false
}
}
I rather prefer to:
#interface MyViewController : UIViewController
#property (nonatomic, retain) IBOutletCollection(UIView) NSArray *inputFields;
#end
In the NIB file I hook the textFields in the desired order into this inputFields array. After that I do a simple test for the index of the UITextField that reports that the user tapped return:
// for UITextField
-(BOOL)textFieldShouldReturn:(UITextField*)textField {
NSUInteger index = [_inputFields indexOfObject:textField];
index++;
if (index < _inputFields.count) {
UIView *v = [_inputFields objectAtIndex:index];
[v becomeFirstResponder];
}
return NO;
}
// for UITextView
-(BOOL)textView:(UITextView*)textView shouldChangeTextInRange:(NSRange)range replacementText:(NSString*)text {
if ([#"\n" isEqualToString:text]) {
NSUInteger index = [_inputFields indexOfObject:textView];
index++;
if (index < _inputFields.count) {
UIView *v = [_inputFields objectAtIndex:index];
[v becomeFirstResponder];
} else {
[self.view endEditing:YES];
}
return NO;
}
return YES;
}
if (cell == nil)
{
cell = [[UITableViewCell alloc] initWithStyle:UITableViewCellStyleDefault reuseIdentifier:cellIdentifier];
txt_Input = [[ UITextField alloc] initWithFrame:CGRectMake(0, 10, 150, 30)];
txt_Input.tag = indexPath.row+1;
[self.array_Textfields addObject:txt_Input]; // Initialize mutable array in ViewDidLoad
}
-(BOOL)textFieldShouldReturn:(UITextField *)textField
{
int tag = ( int) textField.tag ;
UITextField * txt = [ self.array_Textfields objectAtIndex:tag ] ;
[ txt becomeFirstResponder] ;
return YES ;
}
I had about 10+ UITextField in my story board and the way I enabled next functionality was by creating an array of UITextField and making the next UITextField the firstResponder. Here's the implementation file:
#import "RegistrationTableViewController.h"
#interface RegistrationTableViewController ()
#property (weak, nonatomic) IBOutlet UITextField *fullNameTextField;
#property (weak, nonatomic) IBOutlet UITextField *addressTextField;
#property (weak, nonatomic) IBOutlet UITextField *address2TextField;
#property (weak, nonatomic) IBOutlet UITextField *cityTextField;
#property (weak, nonatomic) IBOutlet UITextField *zipCodeTextField;
#property (weak, nonatomic) IBOutlet UITextField *urlTextField;
#property (weak, nonatomic) IBOutlet UITextField *usernameTextField;
#property (weak, nonatomic) IBOutlet UITextField *emailTextField;
#property (weak, nonatomic) IBOutlet UITextField *passwordTextField;
#property (weak, nonatomic) IBOutlet UITextField *confirmPWTextField;
#end
NSArray *uiTextFieldArray;
#implementation RegistrationTableViewController
- (void)viewDidLoad {
[super viewDidLoad];
NSLog(#"view did load");
uiTextFieldArray = #[self.fullNameTextField,self.addressTextField,self.address2TextField,self.cityTextField,self.zipCodeTextField,self.urlTextField,self.usernameTextField,self.emailTextField,self.passwordTextField,self.confirmPWTextField];
for(UITextField *myField in uiTextFieldArray){
myField.delegate = self;
}
}
-(BOOL)textFieldShouldReturn:(UITextField *)textField{
long index = [uiTextFieldArray indexOfObject:textField];
NSLog(#"%ld",index);
if(index < (uiTextFieldArray.count - 1)){
[uiTextFieldArray[++index] becomeFirstResponder];
}else{
[uiTextFieldArray[index] resignFirstResponder];
}
return YES;
}
- (void)didReceiveMemoryWarning {
[super didReceiveMemoryWarning];
// Dispose of any resources that can be recreated.
}
#end
This worked for me in Xamarin.iOS / Monotouch.
Change the keyboard button to Next, pass the control to the next UITextField and hide the keyboard after the last UITextField.
private void SetShouldReturnDelegates(IEnumerable<UIView> subViewsToScout )
{
foreach (var item in subViewsToScout.Where(item => item.GetType() == typeof (UITextField)))
{
(item as UITextField).ReturnKeyType = UIReturnKeyType.Next;
(item as UITextField).ShouldReturn += (textField) =>
{
nint nextTag = textField.Tag + 1;
var nextResponder = textField.Superview.ViewWithTag(nextTag);
if (null != nextResponder)
nextResponder.BecomeFirstResponder();
else
textField.Superview.EndEditing(true);
//You could also use textField.ResignFirstResponder();
return false; // We do not want UITextField to insert line-breaks.
};
}
}
Inside the ViewDidLoad you'll have:
If your TextFields haven't a Tag set it now:
txtField1.Tag = 0;
txtField2.Tag = 1;
txtField3.Tag = 2;
//...
and just the call
SetShouldReturnDelegates(yourViewWithTxtFields.Subviews.ToList());
//If you are not sure of which view contains your fields you can also call it in a safer way:
SetShouldReturnDelegates(txtField1.Superview.Subviews.ToList());
//You can also reuse the same method with different containerViews in case your UITextField are under different views.
This is a simple solution in swift, with no tag using, no storyboard tricks...
Just use this extension :
extension UITextField{
func nextTextFieldField() -> UITextField?{
//field to return
var returnField : UITextField?
if self.superview != nil{
//for each view in superview
for (_, view) in self.superview!.subviews.enumerate(){
//if subview is a text's field
if view.isKindOfClass(UITextField){
//cast curent view as text field
let currentTextField = view as! UITextField
//if text field is after the current one
if currentTextField.frame.origin.y > self.frame.origin.y{
//if there is no text field to return already
if returnField == nil {
//set as default return
returnField = currentTextField
}
//else if this this less far than the other
else if currentTextField.frame.origin.y < returnField!.frame.origin.y{
//this is the field to return
returnField = currentTextField
}
}
}
}
}
//end of the mdethod
return returnField
}
}
And call it like this (for example) with your textfield delegate:
func textFieldShouldReturn(textField: UITextField) -> Bool {
textField.resignFirstResponder()
textField.nextTextFieldField()?.becomeFirstResponder()
return true
}
Here is a Swift 3 version of Anth0's answer. I'm posting it here to help any swift developers in wanting to take advantage of his great answer! I took the liberty of adding a return key type of "Next" when you set the associated object.
extension UITextField {
#nonobjc static var NextHashKey: UniChar = 0
var nextTextField: UITextField? {
get {
return objc_getAssociatedObject(self,
&UITextField.NextHashKey) as? UITextField
}
set(next) {
self.returnKeyType = UIReturnKeyType.next
objc_setAssociatedObject(self,
&UITextField.NextHashKey,next,.OBJC_ASSOCIATION_RETAIN_NONATOMIC)
}
}
}
Here is another extension that shows a possibility of using the above code to cycle through a list of UITextFields.
extension UIViewController: UITextFieldDelegate {
public func textFieldShouldReturn(_ textField: UITextField) -> Bool {
guard let next = textField.nextTextField else {
textField.resignFirstResponder()
return true
}
next.becomeFirstResponder()
return false
}
}
And then in your ViewController or wherever, you can setup your textfields like so...
#IBOutlet fileprivate weak var textfield1: UITextField!
#IBOutlet fileprivate weak var textfield2: UITextField!
#IBOutlet fileprivate weak var textfield3: UITextField!
...
[textfield1, textfield2, textfield3].forEach{ $0?.delegate = self }
textfield1.nextTextField = textfield2
textfield2.nextTextField = textfield3
// We don't assign a nextTextField to textfield3 because we want
// textfield3 to be the last one and resignFirstResponder when
// the return button on the soft keyboard is tapped.
in textFieldShouldReturn you should check that the textfield you are currently on is not the last one when they click next and if its n ot dont dismiss the keyboard..
This is an old post, but has a high page rank so I'll chime in with my solution.
I had a similar issue and ended up creating a subclass of UIToolbar to manage the next/previous/done functionality in a dynamic tableView with sections: https://github.com/jday001/DataEntryToolbar
You set the toolbar as inputAccessoryView of your text fields and add them to its dictionary. This allows you to cycle through them forwards and backwards, even with dynamic content. There are delegate methods if you want to trigger your own functionality when textField navigation happens, but you don't have to deal with managing any tags or first responder status.
There are code snippets & an example app at the GitHub link to help with the implementation details. You will need your own data model to keep track of the values inside the fields.
Without usings tags and without adding a property for nextField/nextTextField, you can try this to emulate TAB, where "testInput" is your current active field:
if ([textInput isFirstResponder])
[textInput.superview.subviews enumerateObjectsAtIndexes:
[NSIndexSet indexSetWithIndexesInRange:
NSMakeRange([textInput.superview.subviews indexOfObject:textInput]+1,
[textInput.superview.subviews count]-[textInput.superview.subviews indexOfObject:textInput]-1)]
options:0 usingBlock:^(UIView *obj, NSUInteger idx, BOOL *stop) {
*stop = !obj.hidden && [obj becomeFirstResponder];
}];
if ([textInput isFirstResponder])
[textInput.superview.subviews enumerateObjectsAtIndexes:
[NSIndexSet indexSetWithIndexesInRange:
NSMakeRange(0,
[textInput.superview.subviews indexOfObject:textInput])]
options:0 usingBlock:^(UIView *obj, NSUInteger idx, BOOL *stop) {
*stop = !obj.hidden && [obj becomeFirstResponder];
}];

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