Selecting UITableViewCells with CheckmarkAccessory and cell reuse identifier - ios

Question

Alright so I'm using a cell reuse identifier to generate UITableViewCells on my table view. This UITableView displays all of your contacts first and last names, first by grabbing them through ABAddressBook and then using the data in cellForRowAtIndexPath: like this:
- (UITableViewCell *)tableView:(UITableView *)tableView cellForRowAtIndexPath:(NSIndexPath *)indexPath
{
static NSString *CellIdentifier = #"inviteCell";
UITableViewCell *cell = [tableView dequeueReusableCellWithIdentifier:CellIdentifier];
// forIndexPath:indexPath]; taken from above
if(tableView == self.tableView)
{
//configure the cells for the contacts tableView
#define CHECK_NULL_STRING(str) ([str isKindOfClass:[NSNull class]] || !str)?#"":str
id p=[contactsObjects objectAtIndex:indexPath.row];
NSString *fName=(__bridge NSString *)(ABRecordCopyValue((__bridge ABRecordRef)(p), kABPersonSortByFirstName));
NSString *lName=(__bridge NSString *)(ABRecordCopyValue((__bridge ABRecordRef)(p), kABPersonSortByLastName));
cell.textLabel.text=[NSString stringWithFormat:#"%# %#",CHECK_NULL_STRING(fName),CHECK_NULL_STRING(lName)];
}
else
{
//configure the cells for the search bar controller's tableView.
#define CHECK_NULL_STRING(str) ([str isKindOfClass:[NSNull class]] || !str)?#"":str
id p=[searchResults objectAtIndex:indexPath.row];
NSString *fName=(__bridge NSString *)(ABRecordCopyValue((__bridge ABRecordRef)(p), kABPersonSortByFirstName));
NSString *lName=(__bridge NSString *)(ABRecordCopyValue((__bridge ABRecordRef)(p), kABPersonSortByLastName));
cell.textLabel.text=[NSString stringWithFormat:#"%# %#",CHECK_NULL_STRING(fName),CHECK_NULL_STRING(lName)];
}
return cell;
}
What I need to do is, select any of the cells generated like this, and also be able to deselect any of the cells. In the background, I'll be using the phone numbers associated with each name to check if they're registered in my database. But as for this UITableView I need to select any of the table cell's, and not also select every 10th cell, or whatever it is.
Put clearly: I need to keep track of what cells are checked, and I need to do this using minimal code. I may be wrong, but I believe in my case, I MUST USE cell reuse identifiers, and the cells must me "single-selected" and un-selectable. How do I do this?

Answer 1

If i understood correctly.. you need only a single selection on the tableview. Once a new row is selected you deselect the old one.
You can do this like so :
cellForRowAtIndexPath do some thing like this.
if(indexPath.row == 0){
cell.accessoryType = UITableViewCellAccessoryCheckmark;
self.lastSelected = indexPath;//This will keep track of the last selected cell .
}
-(void)tableView:(UITableView *)tableView didSelectRowAtIndexPath:(NSIndexPath *)indexPath
{
if([self.lastSelected compare:indexPath] == NSOrderedSame){
[tableView deselectRowAtIndexPath:indexPath animated:NO];//This is to remove the highlight on cell selection
return;
} else {
[tableView cellForRowAtIndexPath:indexPath].accessoryType = UITableViewCellAccessoryCheckmark;
[tableView cellForRowAtIndexPath:self.lastSelected].accessoryType = UITableViewCellAccessoryNone;
[self setLastSelected:nil];//Releasing the old retain and resetting
self.lastSelected = indexPath;
[tableView deselectRowAtIndexPath:indexPath animated:NO];
}
}
Hope this helps
EDIT :
Ok now i understood your question. my edited answer is given below
-(void)tableView:(UITableView *)tableView didSelectRowAtIndexPath:(NSIndexPath *)indexPath
{
if ([tableView cellForRowAtIndexPath:indexPath].accessoryType == UITableViewCellAccessoryCheckmark) {
[tableView cellForRowAtIndexPath:indexPath].accessoryType = UITableViewCellAccessoryNone;
} else
[tableView cellForRowAtIndexPath:indexPath].accessoryType = UITableViewCellAccessoryCheckmark;
}
This way you can select multiple cells and deselect any cell which was earlier selected.
The checkmark will be enabled or disabled depending on its earlier state.
Hope i have the correct understanding of what you wish to do.