Issue when getting data from text field in dynamic cell - objective-c

Question

I have created a dynamic table, but I'm facing an issue when I try to access the content of a text field in the first cell. The textfield I get is always empty, even though I enter some text in it before calling the action.
Here is my code. Could you help me to find what's wrong in it ?
CustomNameCell.h
#interface CustomNameCell : UITableViewCell
#property (retain, nonatomic) IBOutlet UITextField *nameTextField;
#end
CustomViewController.h
#interface CustomViewController : UITableViewController
#property (retain, nonatomic) IBOutlet UITableView *tableview;
- (IBAction)search:(id)sender;
#end
CustomViewController.m :
- (UITableViewCell *)tableView:(UITableView *)tableView cellForRowAtIndexPath:(NSIndexPath *)indexPath {
if (indexPath.row == 1) {
static NSString *CellIdentifier = #"nameCell";
CustomNameCell *cell = [tableView dequeueReusableCellWithIdentifier:CellIdentifier];
if (cell==nil) {
cell = [[CustomNameCell alloc] initWithStyle:UITableViewCellStyleDefault reuseIdentifier:CellIdentifier];
}
return cell;
}
...
and the action when clicking a button, where I try to get the content of the textfield :
- (IBAction)search:(id)sender {
static NSString *CellIdentifier = #"nameCell";
CustomNameCell *nameCell = [_tableview dequeueReusableCellWithIdentifier:CellIdentifier];
here nameCell.nameTextField.text is always equal to #""
Why is my text field always empty ?
Thank you for your help ;)

Answer 1

If you need a cell you should get it like this:
CustomNameCell * cell = (CustomNameCell *)[tableview cellForRowAtIndexPath:indexPath];
NSString * textInField = cell.nameTextField.text;
If you tell me what logic do you need I'll expand my question. For now - you can use this method.
Content of the first cell will be:
CustomNameCell * cell = (CustomNameCell *)[tableview cellForRowAtIndexPath:[NSIndexPath indexPathForRow:0 inSection:0]];
NSString * textInField = cell.nameTextField.text;

Answer 2

You shouldn't call [_tableview dequeueReusableCellWithIdentifier:CellIdentifier];within your - (IBAction)search:(id)sender as it is a mechanism to reuse a cell during the creation of your tableView. Instead of creating new cell when you are scrolling your tableview you are reusing some cells you have previously created.
Bottom line: use instead the cellForRowAtIndexPath to access a cell at a specific row in your section and if you want the first cell of the first section it would be:
CustomNameCell * cell = (CustomNameCell *)[tableview cellForRowAtIndexPath:[NSIndexPath indexPathForRow:0 inSection:0]];

Answer 3

I just do in this Way. I dont know it is the current way to do that.
-(NSInteger)numberOfSectionsInTableView:(UITableView *)tableView
{
return 1;
}
-(NSInteger)tableView:(UITableView *)tableView numberOfRowsInSection:(NSInteger)section
{
return cellContentArray.count;
}
-(UITableViewCell *)tableView:(UITableView *)tableView cellForRowAtIndexPath:(NSIndexPath *)indexPath
{
static NSString *cellId=#"cell";
UITableViewCell *cell=[tableView dequeueReusableCellWithIdentifier:cellId forIndexPath:indexPath];
if (cell==nil) {
cell=[[UITableViewCell alloc]initWithStyle:UITableViewCellStyleDefault reuseIdentifier:cellId];
}
UITextField *firsttext=[cell viewWithTag:101];
UITextField *second=[cell viewWithTag:102];
[second setTag:(indexPath.row)+1000];
[firsttext setTag:(indexPath.row)+100];
return cell;
}
- (IBAction)buttonPressed:(id)sender
{
for (int i=0; i<cellContentArray.count; i++) {
UITableViewCell * cell = (UITableViewCell *)[baseTableveiew cellForRowAtIndexPath:[NSIndexPath indexPathForRow:i inSection:0]];
UITextField *tempTextField=[cell viewWithTag:i+100];
UITextField *secondTextField=[cell viewWithTag:i+1000];
NSString * textInField = tempTextField.text;
NSLog(#"tempTExtTiedl tag %ld data %#",(long)tempTextField.tag, textInField);
NSLog(#"second tag %ld data %#",(long)secondTextField.tag, secondTextField.text);
}
}