In the main window of my application, I have a collection view such that each collection view item contains an NSTableView. The window controller for this window has an NSString * property projecttitle. This property is bound to an NSTextField in the window for which I have overridden the default return key behavior so that the user can hit Return and write a carriage return into the text field. Now, after changing the string in the text field and THEN dragging an item between the table views for two different collection view items, the projecttitle property becomes nil. I sort of feel like maybe I just have way too much going on here and that this bug will be impossible to track down, but maybe someone has seen something even remotely similar to this behavior elsewhere?
EDIT: Putting a breakpoint on the projecttitle property doesn't seem to yield anything useful. The program execution does not break at all upon dragging and dropping, but the property will indeed be nil after this.
EDIT 2: After more digging around, it appears the behavior is related to the NSFormatter object. It happens not only when dragging and dropping, but apparently any time the nstextfield attempts to resign as responder. This behavior stops when I disconnect the formatter object in IB. Here's the string validation code for the formatter which forces the string to be less than or equal to 4 lines long and with each line being no longer than 32 characters. This seems to work fine when actually typing the in the text field, but apparently, not after.
-(BOOL)isPartialStringValid:(NSString **)partialStringPtr
proposedSelectedRange:(NSRangePointer)proposedSelRangePtr
originalString:(NSString *)origString
originalSelectedRange:(NSRange)origSelRange
errorDescription:(NSString **)error {
NSArray * lines = [*partialStringPtr componentsSeparatedByString:#"\n"];
if ( [lines count] > 4 ) {
return NO;
}
for (NSString * line in lines) {
if ( [line length] > self.maxlength ) {
return NO;
}
}
return YES;
}
Okay, solved. Turned out it was the -getObjectValue:forString:errorDescription: method. I had it implemented as
-(BOOL)getObjectValue:(id *)obj forString:(NSString *)string errorDescription:(NSString **)error {
*obj = string;
return YES;
}
Changing *obj = string to *obj = [NSString stringWithString:string] fixed everything right up.
Related
I have a custom NSTextView subclass, with a custom NSTextStorage component as well. The NSTextStorage modifies the text entered by the user based on context.
Because it's possible that the final text will be shorter than the text originally entered by the user, I had to override insertText:replacementRange in my NSTextView. A minimum example is:
- (void) insertText:(id)string replacementRange:(NSRange)replacementRange {
if ([self hasMarkedText]) {
[[self textStorage] replaceCharactersInRange:[self markedRange] withString:string];
} else {
[[self textStorage] replaceCharactersInRange:[self selectedRange] withString:string];
}
[self didChangeText];
}
This works fine in extensive testing over several months.... Except that automatic spell checking and correction is disabled. The "squigglies" don't appear under misspelled words, unless I stop typing, move the mouse, and switch focus to and from my app. After several seconds, the entire textview is spellcheck'ed. Because it happens after the fact, automatic correction is disabled of course.
If I disable my custom insertText:replacementRange: method, everything else works fine, and automatic spelling functionality returns. I just have to be careful not to trigger a change that results in shortening the text, as it triggers attribute out of range errors (the original reason for my custom method in the first place.)
Apparently Apple's implementation of insertText:replacementRange: does much more than mine. I have tried multiple variations on [self checkTextInRange...], [self checkTextInSelection:], etc. None of them restore proper functionality.
Searching Apple's documentation doesn't help point me towards what I am leaving out from my method that is causing spell checking to break. Any pointers or ideas would be much appreciated!!
Thanks in advance!
EDIT: Here are some examples of the sorts of behavior my NSTextStorage provides. (| represents the insertion caret)
Starting with:
* item
* |
If I hit the return key, I end up with the following (deleting *<space>):
* item
|
Another example, if "Change Tracking" is enabled:
this is thee| time
If I hit delete:
this is the|{--e--} time
As you can see, a single keystroke may result in the addition or deletion of multiple characters from the text.
EDIT 2: FYI -- the issue I have with attributes being out of range occur when the shortening happens while pressing return at the end of the document -- NSTextview attempts to set a new paragraph style only to find that the document is shorter than expected. I can find no way to change the range NSTextview targets.
I have a partial solution.
In my custom insertText:replacementRange: method, prior to didChangeText:
NSinteger wordCount;
NSOrthography * orthography;
static NSInteger theWordCount;
NSOrthography * orthography;
NSRange spellingRange = <range to check>
NSArray * results = [[NSSpellChecker sharedSpellChecker] checkString:[[self textStorage] string]
range:spellingRange
types:[self enabledTextCheckingTypes]
options:NULL
inSpellDocumentWithTag:0
orthography:&orthography
wordCount:&theWordCount];
if (results.count) {
[self handleTextCheckingResults:results forRange:spellingRange types:[self enabledTextCheckingTypes] options:#{} orthography:orthography wordCount:theWordCount];
}
However, this is incomplete:
Spell check and Grammar check works fine
Automatic spelling correction and text replacement do not work (even when enabled)
(EDITED 2018-05-30)
Updated response (2018-05-22):
This issue reared its ugly head again, and I really needed to figure it out.
My custom NSTextStorage is fundamentally the same as described, and still works.
I use a custom insertText:replacementRange: on my NSTextView, but it calls [super insertText:replacementRange:] to take advantage of Apple's behind-the-scenes work that makes spelling, etc. work better. My custom method only needs to set a boolean.
When shortening the text, I still get requests from Apple's insertText:replacementRange: for attributes in a non-existent part of the text. Previously, I would get stuck here, because everything I tried either caused a crash, or caused Apple's code to repeatedly request the non-existing attributes indefinitely.
Finally, I tried returning fake attributes with a NULL rangepointer, and this seems to make Apple's code happy:
- (NSDictionary *) attributesAtIndex:(NSUInteger)location effectiveRange:(nullable NSRangePointer)range {
if (location > _backingAttributes.length) {
// This happens if we shrink the text before the textview is aware of it.
// For example, if we expand "longtext" -> "short" in our smart string, then
// The textview may set and request attributes past the end of our
// _backing string.
// Initially this was due to error in my code, but now I had to add
// This error checking back
NSLog(#"get attributes at (%lu) in (%lu)", (unsigned long)location, (unsigned long)_backingAttributes.length);
NSLog(#"error");
// Apparently returning fake attributes satisfies [NSTextView insertText:replacementRange:]
range = NULL;
return #{
NSForegroundColorAttributeName : [BIColor redColor],
NSFontAttributeName : [BIFont fontWithName:#"Helvetica" size:14.0]
};
} else {
return [_backingAttributes attributesAtIndex:location effectiveRange:range];
}
}
With further testing, this turned out to not be quite enough. I ended up adding the following to the setter to store the invalid attributes and range that macOS was trying to set:
- (void) setAttributes:(NSDictionary<NSString *,id> *)attrs range:(NSRange)range {
if (NSMaxRange(range) > _backingAttributes.length) {
_invalidAttrs = attrs;
_invalidRange = range;
} else {
[self beginEditing];
[_backingAttributes setAttributes:attrs range:range];
[self edited:NSTextStorageEditedAttributes range:range changeInLength:0];
[self endEditing];
}
}
I updated `attributesAtIndex:effectiveRange: to return the following when called with an invalid range, rather than returning the fake attributes above:
// Apparently returning fake attributes satisfies [NSTextView insertText]
*range = _invalidRange;
return _invalidAttrs;
This seems to work under various conditions that would previously trigger an exception or an infinite loop.
I don't know if what I see with a popup button populated by bindings with a value transformer is the way it's supposed to be or not -- the unusual thing I'm seeing (at least with respect to what I've seen with value transformers and table views) is that the "value" parameter in the transformedValue: method is the whole array bound to the array controller, not the individual strings in the array. When I've done this with table views, the transformer is called once for each displayed row in the table, and the "value" parameter is whatever object is bound to that row and column, not the whole array that serves as the content array for the array controller.
I have a very simple app to test this. In the app delegate there is this:
+(void)initialize {
RDTransformer *transformer = [[RDTransformer alloc] init];
[NSValueTransformer setValueTransformer:transformer forName:#"testTransformer"];
}
- (void)applicationDidFinishLaunching:(NSNotification *)aNotification {
self.theData = #[#{#"name":#"William", #"age":#"24"},#{#"name":#"Thomas", #"age":#"23"},#{#"name":#"Alexander", #"age":#"64"},#{#"name":#"James", #"age":#"47"}];
}
In the RDTransformer class is this:
+ (Class)transformedValueClass {
return [NSString class];
}
+(BOOL)allowsReverseTransformation {
return NO;
}
-(id)transformedValue:(id)value {
NSLog(#"%#",value);
return value;
}
In IB, I added an NSPopupButton to the window and an array controller to the objects list. The content array of the controller is bound to App Delegate.theData, and the Content Values of the popup button is bound to Array Controller.arrangedObjects.name with the value transformer, testTransformer.
When I run the program, the log from the transformedValue: method is this:
2012-09-19 20:31:39.975 PopupBindingWithTransformer[793:303] (
)
2012-09-19 20:31:40.019 PopupBindingWithTransformer[793:303] (
William,
Thomas,
Alexander,
James
)
This doesn't seem to be other people's experience from what I can see on SO. Is there something I'm doing wrong with either the bindings or the value transformer?
Unfortunately, this is how NSPopUpButton works. The problem is not limited to that control. If you try binding an NSArrayController.contentArray to another NSArrayControllers.arrangedObject.someProperty you will get the same problem. Here is a simple workaround that I use in all my value transformers, which makes them work with both tables and popups:
You can modify your value transformer in the following way:
-(id)transformedArrayValue:(NSArray*)array
{
NSMutableArray *result = [NSMutableArray array];
for (id value in array)
[result addObject:[self transformedValue:value]];
return result;
}
-(id)transformedValue:(id)value
{
if ([value isKindOfClass:[NSArray class]])
return [self transformedArrayValue:value];
// Do your normal-case transform...
return [value lowercaseString];
}
It's not perfect but it's easy to replicate. I actually put the transformedArrayValue: in a class category so that I don't need to copy it everywhere.
I have several UIViews in my Storyboard and, of course, I can switch between them using a segue. Initially this works just fine:
notenKurse is a NSMutableArray, and kurse1Outlets is an outlet collection with my UITextFields.
int counter = 0;
for (UITextField *tf in kurse1Outlets) {
NSMutableString *t = [NSMutableString stringWithFormat:#"%#", [notenKurse objectAtIndex:counter]];
NSLog(#"Object at index %i is %#", counter, [notenKurse objectAtIndex:counter]);
if ([t isEqualToString:#"42"]) {
[t setString:#""];
}
[tf setText:t];
NSLog(#"UITextField in slot %i should now display %#", counter, t);
counter++;
}
All of my UITextFields are displaying the value stored in the array. But if I go to another view (let's assume I have a Button for it ;) ) Change something, and then go back to the original UIView the above code still gets executed, and there are different values in the array (this is supposed to be). I can see that in the log. But the stupid UITextField just doesn't display anything. Neither what was in there before, nor the new text. But why? The log clearly shows that t is what it's supposed to be, so the error must be in writing it into the textfield, and therefore I guess it's an outlet issue...
There is no guarantee of the order of your outlet collection. It's treated very much like an NSDictionary as opposed to an NSArray - where order is guaranteed. Iterating over this sort of collection will yield different results for different devices/people/phase of the moon.
When I use a collection like this I tend to set the 'tag' and then reorder the outlet collection when viewDidLoad by sorting off of the tag.
self.calendarDayImageViews = [_calendarDayImageViews sortedArrayUsingComparator:^NSComparisonResult(id obj1, id obj2) {
if ([(UIView *)obj1 tag] < [(UIView *)obj2 tag]) {
return NSOrderedAscending;
}
else if([(UIView *)obj1 tag] > [(UIView *)obj2 tag]){
return NSOrderedDescending;
}
else{
return NSOrderedSame;
}
}];
You can just output the tf,by
NSLog(#"%#",tf);
To check if the tf is null
Ok, i found it. I forgot to release some stuff, and so my UITextFields did get set before the array was sorted. My mistake!
Here's my setup:
myTextField is bound to a key in the Shared User Defaults Controller. The user can only enter numbers in the text field.
Each time my application loads, I load default preferences (from the app's Resources folder) using [[NSUserDefaults standardUserDefaults] registerDefaults: ... ].
myMenuItem's title is bound to the same key in the Shared User Defaults Controller.
The issue:
When myTextField is empty, myMenuItem receives the default value that was loaded using registerDefaults: instead of some value that represents the empty field (I would expect 0 or nil).
For example, when the NSTextField is empty the menu item receives "2", the value that was loaded using registerDefaults:, instead of some value that means that the field is empty.
If I comment the registerDefaults: code, the binding returns nil as I would expect when there is nothing in the NSTextField.
I tried to mess around with many of the bindings' settings as well as experiment with placeholder values and I looked at the Cocoa Bindings and User Defaults docs but I could not find the solution.
Expected behavior:
When the text field is empty, I want myMenuItem to reflect that instead of using the default value that was registered using registerDefaults:.
Any help would be greatly appreciated.
I got some hints from the nice folks at irc.freenode.org #macdev and found the following to be the solution to my problem:
Creating a subclass of NSFormatter (or NSNumberFormatter in my case) and overriding getObjectValue:forString:errorDescription: as follows overrides the default behaviour of returning nil (which makes the binding use the registered default value) to instead return 0 when the text field is empty.
- (BOOL)getObjectValue:(id *)anObject forString:(NSString *)string errorDescription:(NSString **)error {
if ([string isEqualToString:#""]) {
*anObject = [NSNumber numberWithInt:0];
return YES;
} else {
return [super getObjectValue:anObject forString:string errorDescription:error];
}
}
A NSValueTransformer subclass' reverse conversion method would have also worked for this.
Note:
The solution above does not work for strings. That is, if your userDefault value is a string and you've bound that to the value of an NSTextField and you subclass NSFormatter and do this:
- (BOOL)getObjectValue:(id *)anObject forString:(NSString *)string errorDescription:(NSString **)error {
if ([string isEqualToString:#""]) {
*anObject = nil;
}
return YES;
}
You'll find that when the NSTextField is empty, the binding is set to whatever value you originally registered using -registerDefaults: rather than to an empty string or a nil value. I attempted to use *anObject = [NSNull null]; as well, but that didn't work either --- the binding is still set to the original, default value.
I ended up setting *anObject = #" "; (a string with a single space) in the code above, so that when the textField is empty, the value in the userDefaults pList is set to the string: #" ". I then check for that string everywhere that uses that userDefault value and respond appropriately (ignore the single space and treat it as if the userDefault value were empty).
It's an ugly hack, but the only way I can find to work around this issue currently. I'm posting it here in case someone else stumbles on this thread. If you ask me, binding an NSTextField to a userDefault should bloody well set that userDefault to an empty string when the textField is empty! Why Apple chose to do it the way they did is beyond me.
I have a method which I created that appends some new text to a UILabel. I've tried two ways of doing this (one is commented out) but both of them only update the label the first time. Any more calls to this method do not update the label.
- (void) updateLog: (NSString*) text
{
/*
NSMutableString *newText = [logLabel.text mutableCopy];
[newText appendString: text];
logLabel.text = newText;
*/
logLabel.text = [logLabel.text stringByAppendingFormat:#"%#", text];
}
I am calling the method like this (the method is in the viewController):
[viewController updateLog: #"\nStarting...\n"]; // Works
[viewController updateLog: #"Test\n"]; // Does not work
I have searched everywhere for an answer, what am I missing? Thanks!
UILabel, unless set up otherwise, only displays a single line of text.
Change the numberOfLines property if you want more.
I actually figured this out. Turns out the string WAS being successfully updated, but the label size was too small, so the text was hidden.