I have a nib file in which I load at a certain point in my application. Would it be legal for me to link a NSWindow IBOutlet from my AppDelegate to the 2nd nib file's window? In other words, my IBOutlet is not being connected to the MainMenu xib file that Xcode creates on default. If this was legal, can I have access to the NSWindow's frame and other features?
Yes you can do that. In your second nib file, I would use a NSWindowController as the file's owner to the nib. Then in your AppDelegate, create an instance of the NSWindowController and then load the nib. From there, you can inspect the properties of the window owned by NSWindowController or do whatever you want with the window.
Here is an example
#interface MyAppDelegate : NSObject
{
NSWindowController *myWindowController;
}
#end
#implementation MyAppDelegate
- (void)applicationWillFinishLaunching:(NSNotification *)aNotification
{
myWindowController = [[NSWindowController alloc] initWithWindowNibName:#"MySecondWindow"];
[[myWindowController window] center];
[[myWindowController window] makeKeyAndOrderFront:self];
}
#end
In your second nib, set the File's Owner to be your app delegate class. Then attach the outlets as needed within IB. At run time, call [NSBundle loadNibNamed:owner:] and be sure to pass self as the owner.
Yes, this would be legal as long as the App Delegate is the File's Owner of the nib you are loading. That said, if you unload the nib later, you have to make sure that all top level objects in the nib are properly released (otherwise you'll create a memory leak).
Related
I have an xib for the main window, and I created a custom view in the following steps:
Create a new class which inherits from NSView.
MyView.h:
#import <Cocoa/Cocoa.h>
IB_DESIGNABLE
#interface MyView : NSTableCellView
#end
MyView.m:
#import "MyView.h"
#implementation MyView
- (void)awakeFromNib {
NSLog(#"Post view awaking from nib.");
}
#end
Create a new xib, and set the root view's class to the class created above. And design in that xib.
Set outlets from the xib to the class.
And I tried to use this custom view in the main window in the following steps:
Drag a custom view to the main window's xib.
Set the class of that custom view to the class created above.
But nothing renders. From the log, I can see that code in awakeFromNib from the custom view class is executed. When I set the class to be IB_DESIGNABLE, the view gets empty in the main window's xib, different from what I designed.
I tried to set the file owner of the custom view's xib to the custom class, but nothing changed.
I guess the problem is that, the custom view's xib file is not actually loaded. When I googled it, there seem to be few references on this exact topic. So, how should I actually achieve this goal? I.e., design a view in IB, implement its methods in a class, associate these two, and expose it just like a system view for use in other xibs?
UPDATE:
I found a tutorial and realized what I lack (for correctly rendering the view when built). I have to add an outlet from the view in the xib to the view class:
#property (nonatomic, strong) IBOutlet NSView *view;
, and then load it in the (id)initWithCoder:(NSCoder *)coder method.
[[NSBundle mainBundle] loadNibNamed:#"MyView" owner:self topLevelObjects:nil];
[self addSubview:self.view];
But the view still won't render in the interface builder.
Your guess is correct: the xib is not being loaded. The nib loader doesn't know about your custom view's nib. The nib framework doesn't provide a facility for defining that connection, so you need to write code to load the xib.
Here's what I'd do. Add a contentView property to your custom view:
#interface MyView ()
#property (nonatomic, strong, readwrite) IBOutlet NSView *contentView;
#end
In your custom view's nib, set the custom class of the root view back to NSView and disconnect all the (no-longer-valid) outlet connections from it. Set the custom class of File's Owner to your custom class name (e.g. MyView). Connect the root view to File's Owner's contentView outlet, and connect all the other outlets from File's Owner to the appropriate objects in the nib.
Then implement awakeFromNib in your custom view subclass to load the nib and add the content view as a subview:
#implementation MyView {
BOOL hasLoadedOwnNib: 1;
}
- (void)awakeFromNib {
[super awakeFromNib];
[self loadOwnNibIfNeeded];
}
- (void)loadOwnNibIfNeeded {
if (hasLoadedOwnNib) {
return;
}
hasLoadedOwnNib = YES;
[[NSBundle bundleForClass:self.class] loadNibNamed:NSStringFromClass(self.class) owner:self topLevelObjects:nil];
self.contentView.frame = self.bounds;
self.contentView.autoresizingMask = NSViewWidthSizable | NSViewHeightSizable;
[self addSubview:self.contentView];
}
#end
Note that you have to be careful not to allow infinite recursion. When your app loads the main window's nib, it will create an instance of MyView and (eventually) send it awakeFromNib. Then, in awakeFromNib, MyView loads its own nib, where it is the File's Owner. The nib loader sends awakeFromNib to File's Owner, and this will happen while you're already in -[MyView awakeFromNib]. If you don't check for this, you get a stack overflow due to unbounded recursion.
You aren't providing any code, but here are some sanity checks:
Are you specifying the nib name correctly? In iOS its caps sensitive, but I don't think it is for you.
Check the package, is the nib actually there? Make sure it is part of the target you are building.
Could also be a frame issue. Make sure your auto-resizing parameters are set up correctly and that everything is in frame.
Another check you can do is set your IBOutlets to the actual frame of a UIView (or other) that you are interested in. Then in awakeFromNib, you can make sure their frame exists, or that they exist at all.
I have MainMenu.Xib which has a status menu element. The MainMenu File Owner is mapped to AppDelegate.
I also have another Xib which is a Window and it's File Owner is mapped to a ViewController with the same name.
So what I have tried and it kind of works is I have created an action in the appDelegate and have mapped the menu item in the status menu to the action in the appDelete using the First Responder.
In the action I have put:
SubscriptionsViewController *vc = [[SubscriptionsViewController alloc] initWithNibName:#"Subscriptions" bundle:nil];
[vc view];
If I step through the code it the window shows up but then goes away. So I have two questions
1) I thought there was a way to load the xib with NSMenuItem without the need of the above code.
2) How do I keep the window from closing right away? Do I need to save the view pointer or something?
edit: format code.
1) I thought there was a way to load the xib with NSMenuItem without the need of the above code.
Since NSWindow is not inherited from NSView like in iOS (UIWindow:UIView), it makes no sense to use NSViewController to load window from a xib. Use subclass of NSObject instead.
#interface SubscriptionsViewController : NSObject
#property (assign, nonatomic) IBOutlet NSWindow *window;
#end
#implementation SubscriptionsViewController
- (id)init
{
self = [super init];
if (self) {
[NSBundle loadNibNamed:#"Subscriptions" owner:self];
}
return self;
}
#end
2) How do I keep the window from closing right away? Do I need to save the view pointer or something?
It depends on the context to retain the instance of subscriptionsViewController or not. You can use below code to display a window, where the instance of window is in nib -
self.subscriptionsViewController = [[SubscriptionsViewController alloc] init];
[self.subscriptionsViewController.window makeKeyAndOrderFront:self];
Remember if "Visible At Launch" is set in nib, then the window is visible when you instantiate subscriptionsViewController.
You may add your window into the MainMenu.xib instead of using an addition xib file and create an outlet in the AppDelegare.h as
#property (assign) IBOutlet NSWindow *window;
Then all you need to do is
window.isVisible = !window.isVisible;
in the necessary action method...
i am developing an iOS application. I have a controller : iPhonePopUpController, in this controller i have a xib like this image :
My question is, can i add an other xib to this Controller and loaded it when i need it or should i create a second controller to load my second xib ?
You can load anything from a XIB using:
[[NSBundle mainBundle] loadNibNamed:#"YourOtherXIB.xib" owner:someObjectThatWillTakeThePlaceOfFilesOwner options:0]
This line unarchive the XIB named YourOtherXIB.xib by creating the instances of the objects you have in your XIB, and then connect all the outlets and actions you defined in the XIB, and return the list of top-level objects.
When you create a XIB whose File's Owner is an UIViewController, typically you then initialize your UIViewController using code like this:
UIViewController* vc = [[[UIViewController alloc] initWithNibName:nibName bundle:bundle] autorelease];
What this code basically do internally is that it stores the nibName and bundle you provide in some internal property, and when it needs to load its view (especially the first time it needs to display it onscreen), it loads the view from the XIB using something like the line quoted above:
[bundle loadNibNamed:nibName owner:self options:0];
As you connected the view in your XIB to the view IBOutlet of the File's Owner's (which in that case is the self passed as an argument, namely the UIViewController itself), then the view property of your UIViewController will be populated with the view that has just been unarchived from the XIB. And that's how UIViewController loads its view from a XIB file.
But of course you can do the same for your own classes and do not need your File's Owner to be an UIViewController. Simply make your File's Owner be whatever class fits your need, expose a custom IBOutlet from this class and connect it to your objects in your XIB.
For example you can have a MyCustomClass class that declares an IBOutlet UIView* myOtherView;. Define the class of your File's Owner in your XIB to be of the class MyCustomClass, then bind the myOtherView outlet to the view to load from your XIB. Then in the code, create an instance of MyCustomClass and use the above loadNibNamed:owner:options: method by passing this MyCustomClass instance as the owner parameter
Or you can reuse your UIViewController that loaded your primary XIB to load your other view from your secondary XIB too: simply add an IBOutlet UIView* otherView in your UIViewController subclass. In your first XIB, you will connect the view IBOutlet to your primary view but keep the otherView IBOutlet unconnected. In your second XIB, you will connect the otherView IBOutlet to your other view but keep view IBOutlet unconnected. When loading your UIViewController with the first XIB, the view property will be set to the view loaded from your XIB. Then if you want to lazy-load the otherView from the other XIB at a later time, simply call loadNibNamed:owner:options with OtherXIB.xib as the nib name and self as the owner. The OtherXIB will be unarchived and otherView property will be filled with that loaded view.
How to do it? I simply want to load a window and show it in front of the main window.
NSWindowController* controller = [[NSWindowController alloc] initWithWindowNibName: #"MyWindow"];
NSWindow* myWindow = [controller window];
[myWindow makeKeyAndOrderFront: nil];
This code shows the window for one moment and then hides it. IMHO this is because I don't keep reference to the window (I use ARC). [NSApp runModalForWindow: myWindow]; works perfectly but I don't need to show it modally.
Yes, with ARC if you don't hold a reference to the window it will be torn down as soon you as you exit the routine you were in. You need to hold a strong reference to it in an ivar. [NSApp runModalForWindow: myWindow] is different because the NSApplication object holds a reference to the window as long as it is being run modally.
You should likely do something similar to the following, which creates a strong reference to the NSWindowController instance you create:
.h:
#class MDWindowController;
#interface MDAppDelegate : NSObject <NSApplicationDelegate> {
__weak IBOutlet NSWindow *window;
MDWindowController *windowController;
}
#property (weak) IBOutlet NSWindow *window;
#property (strong) MDWindowController *windowController;
- (IBAction)showSecondWindow:(id)sender;
#end
.m:
#import "MDAppDelegate.h"
#import "MDWindowController.h"
#implementation MDAppDelegate
#synthesize window;
#synthesize windowController;
- (IBAction)showSecondWindow:(id)sender {
if (windowController == nil) windowController =
[[MDWindowController alloc] init];
[windowController showWindow:nil];
}
#end
Note that rather than sending the makeKeyAndOrderFront: method directly to the NSWindowController's NSWindow, you can just use NSWindowController's built-in showWindow: method.
While the above code (and sample project below) use a custom subclass of NSWindowController, you also use a generic NSWindowController and create the instance using initWithWindowNibName: (just make sure the File's Owner of the nib file is set to NSWindowController rather than a custom subclass like MDWindowController).
Sample project:
http://www.markdouma.com/developer/MDWindowController.zip
I have a simple Cocoa app. It has two windows, each in a separate xib file:
MainMenu.xib
SecondaryWindow.xib
I have an AppDelegate class, which has a reference to the window in MainMenu.xib. I'm trying to make it have a reference to the window in SecondaryWindow.xib. I'm confused about how to do this. I have made an outlet, as such:
#interface AppDelegate : NSObject <NSApplicationDelegate>
#property (assign) IBOutlet NSWindow *window;
#property (assign) IBOutlet NSWindow *secondaryWindow;
#end
Here's the implementation:
#implementation AppDelegate
#synthesize window = _window;
#synthesize secondaryWindow = _secondaryWindow;
- (void)applicationDidFinishLaunching:(NSNotification *)aNotification {
[NSBundle loadNibNamed:#"SecondaryWindow" owner:self];
NSLog(#"_window = %#", _window);
NSLog(#"_secondaryWindow = %#", _secondaryWindow);
}
#end
_secondaryWindow is always (null)
I've add an outlet from in SecondaryWindow.xib connection the second window to the outlet in AppDelegate. What else do I need to do in SecondaryWindow.xib to make the connection complete?
EDIT: added [NSBundle loadNibNamed...]
You need to load it...
By default, MainWindow.xib is loaded by the framework, which creates its own instance of the app delegate.
You should load your second window from your app delegate (try [NSBundle laodNibNamed:#"SecondaryWindow" owner:self]. when you do this, the File's owner will be the application delegate - change the class of the file's owner in interface builder to reflect that and make your connections to it)
Did you set the type of File's Owner in the secondary window's .xib to the type of your app delegate? And did you then connect the window in that .xib to the secondaryWindow outlet of File's Owner?
If you did those things, and if the .xib is properly included in the project and you've specified the name of the file correctly in the +loadNibNamed:owner: message, then your secondaryWindow property should be populated.