| Conforms to | |
| Framework | /System/Library/Frameworks/UIKit.framework |
| Availability | Available in iOS 2.0 and later. |
| Declared in | UITextField.h |
The UITextFieldDelegate protocol defines the messages sent to a text field delegate as part of the sequence of editing its text. All of the methods of this protocol are optional.
– textFieldShouldBeginEditing:
– textFieldDidBeginEditing:
– textFieldShouldEndEditing:
– textFieldDidEndEditing:
Asks the delegate if the specified text should be changed.
- (BOOL)textField:(UITextField *)textField shouldChangeCharactersInRange:(NSRange)range replacementString:(NSString *)string
The text field containing the text.
The range of characters to be replaced
The replacement string.
YES if the specified text range should be replaced; otherwise, NO to keep the old text.
The text field calls this method whenever the user types a new character in the text field or deletes an existing character.
UITextField.hTells the delegate that editing began for the specified text field.
- (void)textFieldDidBeginEditing:(UITextField *)textField
The text field for which an editing session began.
This method notifies the delegate that the specified text field just became the first responder. You can use this method to update your delegate’s state information. For example, you might use this method to show overlay views that should be visible while editing.
Implementation of this method by the delegate is optional.
UITextField.hTells the delegate that editing stopped for the specified text field.
- (void)textFieldDidEndEditing:(UITextField *)textField
The text field for which editing ended.
This method is called after the text field resigns its first responder status. You can use this method to update your delegate’s state information. For example, you might use this method to hide overlay views that should be visible only while editing.
Implementation of this method by the delegate is optional.
UITextField.hAsks the delegate if editing should begin in the specified text field.
- (BOOL)textFieldShouldBeginEditing:(UITextField *)textField
The text field for which editing is about to begin.
YES if an editing session should be initiated; otherwise, NO to disallow editing.
When the user performs an action that would normally initiate an editing session, the text field calls this method first to see if editing should actually proceed. In most circumstances, you would simply return YES from this method to allow editing to proceed.
Implementation of this method by the delegate is optional. If it is not present, editing proceeds as if this method had returned YES.
UITextField.hAsks the delegate if the text field’s current contents should be removed.
- (BOOL)textFieldShouldClear:(UITextField *)textField
The text field containing the text.
YES if the text field’s contents should be cleared; otherwise, NO.
The text field calls this method in response to the user pressing the built-in clear button. (This button is not shown by default but can be enabled by changing the value in the clearButtonMode property of the text field.) This method is also called when editing begins and the clearsOnBeginEditing property of the text field is set to YES.
Implementation of this method by the delegate is optional. If it is not present, the text is cleared as if this method had returned YES.
UITextField.hAsks the delegate if editing should stop in the specified text field.
- (BOOL)textFieldShouldEndEditing:(UITextField *)textField
The text field for which editing is about to end.
YES if editing should stop; otherwise, NO if the editing session should continue
This method is called when the text field is asked to resign the first responder status. This might occur when your application asks the text field to resign focus or when the user tries to change the editing focus to another control. Before the focus actually changes, however, the text field calls this method to give your delegate a chance to decide whether it should.
Normally, you would return YES from this method to allow the text field to resign the first responder status. You might return NO, however, in cases where your delegate detects invalid contents in the text field. By returning NO, you could prevent the user from switching to another control until the text field contained a valid value.
Note: If you use this method to validate the contents of the text field, you might also want to provide feedback to that effect using an overlay view. For example, you could temporarily display a small icon indicating the text was invalid and needs to be corrected. For more information about adding overlays to text fields, see the methods of UITextField.
Be aware that this method provides only a recommendation about whether editing should end. Even if you return NO from this method, it is possible that editing might still end. For example, this might happen when the text field is forced to resign the first responder status by being removed from its parent view or window.
Implementation of this method by the delegate is optional. If it is not present, the first responder status is resigned as if this method had returned YES.
UITextField.hAsks the delegate if the text field should process the pressing of the return button.
- (BOOL)textFieldShouldReturn:(UITextField *)textField
The text field whose return button was pressed.
YES if the text field should implement its default behavior for the return button; otherwise, NO.
The text field calls this method whenever the user taps the return button. You can use this method to implement any custom behavior when the button is tapped.
UITextField.hLast updated: 2008-06-16