The Attributes Inspector window (see Figure C-6) is where you configure the attributes of views in Interface Builder. The content of the Attributes Inspector window is dynamic and will change depending on what is selected in the View window.

Figure C.6. Figure C-6

You invoke the Attributes Inspector window by choosing Tools

The Connections Inspector window (see Figure C-7) is where you connect the outlets and actions to your View Controller in Interface Builder. The content of the Connections Inspector window is dynamic and will change depending on what is selected in the View window.

Figure C.7. Figure C-7

You invoke the Connections Inspector window by choosing Tools

The Size Inspector window (see Figure C-8) is where you configure the size and positioning of views in Interface Builder.

Figure C.8. Figure C-8

The Size Inspector window can be invoked by choosing Tools

The Size Inspector window (see Figure C-9) is where you configure the outlets and actions of your view controller. You add actions and outlets by clicking the plus sign (+) button and remove them using the minus sign button(–). The last section in this appendix discusses in more detail how to create outlets and actions in Interface Builder.

Figure C.9. Figure C-9

You invoke the Identity Inspector window by choosing Tools

To create an action, you can click the plus sign (+) button that appears in the Class Actions section of the Identity Inspector window (see left side of Figure C-13). Remember to include the colon (:) character at the end of the action name. This character allows the action to have an input parameter of type id, like this:

-(IBAction) myAction:(id) sender;

Figure C.13. Figure C-13

Be sure to note that in Figure C-13 both the outlet and action are listed under the HelloWorldViewController.xib header. This is because the outlet and action are defined within Interface Builder.

Likewise, click the plus sign (+) button in the Class Outlets section of the Identity Inspector window to create an outlet. It is always good to specify the type for the outlet that you are defining. Using the preceding sample, if you want the outlet to connect to a UITextField view, you should specify the type of myOutlet1 as UITextField rather than id.

After the outlet and action are created using Interface Builder, you still need to define them in the .h file, like this:

#import <UIKit/UIKit.h>

@interface HelloWorldViewController : UIViewController {

IBOutlet UITextField *myOutlet1;

}

-(IBAction) myAction1:(id) sender;

@end

Going back to the Identity Inspector window in Interface Builder, observe again that both the outlet and action are now listed under the HelloWorldViewController.h header (see Figure C-14). If you now try to click the plus sign (+) button again, the outlet or action will be listed under the HelloWorldViewController.xib header until you define them in the .h file.

Figure C.14. Figure C-14

Actually, a much simpler way is to define the outlets and actions directly in the .h files of your view controllers first. That saves you the trouble of defining them in the Identity Inspector window of the Interface Builder.

Alternately, if you do not want to manually type in the declaration of the outlets and actions in your View Controller class, you can create the outlets and actions in the Identity Inspector window, select the File's Owner item, and then choose File

Take note that for code generated by Interface Builder, the outlets will not be exposed as properties. You must manually add the code to expose the properties using the @property keyword and the @synthesize keyword to generate the getters and setters for the properties.

To connect the outlets and actions to the views, you have two options, both which are discussed in the following sections.

Method 1

For connecting outlets, Control-click and drag the File's Owner item to the view to which you want to connect (see Figure C-15).

Figure C.15. Figure C-15

When you release the mouse button, a list appears from which you can select the correct outlet. When defining your outlets (in the Identity Inspector window, or in code), remember that you can specify the type of view your outlet is referring to. When you release the mouse button, Interface Builder lists only the outlets that match the type of view you have selected. For example, if you defined myOutlet1 as UIButton and you Control-click and drag the File's Owner item to the Text Field view on the View window, the myOutlet1 will not appear in the list of outlets.

For connecting actions, Control-click and drag the view to the File's Owner item in the .xib window (see Figure C-16).

Figure C.16. Figure C-16

When you release the mouse button, a list appears from which you can select the correct action.

When you have connected the outlets and actions, a good practice is to view all the connections in the File's Owner item by right-clicking it. Figure C-17 shows that the File's Owner item is connected to the Text Field view through the myOutlet1 outlet, and the Button's Touch Up Inside event is connected to the myAction1: action.

Figure C.17. Figure C-17

How does the Button know that it is the Touch Up Inside event (and not other events) that should be connected to the myAction1: action when you Control-click and drag the Button to the File's Owner item? Well, the Touch Up Inside event is such a commonly used event that it is the default event selected when you perform a Control-click and drag action. What if you want to connect other events other than the default event? The second method shows you how.

Method 2

An alternative method for connecting outlets is to right-click the File's Owner item and connect the outlet to the view directly (see Figure C-18).

Figure C.18. Figure C-18

For connecting actions, you can connect the relevant action with the views to which you want to connect (see Figure C-19). When you release the mouse button, the list of available events appears, and you can select the event you want.

Figure C.19. Figure C-19

Alternatively, you can right-click the view in question and connect the relevant events to the File's Owner item (see Figure C-20). When you release the mouse button, a list of actions is shown. Select the action to which you want to connect.

Figure C.20. Figure C-20