Mar 29 2020
(Here using macOS 13, Xcode 10, Swift 4.2, but NSFontDescriptor also exists on iOS, just substitute UIFont). The recommended way of saving a font is not to do it (a bit flippant, sorry) – but in WWDC session 223 from 2013 (Using Fonts with TextKit), the recommendation is specifically to a) not cherry-pick attributes (in […]
Sep 15 2019
(Xcode 10, Swift 4.2, macOS 13.6) This is a common use case: users who just want an overview get a smaller window with the most important content, users who want more detail can click a triangular button and more details unfold. I seem to have tackled this problem several times without feeling completely happy with […]
Jan 29 2019
Xcode 10, Swift 4.2, macOS 10.13. I have two text fields in my preference controller. Their purpose is to allow users to set a preferred default text style, which I will use elsewhere in my application. (This can be handled much more smoothly, but I have other problems to work out, and right now, working […]
Jan 28 2019
Xcode 10, Swift 4.2, macOS 10.13 func fileModificationDate(url: URL) -> Date? { do { let attr = try FileManager.default.attributesOfItem(atPath: url.path) return attr[FileAttributeKey.modificationDate] as? Date } catch { return nil } } FileAttributeKey.creationDate works exactly the same; .size and .type might also be of interest. This beautiful and elegant solution comes from this Stackoverflow answer and […]
Jan 13 2019
Xcode 10, macOS 13.5, Swift 4.2 Without wanting to delve too deep into the NSDocumentController class: It’s part of the document architecture, and if your app uses more than one NSDocument subclass, you will need to override the following method: override func makeUntitledDocument(ofType typeName: String) throws -> NSDocument { switch typeName { case “ThingB”: return […]
Aug 9 2018
I recently found myself in the position where I am happily using a protocol, and needed to work with equality in a context that can be summed up as: var currentObject: MyProtocol = Thing1() { willSet{ if newValue != currentObject { //perform costly operation } } (But really, equality is everywhere. Want to get the […]
May 27 2018
Xcode 9.3; macOS 10.12.6 This came out of the strange case of the scrolling SpriteKit View, which did – in the end – work fine (as in, my SpriteKit scene was displaying) and failed when I tried to add interactions to it. As a result, I went back to the drawing board, played some more […]
May 22 2018
(Xcode 9.3; macOS 10.12.6, Swift 4) If you want a challenge, I recommend you try to implement ‘scrolling SpriteKitView’ yourself before you read the rest of this article. Update (and spoiler): Due to a bug in InterfaceBuilder’s ‘SKView’, you need to use a ‘custom View’ (NSView) in Interface Builder, and change its type to SKView. […]
May 15 2018
This article on CoreData rules is the most concise I have seen. While I have looked at CoreData in some detail and used it in smaller projects, I have never felt completely confident about some of its more esotheric properties and I still flail at questions like ‘So how do I best save my data […]
Aug 7 2020
NSOutlineView: Saving expansion status
(This is not the promised Part III of my previous series. Which is not fully functional and needs an overhaul, but right now, I am lacking time.) In most cases, users expect to find outline views as they left them. So I needed a different solution. Whether an item is expanded or not is, strictly […]
By Extelligent Cocoa • Application Design, Interface • • Tags: NSOutlineView