Detecting which UIButton was pressed in a UITableV

Question

I have a UITableView with 5 UITableViewCells. Each cell contains a UIButton which is set up as follows:

- (UITableViewCell *)tableView:(UITableView *)tableView cellForRowAtIndexPath:(NSIndexPath *)indexPath
{
     NSString *identifier = @"identifier";
     UITableViewCell *cell = [tableView dequeueReusableCellWithIdentifier:identifier];
     if (cell == nil) {
         cell = [[UITableView alloc] initWithStyle:UITableViewCellStyleDefault reuseIdentifier:identifier];
         [cell autorelelase];

         UIButton *button = [[UIButton alloc] initWithFrame:CGRectMake(10, 5, 40, 20)];
         [button addTarget:self action:@selector(buttonPressedAction:) forControlEvents:UIControlEventTouchUpInside];
         [button setTag:1];
         [cell.contentView addSubview:button];

         [button release];
     }

     UIButton *button = (UIButton *)[cell viewWithTag:1];
     [button setTitle:@"Edit" forState:UIControlStateNormal];

     return cell;
}

My question is this: in the buttonPressedAction: method, how do I know which button has been pressed. I've considered using tags but I'm not sure this is the best route. I'd like to be able to somehow tag the indexPath onto the control.

- (void)buttonPressedAction:(id)sender
{
    UIButton *button = (UIButton *)sender;
    // how do I know which button sent this message?
    // processing button press for this row requires an indexPath. 
}

What's the standard way of doing this?

Edit:

I've kinda solved it by doing the following. I would still like to have an opinion whether this is the standard way of doing it or is there a better way?

- (UITableViewCell *)tableView:(UITableView *)tableView cellForRowAtIndexPath:(NSIndexPath *)indexPath
{
     NSString *identifier = @"identifier";
     UITableViewCell *cell = [tableView dequeueReusableCellWithIdentifier:identifier];
     if (cell == nil) {
         cell = [[UITableView alloc] initWithStyle:UITableViewCellStyleDefault reuseIdentifier:identifier];
         [cell autorelelase];

         UIButton *button = [[UIButton alloc] initWithFrame:CGRectMake(10, 5, 40, 20)];
         [button addTarget:self action:@selector(buttonPressedAction:) forControlEvents:UIControlEventTouchUpInside];
         [cell.contentView addSubview:button];

         [button release];
     }

     UIButton *button = (UIButton *)[cell.contentView.subviews objectAtIndex:0];
     [button setTag:indexPath.row];
     [button setTitle:@"Edit" forState:UIControlStateNormal];

     return cell;
}

- (void)buttonPressedAction:(id)sender
{
    UIButton *button = (UIButton *)sender;
    int row = button.tag;
}

What's important to note is that I can't set the tag in the creation of the cell since the cell might be dequeued instead. It feels very dirty. There must be a better way.

Answer 1

create an nsmutable array and put all button in that array usint[array addObject:yourButton];

in the button press method

-

 (void)buttonPressedAction:(id)sender
{
    UIButton *button = (UIButton *)sender;

for(int i=0;i<[yourArray count];i++){

if([buton isEqual:[yourArray objectAtIndex:i]]){

//here write wat u need to do

}
}

Answer 2

With Swift 4.2 and iOS 12, you can choose one the following complete examples in order to solve your problem.

---

#1. Using UIView's convert(_:to:) and UITableview's indexPathForRow(at:)

import UIKit

private class CustomCell: UITableViewCell {

    let button = UIButton(type: .system)

    override init(style: UITableViewCell.CellStyle, reuseIdentifier: String?) {
        super.init(style: style, reuseIdentifier: reuseIdentifier)

        button.setTitle("Tap", for: .normal)
        contentView.addSubview(button)

        button.translatesAutoresizingMaskIntoConstraints = false
        button.centerXAnchor.constraint(equalTo: contentView.centerXAnchor).isActive = true
        button.centerYAnchor.constraint(equalTo: contentView.centerYAnchor).isActive = true
        button.topAnchor.constraint(equalToSystemSpacingBelow: contentView.topAnchor, multiplier: 1).isActive = true
        button.leadingAnchor.constraint(greaterThanOrEqualToSystemSpacingAfter: contentView.leadingAnchor, multiplier: 1).isActive = true
    }

    required init?(coder aDecoder: NSCoder) {
        fatalError("init(coder:) has not been implemented")
    }

}

import UIKit

class TableViewController: UITableViewController {

    override func viewDidLoad() {
        super.viewDidLoad()
        tableView.register(CustomCell.self, forCellReuseIdentifier: "CustomCell")
    }

    override func tableView(_ tableView: UITableView, numberOfRowsInSection section: Int) -> Int {
        return 3
    }

    override func tableView(_ tableView: UITableView, cellForRowAt indexPath: IndexPath) -> UITableViewCell {
        let cell = tableView.dequeueReusableCell(withIdentifier: "CustomCell", for: indexPath) as! CustomCell
        cell.button.addTarget(self, action: #selector(customCellButtonTapped), for: .touchUpInside)
        return cell
    }

    @objc func customCellButtonTapped(_ sender: UIButton) {
        let point = sender.convert(CGPoint.zero, to: tableView)
        guard let indexPath = tableView.indexPathForRow(at: point) else { return }
        print(indexPath)
    }

}

---

#2. Using UIView's convert(_:to:) and UITableview's indexPathForRow(at:) (alternative)

This is an alternative to the previous example where we pass nil to the target parameter in addTarget(_:action:for:). This way, if the first responder does not implement the action, it will be send to the next responder in the responder chain until until a proper implementation is found.

import UIKit

private class CustomCell: UITableViewCell {

    let button = UIButton(type: .system)

    override init(style: UITableViewCell.CellStyle, reuseIdentifier: String?) {
        super.init(style: style, reuseIdentifier: reuseIdentifier)

        button.setTitle("Tap", for: .normal)
        button.addTarget(nil, action: #selector(TableViewController.customCellButtonTapped), for: .touchUpInside)
        contentView.addSubview(button)

        button.translatesAutoresizingMaskIntoConstraints = false
        button.centerXAnchor.constraint(equalTo: contentView.centerXAnchor).isActive = true
        button.centerYAnchor.constraint(equalTo: contentView.centerYAnchor).isActive = true
        button.topAnchor.constraint(equalToSystemSpacingBelow: contentView.topAnchor, multiplier: 1).isActive = true
        button.leadingAnchor.constraint(greaterThanOrEqualToSystemSpacingAfter: contentView.leadingAnchor, multiplier: 1).isActive = true
    }

    required init?(coder aDecoder: NSCoder) {
        fatalError("init(coder:) has not been implemented")
    }

}

import UIKit

class TableViewController: UITableViewController {

    override func viewDidLoad() {
        super.viewDidLoad()
        tableView.register(CustomCell.self, forCellReuseIdentifier: "CustomCell")
    }

    override func tableView(_ tableView: UITableView, numberOfRowsInSection section: Int) -> Int {
        return 3
    }

    override func tableView(_ tableView: UITableView, cellForRowAt indexPath: IndexPath) -> UITableViewCell {
        let cell = tableView.dequeueReusableCell(withIdentifier: "CustomCell", for: indexPath) as! CustomCell
        return cell
    }

    @objc func customCellButtonTapped(_ sender: UIButton) {
        let point = sender.convert(CGPoint.zero, to: tableView)
        guard let indexPath = tableView.indexPathForRow(at: point) else { return }
        print(indexPath)
    }

}

---

#3. Using UITableview's indexPath(for:) and delegate pattern

In this example, we set the view controller as the delegate of the cell. When the cell's button is tapped, it triggers a call to the appropriate method of the delegate.

import UIKit

protocol CustomCellDelegate: AnyObject {
    func customCellButtonTapped(_ customCell: CustomCell)
}

class CustomCell: UITableViewCell {

    let button = UIButton(type: .system)
    weak var delegate: CustomCellDelegate?

    override init(style: UITableViewCell.CellStyle, reuseIdentifier: String?) {
        super.init(style: style, reuseIdentifier: reuseIdentifier)

        button.setTitle("Tap", for: .normal)
        button.addTarget(self, action: #selector(buttonTapped), for: .touchUpInside)
        contentView.addSubview(button)

        button.translatesAutoresizingMaskIntoConstraints = false
        button.centerXAnchor.constraint(equalTo: contentView.centerXAnchor).isActive = true
        button.centerYAnchor.constraint(equalTo: contentView.centerYAnchor).isActive = true
        button.topAnchor.constraint(equalToSystemSpacingBelow: contentView.topAnchor, multiplier: 1).isActive = true
        button.leadingAnchor.constraint(greaterThanOrEqualToSystemSpacingAfter: contentView.leadingAnchor, multiplier: 1).isActive = true
    }

    required init?(coder aDecoder: NSCoder) {
        fatalError("init(coder:) has not been implemented")
    }

    @objc func buttonTapped(sender: UIButton) {
        delegate?.customCellButtonTapped(self)
    }

}

import UIKit

class TableViewController: UITableViewController, CustomCellDelegate {

    override func viewDidLoad() {
        super.viewDidLoad()
        tableView.register(CustomCell.self, forCellReuseIdentifier: "CustomCell")
    }

    override func tableView(_ tableView: UITableView, numberOfRowsInSection section: Int) -> Int {
        return 3
    }

    override func tableView(_ tableView: UITableView, cellForRowAt indexPath: IndexPath) -> UITableViewCell {
        let cell = tableView.dequeueReusableCell(withIdentifier: "CustomCell", for: indexPath) as! CustomCell
        cell.delegate = self
        return cell
    }

    // MARK: - CustomCellDelegate

    func customCellButtonTapped(_ customCell: CustomCell) {
        guard let indexPath = tableView.indexPath(for: customCell) else { return }
        print(indexPath)
    }

}

---

#4. Using UITableview's indexPath(for:) and a closure for delegation

This is an alternative to the previous example where we use a closure instead of a protocol-delegate declaration to handle the button tap.

import UIKit

class CustomCell: UITableViewCell {

    let button = UIButton(type: .system)
    var buttontappedClosure: ((CustomCell) -> Void)?

    override init(style: UITableViewCell.CellStyle, reuseIdentifier: String?) {
        super.init(style: style, reuseIdentifier: reuseIdentifier)

        button.setTitle("Tap", for: .normal)
        button.addTarget(self, action: #selector(buttonTapped), for: .touchUpInside)
        contentView.addSubview(button)

        button.translatesAutoresizingMaskIntoConstraints = false
        button.centerXAnchor.constraint(equalTo: contentView.centerXAnchor).isActive = true
        button.centerYAnchor.constraint(equalTo: contentView.centerYAnchor).isActive = true
        button.topAnchor.constraint(equalToSystemSpacingBelow: contentView.topAnchor, multiplier: 1).isActive = true
        button.leadingAnchor.constraint(greaterThanOrEqualToSystemSpacingAfter: contentView.leadingAnchor, multiplier: 1).isActive = true
    }

    required init?(coder aDecoder: NSCoder) {
        fatalError("init(coder:) has not been implemented")
    }

    @objc func buttonTapped(sender: UIButton) {
        buttontappedClosure?(self)
    }

}

import UIKit

class TableViewController: UITableViewController {

    override func viewDidLoad() {
        super.viewDidLoad()
        tableView.register(CustomCell.self, forCellReuseIdentifier: "CustomCell")
    }

    override func tableView(_ tableView: UITableView, numberOfRowsInSection section: Int) -> Int {
        return 3
    }

    override func tableView(_ tableView: UITableView, cellForRowAt indexPath: IndexPath) -> UITableViewCell {
        let cell = tableView.dequeueReusableCell(withIdentifier: "CustomCell", for: indexPath) as! CustomCell
        cell.buttontappedClosure = { [weak tableView] cell in
            guard let indexPath = tableView?.indexPath(for: cell) else { return }
            print(indexPath)
        }
        return cell
    }

}