Load a UIView from nib in Swift

Question

Here is my Objective-C code which I'm using to load a nib for my customised UIView:

-(id)init{

    NSArray *subviewArray = [[NSBundle mainBundle] loadNibNamed:@"myXib" owner:self options:nil];
    return [subviewArray objectAtIndex:0];

}

What is the equivalent code in Swift?

Answer 1

Similar to some of the answers above but a more consistent Swift3 UIView extension:

extension UIView {
    class func fromNib<A: UIView> (nibName name: String, bundle: Bundle? = nil) -> A? {
        let bundle = bundle ?? Bundle.main
        let nibViews = bundle.loadNibNamed(name, owner: self, options: nil)
        return nibViews?.first as? A
    }

    class func fromNib<T: UIView>() -> T? {
        return fromNib(nibName: String(describing: T.self), bundle: nil)
    }
}

Which gives the convenience of being able to load the class from a self named nib but also from other nibs/bundles.

Answer 2

More powerful version based on Logan's answer

extension UIView {
    public class func fromNib(nibName: String? = nil) -> Self {
        return fromNib(nibName: nibName, type: self)
    }

    public class func fromNib<T: UIView>(nibName: String? = nil, type: T.Type) -> T {
        return fromNib(nibName: nibName, type: T.self)!
    }

    public class func fromNib<T: UIView>(nibName: String? = nil, type: T.Type) -> T? {
        var view: T?
        let name: String

        if let nibName = nibName {
            name = nibName
        } else {
            name = self.nibName
        }

        if let nibViews = nibBundle.loadNibNamed(name, owner: nil, options: nil) {
            if nibViews.indices.contains(nibIndex), let tog = nibViews[nibIndex] as? T {
                view = tog
            }
        }

        return view
    }

    public class var nibName: String {
        return "\(self)".components(separatedBy: ".").first ?? ""
    }

    public class var nibIndex: Int {
        return 0
    }

    public class var nibBundle: Bundle {
        return Bundle.main
    }
}

And you can use like

class BaseView: UIView {
    override class var nibName: String { return "BaseView" }
    weak var delegate: StandardStateViewDelegate?
}

class ChildView: BaseView {
    override class var nibIndex: Int { return 1 }
}

Answer 3

I prefer this solution (based on the answer if @GK100):

1. I created a XIB and a class named SomeView (used the same name for convenience and readability). I based both on a UIView.
2. In the XIB, I changed the "File's Owner" class to SomeView (in the identity inspector).
3. I created a UIView outlet in SomeView.swift, linking it to the top level view in the XIB file (named it "view" for convenience). I then added other outlets to other controls in the XIB file as needed.

4. In SomeView.swift, I loaded the XIB inside the init or init:frame: CGRect initializer. There is no need to assign anything to "self". As soon as the XIB is loaded, all outlets are connected, including the top level view. The only thing missing, is to add the top view to the view hierarchy:

   class SomeView: UIView {
     override init(frame: CGRect) {
       super.init(frame: frame)
       NSBundle.mainBundle().loadNibNamed("SomeObject", owner: self, options: nil)
       self.addSubview(self.view);    // adding the top level view to the view hierarchy
     }
   
     required init(coder aDecoder: NSCoder) {
       super.init(coder: aDecoder)
       NSBundle.mainBundle().loadNibNamed("SomeObject", owner: self, options: nil)
       self.addSubview(self.view);    // adding the top level view to the view hierarchy
     }
   
   
     ...
   }
   

Answer 4

All you have to do is call init method in your UIView class.

Do it that way:

class className: UIView {

    @IBOutlet var view: UIView!

    override init(frame: CGRect) {
        super.init(frame: frame)
        setup()
    }

    required init?(coder aDecoder: NSCoder) {
        super.init(coder: aDecoder)!
    }

    func setup() {
        UINib(nibName: "nib", bundle: nil).instantiateWithOwner(self, options: nil)
        addSubview(view)
        view.frame = self.bounds
    }
}

Now, if you want to add this view as a sub view in view controller, do it that way in view controller.swift file:

self.view.addSubview(className())

Answer 5

Swift 3 version of Logan's answer

extension UIView {
    public class func fromNib(nibName: String? = nil) -> Self {
        return fromNib(nibName: nibName, type: self)
    }

    public class func fromNib<T: UIView>(nibName: String? = nil, type: T.Type) -> T {
        return fromNib(nibName: nibName, type: T.self)!
    }

    public class func fromNib<T: UIView>(nibName: String? = nil, type: T.Type) -> T? {
        var view: T?
        let name: String

        if let nibName = nibName {
            name = nibName
        } else {
            name = self.nibName
        }

        if let nibViews = Bundle.main.loadNibNamed(name, owner: nil, options: nil) {
            for nibView in nibViews {
                if let tog = nibView as? T {
                    view = tog
                }
            }
        }

        return view
    }

    public class var nibName: String {
        return "\(self)".components(separatedBy: ".").first ?? ""
    }

    public class var nib: UINib? {
        if let _ = Bundle.main.path(forResource: nibName, ofType: "nib") {
            return UINib(nibName: nibName, bundle: nil)
        } else {
            return nil
        }
    }
}

Answer 6

Swift 4 Protocol Extensions

public protocol NibInstantiatable {

    static func nibName() -> String

}

extension NibInstantiatable {

    static func nibName() -> String {
        return String(describing: self)
    }

}

extension NibInstantiatable where Self: UIView {

    static func fromNib() -> Self {

        let bundle = Bundle(for: self)
        let nib = bundle.loadNibNamed(nibName(), owner: self, options: nil)

        return nib!.first as! Self

    }

}

Adoption

class MyView: UIView, NibInstantiatable {

}

This implementation assumes that the Nib has the same name as the UIView class. Ex. MyView.xib. You can modify this behavior by implementing nibName() in MyView to return a different name than the default protocol extension implementation.

In the xib the files owner is MyView and the root view class is MyView.

Usage

MyView.fromNib()