How can you add iOS buttons and features to a Table View based app? - iphone

So basically I have made a storyboard based app which consists of table views and text. It is designed to help new programmers like a handbook. You have a table view which allows you to choose a language, a table view which allows you to choose a section (eg initialisation) a table view to choose a subject (e.g. integer) then a text view of how to go about this.
When it was reviewed, they said
Did not include iOS features. For example, your app was just largely
text table views. It would be appropriate to use native iOS buttons
and iOS features other than just web views, Push Notifications, or
sharing.
I feel like adding these things would degrade from the simplicity and educational purpose of the app. Also, I feel it might be more difficult to navigate if its all iOS button based. Also it might be more difficult to add things later.
So how would you go about adding these things to a table based app so that it can pass the review? I just don't know what they want me to add/change. I have just added a title page with a background image and iOS buttons that direct to the main section a small section and the contact us page. What else can I do?

how would you go about adding these things to a table based app
I'd start by trying to forget about what I'd already done (since that was rejected) and ask myself: how can I design this using the tools available so that the user can quickly get to the information they need?
UIPickerView comes to mind. Instead of going through three screens just to say what you want, a picker with three sections would let you select all three parameters at once.
It'd be nice if you could provide access to the information in the app several ways. What if I want to browse through all the topics? Do I have to choose one section at a to,e, or can I just start reading? A search feature would be nice, so I can find stuff even when I don't know what section it's in. A tab bar and search field would be useful for these.
Perhaps the most important thing is that however it's designed, your app should look polished. It should look like you spent time making it useful and beautiful. Give it some personality.

Related

iOS custom keyboard for multiple choice

I am trying to make an update for my trivia app and want it so that when the user types in the answer he/she only has the option to click A,B,C, or D. Is this possible? and if so, would apple allow this and how do I do it?
You could also just create a custom view with four buttons that appears when necessary. It would be easier than customizing the keyboard, and depending on how you design and implement it, it'll probably look better than an action sheet. UIView provides a rich set of methods to animate views with ease.
Yes, you can customise the keyboard, all the documentation is in the developer library. But it sounds to me you'd be better off using a UIActionSheet if all you are doing is picking from four options.
Edit: For reference, have a look at Custom Views for Data Input in Apple's Text Programming Guide for iOS.

Making an iPhone Application Configurable

For my application I have multiple customers. For each customer there is a different set of images and server URLs. To address this issue I have created customer-specific files. So according to the target selected, the specific file is used for getting the images and dynamically loading them in the UI. But this method works only in case of similar layout for each customer. So precisely saying, the method I am using currently is not scaleable.
Following are the issues which I am facing right now:
The real problem comes when I need to change the layout according to the customer. In case of few screens I can dynamically set the position of elements in UI but its not a feasible solution in case of several XIB files. What is the best industry standard to achieve this?
Addition/deletion/modification of a feature is an issue. Suppose I have a Tab bar in my application. To provide 6 features to a customer, I have 6 different TabBar items in the app. Suppose if one the customer doesn't want any one of the feature from those. Is using a simple if-else to suppress any specific tab a right way to achieve this?
My approach is to not use XIB files and create all objects programmatically.
I have plist configuration files which define the objects in the app going so far as to define:
1) if the app starts with a tabbar or not, (if so how many items, their names and what viewcontrollers they refer to),
2) the viewcontrollers and tableviewcontrollers,
3) any buttons or images or text fields within the view of each viewcontroller etc.
then each version of the app can have different plist files and associated resources.

iOS 4 - How to add table view to a tab bar application

I am new to iPhone programming and am having a really hard time trying to figure out how to add a table view to a tab bar application. There are not many tutorials on this for iOS SDK 4 and the Apple documentation is very light on details. Since I am new I would really like some tutorial that has screenshots (or at least clear instructions) when it comes to things being done in Interface Builder (like making connections between the objects and File Owner, etc), usually lot of tutorials/blogs gloss out these details.
What I am trying to do is create a tab bar based application with 3 tabs (this I am able to do). The first tab needs to display a table view with the header having 2 buttons (one on right and other on left, with the title in middle).The title is actually today's date, obtained from the phone. Clicking either of the header buttons should take you to another table and the title should be yesterday's date (if left button is clicked) and tomorrow's date if right button is clicked.
Can some one please suggest me a good tutorial for this. I am thoroughly confused by the Interface Builder (especially how to create connections).
The only page I remember frequenting on the past, is CocoaDevCentral.
Personally, I learnt how to use Xcode through video tutorials, so I recommend you to start searching there. Also, to help you with your search, always look for the full name of the objects involved, for example: instead of searching for "tableView", look for "UITableView", apple's notation is very particular and helps narrowing down the result.
Finally, ignore the nay-sayers about Interface Builder, you should give it a try, and see if it fits your style. For instance, I like being able to get a look at the overall design, as I usually help with the design.

Help with Application Settings

I'm developing the settings page for an iPhone application I'm working on. The basics are simple enough but there are some interesting things I've seen in the settings for some of the default iPhone and I was wondering if they are easy to create.
Two things in particular are having a UITextView as a child pane (an example of this is the signature in the Mail app settings) as well as having settings appear and disappear based on a switch (an example would be in the Wifi settings).
Any ideas if these are somewhat easily achievable?
EDIT: I'm aware I can achieve a similar effect by creating a custom settings page. What I want to know is if the things I mentioned are possible for application creators.
Use UITableView and build your custom subclasses of UITableViewCell class for various settings. You can easily manipulate a table view for making things appear and disappear dynamically.
As #Kakosquid suggested you can try a table view with custom cells. You can go through this tutorial for more info on custom cells

TableView or ScrollView for edit form?

I wonder which will be the best route for build edit forms on the iPhone, using a TableView or using a scrollview.
I need:
Support up to 15 fields (similar to contact app)
The same behavior of safari forms, where is possible go back/forward among fields, and the form center the selected field and stay there when the user end the editing
Simple layout (one field after other)
I'm looking for the most-user friendly experience. Which route has been proved to be the better?
Exist good examples of great edit forms on iPhone apps?
I would vote for a tableview organized by sections. If nothing else, it is a more common layout and most users will be familiar with it.
In either case, you will have to handle the transition from field to field with custom code.