Custom UITabBar background image not working in iOS 5 and later - iphone

Question

I have a simple piece of code that places a background image on the tabBar.
UIImageView *imageView = [[UIImageView alloc] initWithImage:[UIImage imageNamed:#"tabBG.png"]];
[self.tabBarController.tabBar insertSubview:imageView atIndex:0];
[imageView release];
This works fine in iOS 4 but when testing in iOS 5, it doesn't work.
I'm trying to do the following:
UIImageView *imageView = [[UIImageView alloc] initWithImage:[UIImage imageNamed:#"tabBG.png"]];
NSString *reqSysVer = #"4.3";
NSString *iOSVersion = [[UIDevice currentDevice] systemVersion];
if ([iOSVersion compare:reqSysVer options:NSNumericSearch] !=NSOrderedDescending) {
// code for iOS 4.3 or below
[self.tabBarController.tabBar insertSubView:imageView atIndex:0];
}
else {
// code for iOS 5
[self.tabBarController.tabBar insertSubView:imageView atIndex:1];
}
[imageView release];
Alas, this isn't working... Can anyone offer a solution?

Answer 1

iOS5 offers the UIAppearance Proxy.
Also, it's best practice to switch your code based on the capability (in this case it's respondsToSelector) instead of iOS version - that's a fragile assumption (who's to say it doesn't change in the future).
You can set it for just that instance or globally for all tab bars:
// not supported on iOS4
UITabBar *tabBar = [tabController tabBar];
if ([tabBar respondsToSelector:#selector(setBackgroundImage:)])
{
// set it just for this instance
[tabBar setBackgroundImage:[UIImage imageNamed:#"tabbar_brn.jpg"]];
// set for all
// [[UITabBar appearance] setBackgroundImage: ...
}
else
{
// ios 4 code here
}

Answer 2

//---- For providing background image to tabbar
UITabBar *tabBar = [tabBarController tabBar];
if ([tabBar respondsToSelector:#selector(setBackgroundImage:)])
{
// ios 5 code here
[tabBar setBackgroundImage:[UIImage imageNamed:#"PB_MD_footer_navBg_v2.png"]];
}
else
{
// ios 4 code here
CGRect frame = CGRectMake(0, 0, 480, 49);
UIView *tabbg_view = [[UIView alloc] initWithFrame:frame];
UIImage *tabbag_image = [UIImage imageNamed:#"PB_MD_footer_navBg_v2.png"];
UIColor *tabbg_color = [[UIColor alloc] initWithPatternImage:tabbag_image];
tabbg_view.backgroundColor = tabbg_color;
[tabBar insertSubview:tabbg_view atIndex:0];
}

Answer 3

After reviewing various articles, I found the answer for anyone that's having the same problem:
UIImageView *imageView = [[UIImageView alloc] initWithImage:[UIImage imageNamed:#"tabBG.png"]];
if ([[[UIDevice currentDevice] systemVersion] floatValue] > 4.9) {
//iOS 5
[self.tabBarController.tabBar insertSubview:imageView atIndex:1];
}
else {
//iOS 4.whatever and below
[self.tabBarController.tabBar insertSubview:imageView atIndex:0];
}
[imageView release];
Works like a charm! Enjoy.

Answer 4

I realize this has been solved, I'm posting this for others who had the same issue as me. I wanted to add a background image to the selected tab in a tabbar. Here is the solution:
[[UITabBar appearance] setBackgroundImage:[UIImage imageNamed:#"tabbar.png"]];
[[UITabBar appearance] setSelectionIndicatorImage:[UIImage imageNamed:#"tabbar-item.png"]];
The second line here adds a background image to the selected tab in a tabbar.

Answer 5

There is something new in iOS 5
forBarMetrics:UIBarMetricsDefault
Here is the apple doc on that
[[UINavigationBar appearance] setBackgroundImage:toolBarIMG forBarMetrics:UIBarMetricsDefault];