How to add a UIToolbar to a UITableViewController programmatically? - iphone

Question

I have opted to use a UITableViewController without a nib. I need a UIToolbar at the bottom with two buttons. What is the simplest way of doing that?
P.S. I know that I can easily use a UIViewController and add a UITableView however I want things to look consistent across the app.
Can someone help?
I saw the following example and I am not sure on its validity:
(void)viewWillAppear:(BOOL)animated {
[super viewWillAppear:animated];
//Initialize the toolbar
toolbar = [[UIToolbar alloc] init]; toolbar.barStyle = UIBarStyleDefault;
//Set the toolbar to fit the width of the app.
[toolbar sizeToFit];
//Caclulate the height of the toolbar
CGFloat toolbarHeight = [toolbar frame].size.height;
//Get the bounds of the parent view
CGRect rootViewBounds = self.parentViewController.view.bounds;
//Get the height of the parent view.
CGFloat rootViewHeight = CGRectGetHeight(rootViewBounds);
//Get the width of the parent view,
CGFloat rootViewWidth = CGRectGetWidth(rootViewBounds);
//Create a rectangle for the toolbar
CGRect rectArea = CGRectMake(0, rootViewHeight - toolbarHeight, rootViewWidth, toolbarHeight);
//Reposition and resize the receiver
[toolbar setFrame:rectArea];
//Create a button
UIBarButtonItem *infoButton = [[UIBarButtonItem alloc] initWithTitle:#"back"
style:UIBarButtonItemStyleBordered
target:self
action:#selector(info_clicked:)];
[toolbar setItems:[NSArray arrayWithObjects:infoButton,nil]];
//Add the toolbar as a subview to the navigation controller.
[self.navigationController.view addSubview:toolbar];
[[self tableView] reloadData];
}
(void) info_clicked:(id)sender {
[self.navigationController popViewControllerAnimated:YES];
[toolbar removeFromSuperview];
}

Answer 1

The simpler thing to do is to build your project on top of a UINavigationController. It already has a toolbar, it's just hidden by default. You can reveal it by toggling the toolbarHidden property, and your table view controller will be able to use it as long as it's in the navigation controller hierarchy.
In your app delegate, or in the object your app delegate passes control to, create the navigation controller with your UITableViewController as the root view controller:
- ( void )application: (UIApplication *)application
didFinishLaunchingWithOptions: (NSDictionary *)options
{
MyTableViewController *tableViewController;
UINavigationController *navController;
tableViewController = [[ MyTableViewController alloc ]
initWithStyle: UITableViewStylePlain ];
navController = [[ UINavigationController alloc ]
initWithRootViewController: tableViewController ];
[ tableViewController release ];
/* ensure that the toolbar is visible */
navController.toolbarHidden = NO;
self.navigationController = navController;
[ navController release ];
[ self.window addSubview: self.navigationController.view ];
[ self.window makeKeyAndVisible ];
}
Then set the toolbar items in your MyTableViewController object:
- ( void )viewDidLoad
{
UIBarButtonItem *buttonItem;
buttonItem = [[ UIBarButtonItem alloc ] initWithTitle: #"Back"
style: UIBarButtonItemStyleBordered
target: self
action: #selector( goBack: ) ];
self.toolbarItems = [ NSArray arrayWithObject: buttonItem ];
[ buttonItem release ];
/* ... additional setup ... */
}

Answer 2

You also can just check "shows toolbar" option in NavigationController attributes inspector.

Answer 3

Here is a simple example, which may help
UIBarButtonItem *spaceItem = [[UIBarButtonItem alloc] initWithBarButtonSystemItem:UIBarButtonSystemItemFlexibleSpace target:nil action:nil];
UIBarButtonItem *trashItem = [[UIBarButtonItem alloc] initWithBarButtonSystemItem:UIBarButtonSystemItemTrash target:self action:#selector(deleteMessages)];
UIBarButtonItem *composeItem = [[UIBarButtonItem alloc] initWithBarButtonSystemItem:UIBarButtonSystemItemCompose target:self action:#selector(composeMail)];
NSArray *toolbarItems = [NSMutableArray arrayWithObjects:spaceItem, trashItem,spaceItem,composeItem,nil];
self.navigationController.toolbarHidden = NO;
[self setToolbarItems:toolbarItems];
Thanks,
prodeveloper