Construct and manage a graphical, event-driven user interface for your macOS app using AppKit.

AppKit Documentation

Post

Replies

Boosts

Views

Activity

How let scroll event 'sink' to parent view?
I have an uncommon scenario here. outer tableview +--------------------------+ | column 1| inner tableview| +--------------------------+ Now most often the out tableview has many rows and vertical scrollbar visible. When user try to scroll vertically in the inner tableview but it has no vertical scrollbar (because it has only a few items), I want the scroll event sink into its parent view or better outer tableview, so that user does not have to move cursor to first column in outer tableview and scrolls. Is this possible?
1
0
600
Mar ’24
Any way to keep app running while keep main window hidden?
I tried many ways but it seems I just cannot get it working. // AppDelegate func applicationShouldTerminateAfterLastWindowClosed(_ sender: NSApplication) -> Bool { true // false does not work either } // MainWC func windowShouldClose(_ sender: NSWindow) -> Bool { print(#function) if sender === NSApp.mainWindow { print("is main window") sender.setIsVisible(false) return false } return true } Once I hide the main window (using setIsVisible or orderOut) the app quits; even if I return false from applicationShouldTerminateAfterLastWindowClosed, NSApp.mainWindow will become nil.
1
0
578
Mar ’24
updating CommandLine.arguments on repeated 'open -a' commands
Wanted to add some basic scripting capabilities for an AppKit Swift application on macOS. I looked at adding AppleScript support (i.e. Cocoa Scripting) and it, frankly, hurts my head. I then discovered that Swift provides for CommandLine.argc and Commandline.arguments. So, from Terminal, I can do open -a myApp --args arg1 arg2 arg3 and sure enough, MyApp starts and CommandLine.arguments contain arg1, arg2, arg3 along w/ the first entry which is the fully resolved path of the executable. Great! However, if myApp is already running when I execute open -a myApp --args arg4 CommandLine.arguments are not updated and I get the same values as when I originally started the program (i.e. arg1, arg2, arg3 and not arg4). So I added func applicationShouldHandleReopen(_ sender: NSApplication, hasVisibleWindows flag: Bool) -> Bool { parseCommandLine(); return true} to AppDelegate and while parseCommandLine is called for my second open -a command, it still points to the old CommandLine.arguments. Even tried returning false, but no difference. Is there a way for CommandLine to be refreshed if myApp is already running? Or a different way to get the same effect?
0
0
357
Mar ’24
How change NSTableView's width using code?
I calculate cell view's width in func tableView(_ tableView: NSTableView, sizeToFitWidthOfColumn column: Int). I have a need to resize the tableview's width to just match total width of all cell views' (without scrollbars). But it seems changing tableview's width does not work: tableView.bounds.size = CGSize(width: w, height: tableView.bounds.height) I suspect that I should change its clipping view or enclosing scrollview, but don't have any idea on this. Any help?
0
0
492
Mar ’24
Crash When Clicking on Definition View Created by AppKit's showDefinition(for:at)
I'm encountering a crash issue in my macOS application when clicking on the view generated by AppKit's showDefinition(for:at) function. I'm seeking assistance to resolve this issue. **Problem Description: ** I'm developing a macOS application where I utilize the showDefinition(for:at) function provided by AppKit to display the definition view of words. However, whenever I click on this view, the application crashes abruptly. **Error Message: ** The crash log reveals the following error message: Fault: deferNSXPCInvocationOntoMainThread_block_invoke caught NSInternalInconsistencyException '_CPSSetFrontProcessWithOptions failed due to CGError -606 4294966690 fffffda2 (appIsDaemon)' Attempts Made: Tried wrapping relevant code blocks with DispatchQueue.main.async, suspecting a threading issue. Making the DefinitionWindow variable a global one to manually control its lifecycle Development Environment: macOS Version: 14.3.1 Xcode Version: 15 Below is a complete and reproducible code snippet that can be directly executed within a terminal project template. Please note that it requires Accessibility permissions to be granted in the Privacy settings. import Cocoa import SwiftUI import AppKit class AppDelegate: NSObject, NSApplicationDelegate { func applicationDidFinishLaunching(_ notification: Notification) { NSEvent.addGlobalMonitorForEvents(matching: .keyDown) { [weak self] event in guard let self = self else { return } if event.modifierFlags.contains(.command) && event.charactersIgnoringModifiers == "c" { self.ShowWordDefinition() } } NSApp.servicesProvider = self NSApp.registerServicesMenuSendTypes([.string], returnTypes: []) } func ShowWordDefinition(){ DispatchQueue.main.asyncAfter(deadline: .now() + 0.1) { let attributedString = NSAttributedString(string:NSPasteboard.general.string(forType: .string)!) let DefinitionWindow = NSWindow(contentRect: NSRect(origin: .zero, size: NSSize(width: 1, height: 1)), styleMask: [.borderless], backing: .buffered, defer: false) // on the top DefinitionWindow.level = .floating let pointInWindow = NSPoint(x:0,y:0); //default value DefinitionWindow.contentView?.showDefinition(for: attributedString, at: pointInWindow) DefinitionWindow.orderFront(nil) } } } let delegate = AppDelegate() let app = NSApplication.shared app.delegate = delegate app.run() full crash log reveals the following error message: FAULT: deferNSXPCInvocationOntoMainThread_block_invoke caught NSInternalInconsistencyException '_CPSSetFrontProcessWithOptions failed due to CGError -606 4294966690 fffffda2 (appIsDaemon)' with backtrace ( "0 CoreFoundation __exceptionPreprocess + 176", "1 libobjc.A.dylib objc_exception_throw + 60", "2 CoreFoundation +[NSException exceptionWithName:reason:userInfo:] + 0", "3 ViewBridge assertCGError + 80", "4 ViewBridge -[NSRemoteView _serviceWindowWouldActivate] + 724", "5 CoreFoundation __invoking___ + 148", "6 CoreFoundation -[NSInvocation invoke] + 428", "7 ViewBridge __deferNSXPCInvocationOntoMainThread_block_invoke + 120", "8 ViewBridge __wrapBlockWithVoucher_block_invoke + 56", "9 ViewBridge deferredBlockOpportunity_block_invoke_2 + 360", "10 CoreFoundation __CFRUNLOOP_IS_CALLING_OUT_TO_A_BLOCK__ + 28", "11 CoreFoundation __CFRunLoopDoBlocks + 356", "12 CoreFoundation __CFRunLoopRun + 2440", "13 CoreFoundation CFRunLoopRunSpecific + 608", "14 HIToolbox RunCurrentEventLoopInMode + 292", "15 HIToolbox ReceiveNextEventCommon + 648", "16 HIToolbox _BlockUntilNextEventMatchingListInModeWithFilter + 76", "17 AppKit _DPSNextEvent + 660", "18 AppKit -[NSApplication(NSEventRouting) _nextEventMatchingEventMask:untilDate:inMode:dequeue:] + 716", "19 AppKit -[NSApplication run] + 476", "20 try main + 160", "21 dyld start + 2360" ) Just a reminder, the application will crash when you click on the displayed definition window. Potential Questions and Concerns: Could there be an issue related to UI transitions or the main thread? How exactly does the showDefinition(for:at) process work internally? Maybe , the view's display level being raised when clicked caused conflict? If anyone could provide any insights or guidance on resolving this issue, it would be greatly appreciated. Thank you!
0
0
349
Mar ’24
Print dialog issues with objective-c projects on Sonoma
Hello, I have some older objective-c projects that are about creating reports of tables and gantt charts and printing those reports. They work fine on Ventura and BigSur, but after upgrading to Sonoma, I encountered some problems with the Print dialog and options. Specifically, the page preview is not working, and the Close button does not close the dialog and is not responsive. I have to force quit the app to exit the Print dialog. This makes it impossible to print my reports properly. I wonder if this is a bug with Sonoma or with objective-c, and if there is any workaround or fix for this issue. I appreciate any help or advice from the community or the Apple support team. Thank you.
0
0
437
Feb ’24
Crash When Clicking on Definition View Created by AppKit's showDefinition(for:at)
I'm encountering a crash issue in my macOS application when clicking on the view generated by AppKit's showDefinition(for:at) function. I'm seeking assistance to resolve this issue. Problem Description: I'm developing a macOS application where I utilize the showDefinition(for:at) function provided by AppKit to display the definition view of words. However, whenever I click on this view, the application crashes abruptly. Error Message: The crash log reveals the following error message: Fault: deferNSXPCInvocationOntoMainThread_block_invoke caught NSInternalInconsistencyException '_CPSSetFrontProcessWithOptions failed due to CGError -606 4294966690 fffffda2 (appIsDaemon)' Attempts Made: Tried wrapping relevant code blocks with DispatchQueue.main.async, suspecting a threading issue. Making the DefinitionWindow variable a global one to manually control its lifecycle Development Environment: macOS Version: 14.3.1 Xcode Version: 15 I've included a snippet of the function where the view is created: func ShowDefinition(selectedText : String) { DispatchQueue.main.async { let DefinitionWindow = NSWindow(contentRect: NSRect(origin: self.mouseLocation, size: NSSize(width: 1, height: 1)), styleMask: [.borderless], backing: .buffered, defer: false) DefinitionWindow.level = .floating guard let mainScreenFrame = NSScreen.main?.frame else { return } DefinitionWindow.contentView?.showDefinition(for: attributedString, at: pointInWindow) DefinitionWindow.orderFront(nil) } } Potential Questions and Concerns: Could there be an issue related to UI transitions or the main thread? How exactly does the showDefinition(for:at) process work internally? Maybe , the view's display level being raised when clicked caused conflict? If anyone could provide any insights or guidance on resolving this issue, it would be greatly appreciated. Thank you!
0
0
250
Feb ’24
Crash When Clicking on Definition View Created by AppKit's showDefinition(for:at)
I'm encountering a crash issue in my macOS application when clicking on the view generated by AppKit's showDefinition(for:at) function. I'm seeking assistance to resolve this issue. Problem Description: I'm developing a macOS application where I utilize the showDefinition(for:at) function provided by AppKit to display the definition view of words. However, whenever I click on this view, the application crashes abruptly. Error Message: The crash log reveals the following error message: Fault: deferNSXPCInvocationOntoMainThread_block_invoke caught NSInternalInconsistencyException '_CPSSetFrontProcessWithOptions failed due to CGError -606 4294966690 fffffda2 (appIsDaemon)' Attempts Made: Tried wrapping relevant code blocks with DispatchQueue.main.async, suspecting a threading issue. Development Environment: macOS Version: 14.3.1 Xcode Version: 15.2 I've included a snippet of the function where the view is created: func showWordDefinition(selectedText: String) { DispatchQueue.main.async { let DefinitionWindow = NSWindow(contentRect: NSRect(origin: self.mouseLocation, size: NSSize(width: 1, height: 1)), styleMask: [.borderless], backing: .buffered, defer: false) DefinitionWindow.level = .floating guard let mainScreenFrame = NSScreen.main?.frame else { return } DefinitionWindow.contentView?.showDefinition(for: attributedString, at: pointInWindow) DefinitionWindow.orderFront(nil) } Potential Questions and Concerns: Could there be an issue related to UI transitions or the main thread? How exactly does the showDefinition(for:) process work internally? Maybe , the view's display level being raised when clicked? If anyone could provide any insights or guidance on resolving this issue, it would be greatly appreciated. Thank you!
0
0
236
Feb ’24
Any way to use a SymbolEffect in an NSButton
Examples of using SymbolEffect in AppKit all seem to be in NSImageView, and look through APIs it seems that the only way to apply those effect animations outside of SwiftUI is indeed in an NSImageView. I have a NSStatusItem where I'm using an SF Symbol in the NSStatusBarButton title (subclass of NSButton) and was trying to figure out if there was a way to use a SymbolEffect there. If the image of an NSButton uses (used) an NSImageView under the hood, that used to hidden in the buttons cell. Seeing how cells seem to be inaccessible now, perhaps there isn't a NSImageView in there these days anyway. Can NSStatusBarButton titles be provided by a custom view, oh I'm guessing the deprecated view property is still operational, but if I'm trying to release to the Mac App Store, that as equally off-limits as an NSButtonCell would have been. Is there a non-deprecated way that will let me ship to the App Store?
1
2
799
Feb ’24
NSTextList support in macOS 14
This WWDC video (https://developer.apple.com/videos/play/wwdc2022/10090/) shows using NSTextList in TextKit 2 on both iOS and macOS to create bulleted lists in UITextView and NSTextView, respectively. The sample code still works on iOS, but doesn't work on macOS Here's a screenshot from the wwdc talk: Here's the same sample code running on macOS 14.3: Anyone know how to make NSTextList work on macOS 14? Is this a regression, did something change with the api, or has the functionality been removed?
2
3
689
Feb ’24
How to detect the location of a mouseDown event using Swift?
How to detect the location of a mouseDown event using Swift? With the following code snippet, I get the error "Cannot find type 'NSEvent' in scope"? import SpriteKit func mouseDown(with event: NSEvent) { if let ourScene = GameScene(fileNamed: "GameScene") { let location = event.location(in: view) let node:SKNode = ourScene.atPoint(location) if (node.name == "creditsInfo") { showCredits() } } // if let ourScene } // mouseDown Anybody have a floodlight to shine on this very basic error?
5
0
964
Feb ’24
Issue setting a folder icon on Synology NAS
I have code which uses NSWorkspace setIcon:forFile:options: to place icons on folders. The code works everywhere except on a Synology NAS. (QNAP works fine). The method returns failed regardless of the NSWorkspaceIconCreationOptions set on the call. I would have chalked this up to a driver issue except that the user can manually set the icons on the Finder's Get Info panel. This implies that there is another method that I'm missing. Any ideas as to what this is?
0
0
350
Feb ’24
notification about change visible window
Hello, I am trying to get a notification about change visible (top) window on Desktop. I am using NSWorkspaceDidActivateApplicationNotification notification and it works fine except situation of minimize current active application. Nothing is posted in notification center if active window is minimized. Are there any way to get some notification about change top window which is currently displayed on Desktop? Thank you in advance for your help!
0
0
385
Feb ’24
What is changing the size of my window on first appearance?
I have some old code that a user has prodded me into trying to resolve. The issue is that the window does not size correctly on its first appearance. Stepping through my code, on initial entry to the windowDidLoad method, the size is (800, 472), which seems to correspond with the size in Interface Builder. I go and calculate the size that I want, and in one case it turns out to be (1235, 435), and I use setContentSize to get the window to the correct size. However, it is not that size when it appears, and when I get a chance to look at it, the size is (816, 435). When it runs through the same code in response to the user setting the scale, the size is correctly (1235, 435). Just to be non-deterministic, sometimes the height is 411. The numbers may change, but the difference in height is always either 0 or 24. Is there something that runs after windowDidLoad that changes the window size? Or any other clues to track down why the size changes?
3
0
510
Feb ’24
NSWindow Suddenly Closes After NSTextField Ends Editing (By Clicking into Another NSTextField)
Configuration: I have a NSTextField (multiline) inside an NSWindow. I have another NSTextField (single line) inside an NSBox (which is in the same window). The multiline text field is first responder and is editing. I click on the single line text field inside the NSBox to edit that one. The NSWindow just closes. This is on Sonoma 14.2.1. I subclassed NSWindow and override the close method and put a breakpoint. Here's the call stack that leads to the window suddenly closing: #1 0x0000000189c73d90 in -[NSWindow __close] () #2 0x000000032343 in -[NSApplication(NSResponder) sendAction:to:from:] () #3 0x0000000189b543ac in -[NSControl sendAction:to:] () #4 0x0000000189b542f0 in __26-[NSCell _sendActionFrom:]_block_invoke () #5 0x0000000189b54218 in -[NSCell _sendActionFrom:] () #6 0x0000000189b5413c in -[NSButtonCell _sendActionFrom:] () #7 0x0000000189c4c508 in __29-[NSButtonCell performClick:]_block_invoke () #8 0x0000000189c4c264 in -[NSButtonCell performClick:] () #9 0x0000000189b545a8 in -[NSApplication(NSResponder) sendAction:to:from:] () #10 0x0000000189b543ac in -[NSControl sendAction:to:] () #11 0x0000000189befb48 in -[NSTextField textDidEndEditing:] () #12 0x0000000__CFNOTIFICATIONCENTER_IS_CALLING_OUT_TO_AN_OBSERVER__ () #13 0x000000018625c65c in ___CFXRegistrationPost_block_invoke () #14 0x000000018625c5a4 in _CFXRegistrationPost () #15 0x00000001861971dc in _CFXNotificationPost () #16 0x0000000187289ff0 in -[NSNotificationCenter postNotificationName:object:userInfo:] () #17 0x0000000189bef754 in -[NSTextView(NSSharing) resignFirstResponder] () #18 0x0000000189a9fab8 in -[NSWindow _realMakeFirstResponder:] () #19 0x0000000189b4f18c in -[NSWindow(NSEventRouting) _handleMouseDownEvent:isDelayedEvent:] () #20 0x0000000189ada79c in -[NSWindow(NSEventRouting) _reallySendEvent:isDelayedEvent:] () #21 0x0000000189ada45c in -[NSWindow(NSEventRouting) sendEvent:] () #22 0x000000018a1879f4 in -[NSApplication(NSEventRouting) sendEvent:] () #23 0x0000000189dd6908 in -[NSApplication _handleEvent:] () #24 0x00000001899a1d74 in -[NSApplication run] () The mouse click is no where near the close button in the title bar.
2
0
589
Feb ’24
monitor input events
Hello, I need to monitor input events and convert keycode to symbol. E.g. convert kHIDUsage_KeyboardQ to symbol according to used keyboard layout. Are there any API to get current keyboard layout (language) in C++? If I understand correctly, the API TISGetInputSourceProperty() is deprecated. Are there any way to monitor keyboard layout changed? (some system notification in case of keyboard layout change) Are there any way to translate keycode to symbol except UCKeyTranslate() which is part of deprecated Unicode Utilities? Thank you in advance.
1
0
598
Feb ’24
NSTextField problem in XCode 15.2
Because my MacOS app has a user-programmable interface, my coding creates lots of interface elements programmatically. Soon after an update to MacOS 14.3.1, I found some of these element (NSTextFields) did not draw correctly. I had not changed any code but the appearance changed for the worse (the text in the text field did not appear). I then noticed: The problem occurs when I compile in XCode 15.2 (15C500b) Version and run on computer with Sonoma 14.3.1 (23D60) If I instead compile in XCode Version 14.1 (14B47b) on Ventura 13.0.1 (22A400) and copy the app to my computer with Sonoma 14.3.1 (23D60)all works as expected. These results seem to imply XCode 15.2 does not compile correctly? Is this known issue or is there a fix?
2
0
756
Feb ’24