NSTextField

Inherits From: NSControl : NSView : NSResponder : NSObject

Conforms To: NSCoding (NSResponder) NSObject (NSObject)

Declared In: AppKit/NSTextField.h

Class Description

An NSTextField is an NSControl object that can display a piece of text that a user can select or edit, and which sends an action message to its target if the user hits the Return key while editing. An NSTextField can also be linked to other NSTextFields, so that when the user presses Tab or Shift-Tab, the object assigned as the next or previous field gets a message to select its text.

An NSTextField is a good alternative to an NSText object for small regions of editable text, since the display of the NSTextField is achieved by using a global NSText object shared by objects all over your application, which saves on memory usage. Each NSWindow also has an NSText object used for editing of NSTextFields (and NSTextFieldCells in NSMatrices). An NSWindow's global NSText object is called a field editor, since it's attached as needed to an NSTextField to perform its editing. NSTextField allows you to specify an object to act as an indirect delegate to the field editor; the NSTextField itself acts as the NSText delegate if it needs to, then passes the delegate method on to its own NSText delegate.

Setting User Access to Text

• - (BOOL)isEditable Returns whether the NSTextField's text is editable.
• - (BOOL)isSelectable Returns whether the NSTextField's text is selectable.
• - (void)setEditable:(BOOL)flag Sets whether the NSTextField's text is editable.
• - (void)setSelectable:(BOOL)flag Sets whether the NSTextField's text is selectable.

• - (void)selectText:(id)sender Selects all of the text if it's selectable or editable.

• - (id)nextText Gets the object selected when the user presses Tab.
• - (id)previousText Gets the object selected when the user presses Shift-Tab.
• - (void)setNextText:(id)anObject Sets the object selected when the user presses Tab.
• - (void)setPreviousText:(id)anObject Sets the object selected when the user presses Shift-Tab.

• - (void)setDelegate:(id)anObject Sets the delegate for messages from the field editor to anObject.
• - (id)delegate Returns the delegate for messages from the field editor.

• - (NSColor *)backgroundColor Returns the color of the background.
• - (BOOL)drawsBackground Returns whether the NSTextField draws its own background.
• - (BOOL)isBezeled Returns whether the NSTextField has a bezeled border.
• - (BOOL)isBordered Returns whether the NSTextField has a plain border.
• - (void)setBackgroundColor:(NSColor *)aColor Sets the color of the background to aColor.
• - (void)setBezeled:(BOOL)flag Sets whether the NSTextField has a bezeled border.
• - (void)setBordered:(BOOL)flag Sets whether the NSTextField has a plain border.
• - (void)setDrawsBackground:(BOOL)flag Sets whether the NSTextField draws its own background color.
• - (void)setTextColor:(NSColor *)aColor Sets the color of the NSTextField's text to aColor.
• - (NSColor *)textColor Returns the color of the NSTextField's text.

• - (SEL)errorAction Returns the action method sent for an invalid value.
• - (void)setErrorAction:(SEL)aSelector Sets the action method sent (aSelector) for an invalid value entered.

• - (BOOL)acceptsFirstResponder Return YES if text is editable or selectable.
• - (void)textDidBeginEditing:(NSNotification *)notification Invoked when there's a change in the text after the receiver gains first responder status. The default behavior is to pass this message on to the text delegate by posting the notification NSControlTextDidEndEditingNotification with the receiving object and, in the notification's dictionary, the text object (with the key NSFieldEditor) to the default notification center.
• - (void)textDidChange:(NSNotification *)notification Invoked upon a key-down event or paste operation that changes the receiver's contents. The default behavior is to pass this message on to the text delegate by posting the NSControlTextDidChangeNotification notification with the receiving object and, in the notification's dictionary, the text object (with the key NSFieldEditor) to the default notification center.
• - (void)textDidEndEditing:(NSNotification *)notification Invoked when text editing ends. The default behavior is to pass this message on to the text delegate by posting the notification NSControlTextDidEndEditingNotification with the receiving object and, in the notification's dictionary, the text object (with the key NSFieldEditor) to the default notification center.
• - (BOOL)textShouldBeginEditing:(NSText *)textObject Invoked to let the NSTextField respond to impending changes to its text and then forwarded to the text delegate.
• - (BOOL)textShouldEndEditing:(NSText *)textObject Invoked to let the NSTextField respond to impending loss of first responder status and then forwarded to the text delegate.