tableView:shouldEditTableColumn:row: for view-based NSTableView

Question

According to Apple's documentation on [NSTableViewDelegate tableView:shouldEditTableColumn:row:], "this method is only valid for NSCell-based table views". What's its equivalent for view-based table views? I would like to replace the default inline-editing with a custom editing experience.

Answer 1

There's actually no need in this delegate method with view-based table views.

In that case you need to create, for example, some NSView-subclass. There may be nib-file too.

Let's say, you have a class named CustomCellView having some outlets. CustomCellView.h file

#define kCustomCellViewReusableIdentifier @"kCustomCellViewReusableIdentifier" // NSTableView reuses cell views

@interface CustomCellView : NSView

@property (weak) IBOutlet NSImageView *imageView;
@property (weak) IBOutlet NSTextField *textField;

- (void)setCellEditable:(BOOL)editable;

@end

Here's your CustomCellView.m file

@implementation CustomCellView

- (void)awakeFromNib
{
  // paste your ui initializing code here
}

- (void)prepareForReuse
{
  // this method will call each time cell reuses
}

- (void)setCellEditable:(BOOL)editable
{
  [self.textField setEditable:editable];
  // some other code
}

@end

Don't forget to create nib-file and connect your outlets. Your NSTableView owner class must have some initializing code for reusing. MyTableViewController.m

- (void)initUI
{
  NSString *nibName = NSStringFromClass([CustomCellView class]);
  [self.tableView registerNib:[[NSNib alloc] initWithNibNamed:nibName bundle:nil]
                 forIdentifier:kCustomCellViewReusableIdentifier];
}

#pragma mark - table view data source methods

- (NSView *)tableView:(NSTableView *)tableView viewForTableColumn:(NSTableColumn *)tableColumn row:(NSInteger)row
{
   CustomCellView *view=[tableView makeViewWithIdentifier:kCustomCellViewReusableIdentifier owner:nil];
   [view setCellEditable:someCondition]; // 
   return view;
}

#pragma mark - operations

- (void)setViewAtColumn:(NSTableColumn *)tableColumn row:(NSInteger)row editable:(BOOL)editable
{
  CustomCellView *view=[self.tableView viewAtColumn:tableColumn row:row makeIfNecessary:NO]; //no need to create it if it's not exists - we'll set the data in NSTableViewDataSource method
  if (view) // if it's exists
    [view setCellEditable:editable];
}