How can user Enter time in a Text Field ios

Question

I want user to enter time in a TextField. There are examples available to do it with a DatePicker but that consumes a lot of space in the app. When user taps on TextField he should enter hh:mm. Now there is a placeholder text but nothing to force user to enter in this format hh:mm

So how can I use hh:mm format in a TextField? OR in other words enter time in a text field.

Answer 1

Use UITextField's shouldChangeCharactersInRange:replacementString: delegate method to format hh:mm format text in textfield

- (BOOL)textField:(UITextField *)textField shouldChangeCharactersInRange:(NSRange)range replacementString:(NSString *)string
{
  if ([string rangeOfCharacterFromSet:[[NSCharacterSet decimalDigitCharacterSet] invertedSet]].location != NSNotFound)
  {
    // BasicAlert(@"", @"This field accepts only numeric entries.");
    return NO;
  }
  else
  {
    NSString *text = textField.text;
    NSInteger length = text.length;
    BOOL shouldReplace = YES;

    if (![string isEqualToString:@""])
    {
        switch (length)
        {
            case 2:
                textField.text = [text stringByAppendingString:@":"];
                break;

            default:
                break;
        }
        if (length > 4)
            shouldReplace = NO;
    }

    return shouldReplace;
  }
  return YES;
}