Setting minimum width for some bubbles

Question

I was wondering which was the correct approach to setting a minimum width for some bubbles. I've tried overriding the applyLayoutAttributes: in my custom cell, but I need access to my datasource to know which cell should have a minimum width. I've been tinkering with messageBubbleLeftRightMargin in cellForItemAtIndexPath: but with no results. Any pointers would be great

EDIT

My Message model (which conforms to ) has a flag which tells me if the bubble needs to have a minimum width

In my custom cell, I can override the custom layout, but I don't have access to the datasource, hence I have no access to that flag

-(void)applyLayoutAttributes:(UICollectionViewLayoutAttributes *)layoutAttributes{
            JSQMessagesCollectionViewLayoutAttributes *customAttributes = (JSQMessagesCollectionViewLayoutAttributes *)layoutAttributes;

    // I need access to my <JSQMessageData> for the condition
            if (condition) {
                if(customAttributes.messageBubbleContainerViewWidth <175){
                    customAttributes.messageBubbleContainerViewWidth = 175;
                }
            }

            [super applyLayoutAttributes:customAttributes];
}

I also tried in my JSQMessagesViewController subclass to access the leftright constraint, but to no avail

-(UICollectionViewCell *)collectionView:(UICollectionView *)collectionView cellForItemAtIndexPath:(NSIndexPath *)indexPath{
    /**
     *  Override point for customizing cells
     */
    JSQMessagesCollectionViewCell *cell = (JSQMessagesCollectionViewCell *)[super collectionView:collectionView cellForItemAtIndexPath:indexPath];

    BLMessage *message = [self.visibleMessagesArray objectAtIndex:indexPath.item];

    JSQMessagesCollectionViewLayoutAttributes *customAttributes = [JSQMessagesCollectionViewLayoutAttributes layoutAttributesForCellWithIndexPath:indexPath];

    if(message.isEphemeral){
      //random number to see if it had an effect
      self.collectionView.collectionViewLayout.messageBubbleLeftRightMargin = 200;

       //I also tried modifying the customAttributes
       //customAttributes.messageBubbleContainerViewWidth = 175;

    }
    return cell;
}

I'm kind of new to the UICollectionViewFlowLayout and such, I may be missing some core concepts

Answer 1

Ok, so I found out what was wrong. I wasn't applying the new layout to the cell, so my cellForItemAtIndexPath ended up like:

-(UICollectionViewCell *)collectionView:(UICollectionView *)collectionView cellForItemAtIndexPath:(NSIndexPath *)indexPath{
    /**
     *  Override point for customizing cells
     */
    JSQMessagesCollectionViewCell *cell = (JSQMessagesCollectionViewCell *)[super collectionView:collectionView cellForItemAtIndexPath:indexPath];

    BLMessage *message = [self.visibleMessagesArray objectAtIndex:indexPath.item];

    JSQMessagesCollectionViewLayoutAttributes *customAttributes = (JSQMessagesCollectionViewLayoutAttributes *)[self.collectionView layoutAttributesForItemAtIndexPath:indexPath];

    if(message.isEphemeral){
       //I also tried modifying the customAttributes
       customAttributes.messageBubbleContainerViewWidth = 175;
       [cell applyLayoutAttributes: customAttributes];

    }
    return cell;
}

-------------EDIT------------

My answer before had some side effects, it's not recommended to call applyLayoutAttributes: inside your collectionView:cellForItemAtIndexPath:.

The proper way to do this, is to subclass JSQMessagesCollectionViewFlowLayout

CustomCollectionViewFlowLayout.h

#import "JSQMessagesCollectionViewFlowLayout.h"

@interface CustomCollectionViewFlowLayout : JSQMessagesCollectionViewFlowLayout
@property (strong, nonatomic) UIImageView *incomingBubbleMask;
@end

CustomCollectionViewFlowLayout.m

#import "CustomCollectionViewFlowLayout.h"
#import "JSQMessage.h"

#import "JSQMessagesCollectionView.h"
#import "JSQMessagesCollectionViewCell.h"

#import "JSQMessagesCollectionViewLayoutAttributes.h"
#import "JSQMessagesCollectionViewFlowLayoutInvalidationContext.h"

#import "UIImage+JSQMessages.h"

@implementation CustomCollectionViewFlowLayout
+ (Class)layoutAttributesClass
{
    return [JSQMessagesCollectionViewLayoutAttributes class];
}

- (CGSize)messageBubbleSizeForItemAtIndexPath:(NSIndexPath *)indexPath
{
    CGSize superSize = [super messageBubbleSizeForItemAtIndexPath:indexPath];

    JSQMessage *currentMessage = (JSQMessage *)[self.collectionView.dataSource collectionView:self.collectionView messageDataForItemAtIndexPath:indexPath];

    /*********** Setting size **************/
    //check if outgoing, you can import your Session Manager to check your user identifier
    if ([currentMessage.senderId isEqualToString:@"me") {
        superSize = CGSizeMake(175, superSize.height);
    }
    //do whatever other checks and setup your width/height accordingly

    return superSize;
}

@end

Don't forget to set your custom layout in your JSQMessagesViewController subclass, #import "CustomCollectionViewFlowLayout.h" and in your viewDidLoad add: self.collectionView.collectionViewLayout = [[CustomCollectionViewFlowLayout alloc] init];