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How to draw a "speech bubble" on an iPhone?


I'm trying to get a "speech bubble" effect similar to the one in Mac OS X when you right click on something in the dock. Here's what I have now:

alt text

I need to get the "triangle" part of the lower portion. Is there any way I can draw something like that and get a border around it? This will be for an iPhone app.

Thanks in advance!

EDIT: Many thanks to Brad Larson, here's what it looks like now: alt text


Solution

  • I've actually drawn this exact shape before (rounded rectangle with a pointing triangle at the bottom). The Quartz drawing code that I used is as follows:

    CGRect currentFrame = self.bounds;
    
    CGContextSetLineJoin(context, kCGLineJoinRound);
    CGContextSetLineWidth(context, strokeWidth);
    CGContextSetStrokeColorWithColor(context, [MyPopupLayer popupBorderColor]); 
    CGContextSetFillColorWithColor(context, [MyPopupLayer popupBackgroundColor]);
    
    // Draw and fill the bubble
    CGContextBeginPath(context);
    CGContextMoveToPoint(context, borderRadius + strokeWidth + 0.5f, strokeWidth + HEIGHTOFPOPUPTRIANGLE + 0.5f);
    CGContextAddLineToPoint(context, round(currentFrame.size.width / 2.0f - WIDTHOFPOPUPTRIANGLE / 2.0f) + 0.5f, HEIGHTOFPOPUPTRIANGLE + strokeWidth + 0.5f);
    CGContextAddLineToPoint(context, round(currentFrame.size.width / 2.0f) + 0.5f, strokeWidth + 0.5f);
    CGContextAddLineToPoint(context, round(currentFrame.size.width / 2.0f + WIDTHOFPOPUPTRIANGLE / 2.0f) + 0.5f, HEIGHTOFPOPUPTRIANGLE + strokeWidth + 0.5f);
    CGContextAddArcToPoint(context, currentFrame.size.width - strokeWidth - 0.5f, strokeWidth + HEIGHTOFPOPUPTRIANGLE + 0.5f, currentFrame.size.width - strokeWidth - 0.5f, currentFrame.size.height - strokeWidth - 0.5f, borderRadius - strokeWidth);
    CGContextAddArcToPoint(context, currentFrame.size.width - strokeWidth - 0.5f, currentFrame.size.height - strokeWidth - 0.5f, round(currentFrame.size.width / 2.0f + WIDTHOFPOPUPTRIANGLE / 2.0f) - strokeWidth + 0.5f, currentFrame.size.height - strokeWidth - 0.5f, borderRadius - strokeWidth);
    CGContextAddArcToPoint(context, strokeWidth + 0.5f, currentFrame.size.height - strokeWidth - 0.5f, strokeWidth + 0.5f, HEIGHTOFPOPUPTRIANGLE + strokeWidth + 0.5f, borderRadius - strokeWidth);
    CGContextAddArcToPoint(context, strokeWidth + 0.5f, strokeWidth + HEIGHTOFPOPUPTRIANGLE + 0.5f, currentFrame.size.width - strokeWidth - 0.5f, HEIGHTOFPOPUPTRIANGLE + strokeWidth + 0.5f, borderRadius - strokeWidth);
    CGContextClosePath(context);
    CGContextDrawPath(context, kCGPathFillStroke);
    
    // Draw a clipping path for the fill
    CGContextBeginPath(context);
    CGContextMoveToPoint(context, borderRadius + strokeWidth + 0.5f, round((currentFrame.size.height + HEIGHTOFPOPUPTRIANGLE) * 0.50f) + 0.5f);
    CGContextAddArcToPoint(context, currentFrame.size.width - strokeWidth - 0.5f, round((currentFrame.size.height + HEIGHTOFPOPUPTRIANGLE) * 0.50f) + 0.5f, currentFrame.size.width - strokeWidth - 0.5f, currentFrame.size.height - strokeWidth - 0.5f, borderRadius - strokeWidth);
    CGContextAddArcToPoint(context, currentFrame.size.width - strokeWidth - 0.5f, currentFrame.size.height - strokeWidth - 0.5f, round(currentFrame.size.width / 2.0f + WIDTHOFPOPUPTRIANGLE / 2.0f) - strokeWidth + 0.5f, currentFrame.size.height - strokeWidth - 0.5f, borderRadius - strokeWidth);
    CGContextAddArcToPoint(context, strokeWidth + 0.5f, currentFrame.size.height - strokeWidth - 0.5f, strokeWidth + 0.5f, HEIGHTOFPOPUPTRIANGLE + strokeWidth + 0.5f, borderRadius - strokeWidth);
    CGContextAddArcToPoint(context, strokeWidth + 0.5f, round((currentFrame.size.height + HEIGHTOFPOPUPTRIANGLE) * 0.50f) + 0.5f, currentFrame.size.width - strokeWidth - 0.5f, round((currentFrame.size.height + HEIGHTOFPOPUPTRIANGLE) * 0.50f) + 0.5f, borderRadius - strokeWidth);
    CGContextClosePath(context);
    CGContextClip(context);     
    

    The clipping path at the end can be left out if you're not going to use a gradient or some other more fill that's more complex than a simple color.