Is there a way that I can make an overlay view on the iPhone SDK?

Question

I've seen examples of overlay views in different iPhone apps (Skype, Phone.app (while making a call), Google Mobile) and I was wondering how I could do the same in an app.

I'm making an app which has a record button in it and when that button is pressed, I want a nice looking overlay (similar to the overlay view that appears when making a call on the iPhone) that says "Recording" with a count in seconds to appear along with a stop button.

Is there any guide or anything I can look at to help me do this? Thanks.

Also I was wondering how I can make a vertically long view that requires the user to scroll with their finger that isn't a TableView. Also thanks.

Answer 1

I usually just create them myself; it's just a UIView which you insert above your other subviews.

UIView *overlayView = [[UIView alloc] initWithFrame:self.view.frame];
overlayView.backgroundColor = [UIColor blackColor];
overlayView.alpha = 0.4;
[self.view addSubview:overlayView];
[overlayView release];

As for your second question check out UIScrollView's.

Answer 2

For scrolling you need a UIScrollView. Look at the class reference for examples on how to use it.

For my overlays I push a new modal view which I make transparent.