How to make Xcode auto-complete act like bash auto-completes file names

Question

If I type UITa, then it might show an autocompletion of UITableViewDataSource. So I press enter and that's what I get. But what I wanted was UITableViewDelegate. If this was when we input the file name in the command line of bash, then it would have auto-completed up to UITableViewD, and then I would have to enter a to get an autocompletion for UITableViewDataSource, or e to get UITableViewDelegate.

Is there a way to make Xcode work like that, or another way to avoid this problem?

Answer 1

In my machine (XCode 3.2.3 on OS X 10.6.4) the auto-completion works exactly as you described you want to behave.

Typing

 NSMut

shows something like

NSMutableArray

Note that NSMut, able, and Array are all displayed in a different color/font in XCode. Typing D here to change the completion to NSMutableDictionary does not work, but hitting Enter or the right arrow key changes the selection up to

NSMutableArray

Hitting D here changes the completion to

NSMutableDictionary

If you want the possible list of auto-completions, just hit the escape key. Hitting escape key is the general way to get the list of completion in any Cocoa app on OS X. In any Cocoa text box you'll get the list of English words which matches the first few letters you typed.

Answer 2

Xcode autocompletion can be inconsistent. Workaround: After typing some characters, hit ESC and Xcode will pop up a scrollable list of completion options. Continue typing to narrow down the list. Use the up/down arrow keys to navigate the list. Hit return to complete using the selected text. This approach can be helpful when Xcode autocompletion is acting flaky.