How to change UIPickerView height

Question

Is it possible to change the height of UIPickerView? Some applications seem to have shorter PickerViews but setting a smaller frame doesn't seem to work and the frame is locked in Interface Builder.

Answer 1

As far as I know, it's impossible to shrink the UIPickerView. I also haven't actually seen a shorter one used anywhere. My guess is that it was a custom implementation if they did manage to shrink it.

Answer 2

It seems obvious that Apple doesn't particularly invite mucking with the default height of the UIPickerView, but I have found that you can achieve a change in the height of the view by taking complete control and passing a desired frame size at creation time, e.g:

smallerPicker = [[UIPickerView alloc] initWithFrame:CGRectMake(0.0, 0.0, 320.0, 120.0);

You will discover that at various heights and widths, there are visual glitches. Obviously, these glitches would either need to be worked around somehow, or choose another size that doesn't exhibit them.

Answer 3

See my answer to this question: UIPicker sizing in landscape mode

Answer 4

I have found that you can edit the size of the UIPickerView - just not with interface builder. open the .xib file with a text editor and set the size of the picker view to whatever you want. Interface builder does not reset the size and it seems to work. I'm sure apple locked the size for a reason so you'll have to experiment with different sizes to see what works.

Answer 5

it is obviously easy to shrink any control, including the UIPickerView. Just put it inside a view and resize that view. Easy as hell. You can even trim all control parts leaving just the wheel itself.

Answer 6

If you want to create your picker in IB, you can post-resize it to a smaller size. Check to make sure it still draws correctly though, as there comes a point where it looks heinous.

Answer 7

None of the above approaches work in iOS 4.0

The pickerView's height is no longer re-sizable. There is a message which gets dumped to console if you attempt to change the frame of a picker in 4.0:

-[UIPickerView setFrame:]: invalid height value 66.0 pinned to 162.0 

I ended up doing something quite radical to get the effect of a smaller picker which works in both OS 3.xx and OS 4.0. I left the picker to be whatever size the SDK decides it should be and instead made a cut-through transparent window on my background image through which the picker becomes visible. Then simply placed the picker behind (Z Order wise) my background UIImageView so that only a part of the picker is visible which is dictated by the transparent window in my background.

Answer 8

Ok, after struggling for a long time with the stupid pickerview in iOS 4, I've decided to change my control into simple table: here is the code:

ComboBoxView.m = which is actually looks more like pickerview.

// // ComboBoxView.m // iTrophy // // Created by Gal Blank on 8/18/10. //

import "ComboBoxView.h"

import "AwardsStruct.h"

@implementation ComboBoxView

@synthesize displayedObjects;

pragma mark -

pragma mark Initialization

/* - (id)initWithStyle:(UITableViewStyle)style { // Override initWithStyle: if you create the controller programmatically and want to perform customization that is not appropriate for viewDidLoad. if ((self = [super initWithStyle:style])) { } return self; } */

pragma mark -

pragma mark View lifecycle

/* - (void)viewDidLoad { [super viewDidLoad];

// Uncomment the following line to display an Edit button in the navigation bar for this view controller.
// self.navigationItem.rightBarButtonItem = self.editButtonItem;

} */

/* - (void)viewWillAppear:(BOOL)animated { [super viewWillAppear:animated]; } / / - (void)viewDidAppear:(BOOL)animated { [super viewDidAppear:animated]; } / / - (void)viewWillDisappear:(BOOL)animated { [super viewWillDisappear:animated]; } / / - (void)viewDidDisappear:(BOOL)animated { [super viewDidDisappear:animated]; } / / // Override to allow orientations other than the default portrait orientation. - (BOOL)shouldAutorotateToInterfaceOrientation:(UIInterfaceOrientation)interfaceOrientation { // Return YES for supported orientations return (interfaceOrientation == UIInterfaceOrientationPortrait); } */

pragma mark -

pragma mark Table view data source

• (NSInteger)numberOfSectionsInTableView:(UITableView *)tableView { // Return the number of sections. return 1; }

• (NSInteger)tableView:(UITableView *)tableView numberOfRowsInSection:(NSInteger)section { // Return the number of rows in the section. self.tableView.separatorStyle = UITableViewCellSeparatorStyleSingleLine; return [[self displayedObjects] count]; }

// Customize the appearance of table view cells. - (UITableViewCell *)tableView:(UITableView *)tableView cellForRowAtIndexPath:(NSIndexPath *)indexPath {

NSString *MyIdentifier = [NSString stringWithFormat:@"MyIdentifier %i", indexPath.row];

UITableViewCell *cell = (UITableViewCell *)[tableView dequeueReusableCellWithIdentifier:MyIdentifier];

if (cell == nil) {
    cell = [[[UITableViewCell alloc] initWithFrame:CGRectZero reuseIdentifier:MyIdentifier] autorelease];
    //cell.contentView.frame = CGRectMake(0, 0, 230.0,16);
    UILabel *label = [[[UILabel alloc] initWithFrame:CGRectMake(0, 5, 230.0,19)] autorelease];
    VivatAwardsStruct *vType = [displayedObjects objectAtIndex:indexPath.row];
    NSString *section = [vType awardType]; 
    label.tag = 1;
    label.font = [UIFont systemFontOfSize:17.0];
    label.text = section;
    label.textAlignment = UITextAlignmentCenter;
    label.baselineAdjustment = UIBaselineAdjustmentAlignCenters;
    label.adjustsFontSizeToFitWidth=YES;
    label.textColor = [UIColor blackColor];
    //label.autoresizingMask = UIViewAutoresizingFlexibleHeight;
    [cell.contentView addSubview:label]; 
    //UIImage *image = nil;
    label.backgroundColor = [UIColor whiteColor];
    //image = [awards awardImage];
    //image = [image imageScaledToSize:CGSizeMake(32.0, 32.0)];

    //[cell setAccessoryType:UITableViewCellAccessoryDisclosureIndicator];
    //UIImageView *imageView = [[UIImageView alloc] initWithImage:image];
    //cell.accessoryView = imageView;
    //[imageView release];
}

return cell;

}

/* // Override to support conditional editing of the table view. - (BOOL)tableView:(UITableView *)tableView canEditRowAtIndexPath:(NSIndexPath *)indexPath { // Return NO if you do not want the specified item to be editable. return YES; } */

/* // Override to support editing the table view. - (void)tableView:(UITableView *)tableView commitEditingStyle:(UITableViewCellEditingStyle)editingStyle forRowAtIndexPath:(NSIndexPath *)indexPath {

if (editingStyle == UITableViewCellEditingStyleDelete) {
    // Delete the row from the data source
    [tableView deleteRowsAtIndexPaths:[NSArray arrayWithObject:indexPath] withRowAnimation:YES];
}   
else if (editingStyle == UITableViewCellEditingStyleInsert) {
    // Create a new instance of the appropriate class, insert it into the array, and add a new row to the table view
}   

} */

/* // Override to support rearranging the table view. - (void)tableView:(UITableView *)tableView moveRowAtIndexPath:(NSIndexPath *)fromIndexPath toIndexPath:(NSIndexPath *)toIndexPath { } */

/* // Override to support conditional rearranging of the table view. - (BOOL)tableView:(UITableView *)tableView canMoveRowAtIndexPath:(NSIndexPath *)indexPath { // Return NO if you do not want the item to be re-orderable. return YES; } */

pragma mark -

pragma mark Table view delegate

• (void)tableView:(UITableView *)tableView didSelectRowAtIndexPath:(NSIndexPath )indexPath { // Navigation logic may go here. Create and push another view controller. / <#DetailViewController#> *detailViewController = [[<#DetailViewController#> alloc] initWithNibName:@"<#Nib name#>" bundle:nil]; // ... // Pass the selected object to the new view controller. [self.navigationController pushViewController:detailViewController animated:YES]; [detailViewController release]; */ }

pragma mark -

pragma mark Memory management

• (void)didReceiveMemoryWarning { // Releases the view if it doesn't have a superview. [super didReceiveMemoryWarning];

  // Relinquish ownership any cached data, images, etc that aren't in use. }

• (void)viewDidUnload { // Relinquish ownership of anything that can be recreated in viewDidLoad or on demand. // For example: self.myOutlet = nil; }

• (void)dealloc { [super dealloc]; }

@end

Here is the .h file for that: // // ComboBoxView.h // iTrophy // // Created by Gal Blank on 8/18/10. //

import

@interface ComboBoxView : UITableViewController { NSMutableArray *displayedObjects; }

@property (nonatomic, retain) NSMutableArray *displayedObjects;

@end

now, in the ViewController where I had Apple UIPickerView I replaced with my own ComboBox view and made it size what ever I wish.

ComboBoxView *mypickerholder = [[ComboBoxView alloc] init]; [mypickerholder.view setFrame:CGRectMake(50, 220, 230, 80)]; [mypickerholder setDisplayedObjects:awardTypesArray];

that's it, now the only thing is left is to create a member variable in the combobox view that will hold current row selection, and we are good to go.

Enjoy everyone.

Answer 9

Even thought it is not resizing, another trick may help in the situation when the UIPicker is located at the bottom of the screen.

One can try moving it slightly downwards, but the central row should remain visible. This will help reveal some space above the picker since bottom rows will be offscreen.

I repeat that this is not the way of changing UIPicker view's height but some idea on what you can do if all other attempts fail.

Answer 10

stockPicker = [[UIPickerView alloc] init]; stockPicker.frame = CGRectMake(70.0,155, 180,100);

If You want to set the size of UiPickerView. Above code is surely gonna work for u.

Answer 11

Hi all, After a long day of scratching my head, I've found something that works for me. The codes below will recreate the UIDatePicker everytime the user change the phone orientation. This will remove whatever glitches that the UIDatePicker have after an orientation change.

Since we are recreating the UIDatePicker, we need an instance variable that will keep the selected date value. The codes below are tested on iOS 4.0.

    @interface AdvanceDateViewController : UIViewController<UIPickerViewDelegate> {
        UIDatePicker *datePicker;
        NSDate *date;
    }


    @property (nonatomic, retain) UIDatePicker *datePicker;
    @property (nonatomic, retain) NSDate *date;

    -(void)resizeViewWithOrientation:(UIInterfaceOrientation) orientation;

    @end

    @implementation AdvanceDateViewController
    @synthesize datePicker, date;

    - (void)viewDidLoad {
      [super viewDidLoad];
          [self resizeViewWithOrientation:self.interfaceOrientation];
    }


    -(void)viewWillAppear:(BOOL)animated{
         [super viewWillAppear:animated];
         [self resizeViewWithOrientation:self.interfaceOrientation];
     }

     - (BOOL)shouldAutorotateToInterfaceOrientation:(UIInterfaceOrientation)interfaceOrientation {
         return YES;
     }

     -(void)willRotateToInterfaceOrientation:(UIInterfaceOrientation)toInterfaceOrientation duration:(NSTimeInterval)duration{
      [super willRotateToInterfaceOrientation:toInterfaceOrientation duration:duration];
      [self resizeViewWithOrientation:toInterfaceOrientation];
      }

     -(void)resizeViewWithOrientation:(UIInterfaceOrientation) orientation{
          [self.datePicker removeFromSuperview];
          [self.datePicker removeTarget:self action:@selector(refreshPickupDate) forControlEvents:UIControlEventValueChanged];
          self.datePicker = nil;

          //(Re)initialize the datepicker, thanks to Apple's buggy UIDatePicker implementation
          UIDatePicker *dummyDatePicker = [[UIDatePicker alloc] init];
          self.datePicker = dummyDatePicker;
          [dummyDatePicker release];

          [self.datePicker setDate:self.date animated:YES];
          [self.datePicker addTarget:self action:@selector(refreshPickupDate) forControlEvents:UIControlEventValueChanged];

          if(UIInterfaceOrientationIsLandscape(orientation)){
                 self.datePicker.frame = CGRectMake(0, 118, 480, 162);    
           } else {
                 self.datePicker.frame = CGRectMake(0, 200, 320, 216);
           }

           [self.view addSubview:self.datePicker];
           [self.view setNeedsDisplay];
      }

      @end