InputBarAccessoryView Documentation

The InputBarAccessoryView layout consists of four InputStackViews and one InputTextView:

• Top/Bottom/Left/Right InputStackViews: Act as toolbars for placing buttons.
• InputTextView: A self-sizing text view (can be replaced with any other view).

Padding: You can adjust the layout by changing the padding and textViewPadding properties; constraints update automatically.

Stack View Widths: The left and right InputStackViews are anchored by width constraints. This allows the InputTextView to fill the remaining space. You can hide all buttons to the left or right by setting their width constraint constant to 0.

func setLeftStackViewWidthConstant(to newValue: CGFloat, animated: Bool)

func setRightStackViewWidthConstant(to newValue: CGFloat, animated: Bool)

You can add InputBarAccessoryView to your project using the Swift Package Manager (SPM).

Option 1: Package.swift Add the dependency to your Package.swift file:

Option 2: Xcode SPM Editor Use the following URL in the Xcode dependency manager: https://github.com/nathantannar4/InputBarAccessoryView.git

dependencies: [
    .package(url: "https://github.com/nathantannar4/InputBarAccessoryView.git", .upToNextMajor(from: "6.0.0"))
]

The current version (7.0.6) requires:

• iOS: 14.0+
• Swift: 6

Legacy support versions:

• iOS 13: Use v6.5.1
• iOS 12: Use v5.5.0
• iOS 11: Use v5.1.0

To add autocomplete functionality to your InputBarAccessoryView, use the AutocompleteManager. You must initialize it with the inputTextView of your input bar and assign a delegate and data source.

Setup Steps:

1. Initialize: Create an AutocompleteManager instance for inputBar.inputTextView.
2. Configure Prefixes: Use register(prefix:with:) to define how specific prefixes (like @ or #) should be styled when matched.
3. Register Plugin: Add the manager to the inputBar.inputPlugins array.
4. Implement Data Source: Provide completions via autocompleteManager(_:autocompleteSourceFor:).
5. Implement Delegate: Handle visibility changes via autocompleteManager(_:shouldBecomeVisible:) to show/hide the autocomplete table view.

The AttachmentManager allows you to display images, URLs, or other data above the InputTextView.

Attachment Types Attachments are defined via the Attachment enum:

• .image(UIImage)
• .url(URL)
• .data(Data)
• .other(AnyObject)

Customization

• isPersistent: If true, the manager is always visible (default: false).
• showAddAttachmentCell: Determines if the AddAttachmentCell is visible (default: true).

Managing Attachments

• insertAttachment(_:at:): Performs an animated insertion of an attachment at a specific index.
• removeAttachment(at:): Performs an animated removal of an attachment at a specific index.

Each InputBarButtonItem supports reactive hooks that allow you to execute actions during specific lifecycle events. This is useful for creating animated or responsive UI elements (e.g., similar to Facebook Messenger).

Available action hooks include:

• ontouchUpInsideAction: Triggered when the button is touched.
• onKeyboardEditingBeginsAction: Triggered when keyboard editing begins.
• onKeyboardEditingEndsAction: Triggered when keyboard editing ends.
• onKeyboardSwipeGestureAction: Triggered on swipe gestures.
• onTextViewDidChangeAction: Triggered when the InputTextView text changes.
• onSelectedAction / onDeselectedAction: Triggered on selection state changes.
• onEnabledAction / onDisabledAction: Triggered when the button's enabled state changes.

When adding buttons to an InputStackView, it is recommended to use InputBarButtonItem. The stack view uses the button's intrinsicContentSize to layout arranged views. If extra space is available, views expand based on their content hugging UILayoutPriority.

Customizing Size and Spacing

• Size: You can override the intrinsicContentSize by setting the size property. Setting it to nil reverts to the superclass's intrinsic size.
• Spacing: Use the spacing property to adjust layout. Setting it to .fixed(CGFloat) changes the content hugging UILayoutPriority and adds extra space to the intrinsicContentSize.

To customize how attachments are displayed and when they appear, implement these protocols:

AttachmentManagerDataSource

• attachmentManager(_:cellFor:at:): Return an AttachmentCell for a specific Attachment at a given index.

AttachmentManagerDelegate

• attachmentManager(_:shouldBecomeVisible:): Return a Bool to determine if the AttachmentManager should be inserted into the InputStackView.

To provide custom data and control visibility for autocomplete, implement the following protocols:

AutocompleteManagerDataSource

• autocompleteManager(_:autocompleteSourceFor:): Return an array of [AutocompleteCompletion] for a given prefix.
• autocompleteManager(_:tableView:cellForRowAt:for:): Provide a custom UITableViewCell to populate the AutocompleteTableView.

AutocompleteManagerDelegate

• autocompleteManager(_:shouldBecomeVisible:): Return a Bool to determine if the autocomplete interface should be inserted into the view.

Implement InputBarAccessoryViewDelegate to respond to user interactions and layout changes within the input bar:

• inputBar(_:didPressSendButtonWith:): Called when the user taps the send button. Provides the current text.
• inputBar(_:didChangeIntrinsicContentTo:): Called when the intrinsic content size changes. Useful for updating UICollectionView or UITableView bottom insets.
• inputBar(_:textViewTextDidChangeTo:): Called when the text in the input text view changes.
• inputBar(_:didSwipeTextViewWith:): Called when a swipe gesture is recognized on the text view.

Implement AutocompleteManagerDelegate to manage the lifecycle and visibility of the autocomplete UI.

Methods:

• autocompleteManager(_:shouldBecomeVisible:): Called when the autocomplete interface should be shown or hidden. You typically respond to this by inserting or removing the manager's tableView from the inputBar.topStackView and calling inputBar.invalidateIntrinsicContentSize().