Detecting which UIButton was pressed in a UITableView

Question

I have a UITableView with 5 UITableViewCells. Each cell contains a UIButton which is set up as follows:

- (UITableView         


        

Answer 1

With Swift 4.2 and iOS 12, you can choose one the 5 following complete examples in order to solve your problem.

---

#1. Using UIView's convert(_:to:) and UITableView's indexPathForRow(at:)

import UIKit

private class CustomCell: UITableViewCell {

    let button = UIButton(type: .system)

    override init(style: UITableViewCell.CellStyle, reuseIdentifier: String?) {
        super.init(style: style, reuseIdentifier: reuseIdentifier)

        button.setTitle("Tap", for: .normal)
        contentView.addSubview(button)

        button.translatesAutoresizingMaskIntoConstraints = false
        button.centerXAnchor.constraint(equalTo: contentView.centerXAnchor).isActive = true
        button.centerYAnchor.constraint(equalTo: contentView.centerYAnchor).isActive = true
        button.topAnchor.constraint(equalToSystemSpacingBelow: contentView.topAnchor, multiplier: 1).isActive = true
        button.leadingAnchor.constraint(greaterThanOrEqualToSystemSpacingAfter: contentView.leadingAnchor, multiplier: 1).isActive = true
    }

    required init?(coder aDecoder: NSCoder) {
        fatalError("init(coder:) has not been implemented")
    }

}

import UIKit

class TableViewController: UITableViewController {

    override func viewDidLoad() {
        super.viewDidLoad()
        tableView.register(CustomCell.self, forCellReuseIdentifier: "CustomCell")
    }

    override func tableView(_ tableView: UITableView, numberOfRowsInSection section: Int) -> Int {
        return 3
    }

    override func tableView(_ tableView: UITableView, cellForRowAt indexPath: IndexPath) -> UITableViewCell {
        let cell = tableView.dequeueReusableCell(withIdentifier: "CustomCell", for: indexPath) as! CustomCell
        cell.button.addTarget(self, action: #selector(customCellButtonTapped), for: .touchUpInside)
        return cell
    }

    @objc func customCellButtonTapped(_ sender: UIButton) {
        let point = sender.convert(CGPoint.zero, to: tableView)
        guard let indexPath = tableView.indexPathForRow(at: point) else { return }
        print(indexPath)
    }

}

---

#2. Using UIView's convert(_:to:) and UITableView's indexPathForRow(at:) (alternative)

This is an alternative to the previous example where we pass nil to the target parameter in addTarget(_:action:for:). This way, if the first responder does not implement the action, it will be send to the next responder in the responder chain until until a proper implementation is found.

import UIKit

private class CustomCell: UITableViewCell {

    let button = UIButton(type: .system)

    override init(style: UITableViewCell.CellStyle, reuseIdentifier: String?) {
        super.init(style: style, reuseIdentifier: reuseIdentifier)

        button.setTitle("Tap", for: .normal)
        button.addTarget(nil, action: #selector(TableViewController.customCellButtonTapped), for: .touchUpInside)
        contentView.addSubview(button)

        button.translatesAutoresizingMaskIntoConstraints = false
        button.centerXAnchor.constraint(equalTo: contentView.centerXAnchor).isActive = true
        button.centerYAnchor.constraint(equalTo: contentView.centerYAnchor).isActive = true
        button.topAnchor.constraint(equalToSystemSpacingBelow: contentView.topAnchor, multiplier: 1).isActive = true
        button.leadingAnchor.constraint(greaterThanOrEqualToSystemSpacingAfter: contentView.leadingAnchor, multiplier: 1).isActive = true
    }

    required init?(coder aDecoder: NSCoder) {
        fatalError("init(coder:) has not been implemented")
    }

}

import UIKit

class TableViewController: UITableViewController {

    override func viewDidLoad() {
        super.viewDidLoad()
        tableView.register(CustomCell.self, forCellReuseIdentifier: "CustomCell")
    }

    override func tableView(_ tableView: UITableView, numberOfRowsInSection section: Int) -> Int {
        return 3
    }

    override func tableView(_ tableView: UITableView, cellForRowAt indexPath: IndexPath) -> UITableViewCell {
        let cell = tableView.dequeueReusableCell(withIdentifier: "CustomCell", for: indexPath) as! CustomCell
        return cell
    }

    @objc func customCellButtonTapped(_ sender: UIButton) {
        let point = sender.convert(CGPoint.zero, to: tableView)
        guard let indexPath = tableView.indexPathForRow(at: point) else { return }
        print(indexPath)
    }

}

---

#3. Using UITableView's indexPath(for:) and delegate pattern

In this example, we set the view controller as the delegate of the cell. When the cell's button is tapped, it triggers a call to the appropriate method of the delegate.

import UIKit

protocol CustomCellDelegate: AnyObject {
    func customCellButtonTapped(_ customCell: CustomCell)
}

class CustomCell: UITableViewCell {

    let button = UIButton(type: .system)
    weak var delegate: CustomCellDelegate?

    override init(style: UITableViewCell.CellStyle, reuseIdentifier: String?) {
        super.init(style: style, reuseIdentifier: reuseIdentifier)

        button.setTitle("Tap", for: .normal)
        button.addTarget(self, action: #selector(buttonTapped), for: .touchUpInside)
        contentView.addSubview(button)

        button.translatesAutoresizingMaskIntoConstraints = false
        button.centerXAnchor.constraint(equalTo: contentView.centerXAnchor).isActive = true
        button.centerYAnchor.constraint(equalTo: contentView.centerYAnchor).isActive = true
        button.topAnchor.constraint(equalToSystemSpacingBelow: contentView.topAnchor, multiplier: 1).isActive = true
        button.leadingAnchor.constraint(greaterThanOrEqualToSystemSpacingAfter: contentView.leadingAnchor, multiplier: 1).isActive = true
    }

    required init?(coder aDecoder: NSCoder) {
        fatalError("init(coder:) has not been implemented")
    }

    @objc func buttonTapped(sender: UIButton) {
        delegate?.customCellButtonTapped(self)
    }

}

import UIKit

class TableViewController: UITableViewController, CustomCellDelegate {

    override func viewDidLoad() {
        super.viewDidLoad()
        tableView.register(CustomCell.self, forCellReuseIdentifier: "CustomCell")
    }

    override func tableView(_ tableView: UITableView, numberOfRowsInSection section: Int) -> Int {
        return 3
    }

    override func tableView(_ tableView: UITableView, cellForRowAt indexPath: IndexPath) -> UITableViewCell {
        let cell = tableView.dequeueReusableCell(withIdentifier: "CustomCell", for: indexPath) as! CustomCell
        cell.delegate = self
        return cell
    }

    // MARK: - CustomCellDelegate

    func customCellButtonTapped(_ customCell: CustomCell) {
        guard let indexPath = tableView.indexPath(for: customCell) else { return }
        print(indexPath)
    }

}

---

#4. Using UITableView's indexPath(for:) and a closure for delegation

This is an alternative to the previous example where we use a closure instead of a protocol-delegate declaration to handle the button tap.

import UIKit

class CustomCell: UITableViewCell {

    let button = UIButton(type: .system)
    var buttontappedClosure: ((CustomCell) -> Void)?

    override init(style: UITableViewCell.CellStyle, reuseIdentifier: String?) {
        super.init(style: style, reuseIdentifier: reuseIdentifier)

        button.setTitle("Tap", for: .normal)
        button.addTarget(self, action: #selector(buttonTapped), for: .touchUpInside)
        contentView.addSubview(button)

        button.translatesAutoresizingMaskIntoConstraints = false
        button.centerXAnchor.constraint(equalTo: contentView.centerXAnchor).isActive = true
        button.centerYAnchor.constraint(equalTo: contentView.centerYAnchor).isActive = true
        button.topAnchor.constraint(equalToSystemSpacingBelow: contentView.topAnchor, multiplier: 1).isActive = true
        button.leadingAnchor.constraint(greaterThanOrEqualToSystemSpacingAfter: contentView.leadingAnchor, multiplier: 1).isActive = true
    }

    required init?(coder aDecoder: NSCoder) {
        fatalError("init(coder:) has not been implemented")
    }

    @objc func buttonTapped(sender: UIButton) {
        buttontappedClosure?(self)
    }

}

import UIKit

class TableViewController: UITableViewController {

    override func viewDidLoad() {
        super.viewDidLoad()
        tableView.register(CustomCell.self, forCellReuseIdentifier: "CustomCell")
    }

    override func tableView(_ tableView: UITableView, numberOfRowsInSection section: Int) -> Int {
        return 3
    }

    override func tableView(_ tableView: UITableView, cellForRowAt indexPath: IndexPath) -> UITableViewCell {
        let cell = tableView.dequeueReusableCell(withIdentifier: "CustomCell", for: indexPath) as! CustomCell
        cell.buttontappedClosure = { [weak tableView] cell in
            guard let indexPath = tableView?.indexPath(for: cell) else { return }
            print(indexPath)
        }
        return cell
    }

}

---

#5. Using UITableViewCell's accessoryType and UITableViewDelegate's tableView(_:accessoryButtonTappedForRowWith:)

If your button is a UITableViewCell's standard accessory control, any tap on it will trigger a call to UITableViewDelegate's tableView(_:accessoryButtonTappedForRowWith:), allowing you to get the related index path.

import UIKit

private class CustomCell: UITableViewCell {

    override init(style: UITableViewCell.CellStyle, reuseIdentifier: String?) {
        super.init(style: style, reuseIdentifier: reuseIdentifier)
        accessoryType = .detailButton
    }

    required init?(coder aDecoder: NSCoder) {
        fatalError("init(coder:) has not been implemented")
    }

}

import UIKit

class TableViewController: UITableViewController {

    override func viewDidLoad() {
        super.viewDidLoad()
        tableView.register(CustomCell.self, forCellReuseIdentifier: "CustomCell")
    }

    override func tableView(_ tableView: UITableView, numberOfRowsInSection section: Int) -> Int {
        return 3
    }

    override func tableView(_ tableView: UITableView, cellForRowAt indexPath: IndexPath) -> UITableViewCell {
        let cell = tableView.dequeueReusableCell(withIdentifier: "CustomCell", for: indexPath) as! CustomCell
        return cell
    }

    override func tableView(_ tableView: UITableView, accessoryButtonTappedForRowWith indexPath: IndexPath) {
        print(indexPath)
    }

}