Set the maximum character length of a UITextField

Question

How can I set the maximum amount of characters in a UITextField on the iPhone SDK when I load up a UIView?

Answer 1

I give a supplementary answer based on @Frouo. I think his answer is the most beautiful way. Becuase it's a common control we can reuse.

private var kAssociationKeyMaxLength: Int = 0

extension UITextField {

    @IBInspectable var maxLength: Int {
        get {
            if let length = objc_getAssociatedObject(self, &kAssociationKeyMaxLength) as? Int {
                return length
            } else {
                return Int.max
            }
        }
        set {
            objc_setAssociatedObject(self, &kAssociationKeyMaxLength, newValue, .OBJC_ASSOCIATION_RETAIN)
            self.addTarget(self, action: #selector(checkMaxLength), for: .editingChanged)
        }
    }

    func checkMaxLength(textField: UITextField) {

        guard !self.isInputMethod(), let prospectiveText = self.text,
            prospectiveText.count > maxLength
            else {
                return
        }

        let selection = selectedTextRange
        let maxCharIndex = prospectiveText.index(prospectiveText.startIndex, offsetBy: maxLength)
        text = prospectiveText.substring(to: maxCharIndex)
        selectedTextRange = selection
    }

    //The method is used to cancel the check when use Chinese Pinyin input method.
    //Becuase the alphabet also appears in the textfield when inputting, we should cancel the check.
    func isInputMethod() -> Bool {
        if let positionRange = self.markedTextRange {
            if let _ = self.position(from: positionRange.start, offset: 0) {
                return true
            }
        }
        return false
    }

}