How do I change background color of UITabItem when item is selected

Question

I would like a different background color when the user selects a tab bar item than when it is unselected.

Answer 1

Follow this Steps:

1. Create SubClass of UITabBarController

2. Go to viewDidAppear of UITabBarController subclass

3. Now Find the size of TabBarItem,

   UITabBar *tabBar = self.tabBar;
   CGSize imgSize = CGSizeMake(tabBar.frame.size.width/tabBar.items.count,tabBar.frame.size.height);
   

4. Now Create the image with that size,

   //Create Image
   UIGraphicsBeginImageContextWithOptions(imgSize, NO, 0);
   UIBezierPath* p =
   [UIBezierPath bezierPathWithRect:CGRectMake(0,0,imgSize.width,imgSize.height)];
   [[UIColor blueColor] setFill];
   [p fill];
   UIImage* finalImg = UIGraphicsGetImageFromCurrentImageContext();
   UIGraphicsEndImageContext();
   

5. Now, Assign this image to TabBar's SelectionIndicatorImage

   [tabBar setSelectionIndicatorImage:finalImg];
   

Swift 4 Version:

let imgSize = CGSize(width: tabBar.frame.size.width / CGFloat(tabBar.items!.count),
                     height: tabBar.frame.size.height)
UIGraphicsBeginImageContextWithOptions(imgSize, false, 0)
let p = UIBezierPath(rect: CGRect(x: 0, y: 0, width: imgSize.width,
                                  height: imgSize.height))
UIColor.blue.setFill()
p.fill()
let finalImg = UIGraphicsGetImageFromCurrentImageContext()
UIGraphicsEndImageContext()
UITabBar.appearance().selectionIndicatorImage = finalImg