UICollectionView Set number of columns

Question

I just started learning about UICollectionViews. I\'m wondering if anyone knows how to specify the number of columns in a collectionview. The default is set to 3 (iPhone/por

Answer 1

Swift 3.0. Works for both horizontal and vertical scroll directions and variable spacing

Specify number of columns

let numberOfColumns: CGFloat = 3

Configure flowLayout to render specified numberOfColumns

if let flowLayout = collectionView?.collectionViewLayout as? UICollectionViewFlowLayout {
    let horizontalSpacing = flowLayout.scrollDirection == .vertical ? flowLayout.minimumInteritemSpacing : flowLayout.minimumLineSpacing
    let cellWidth = (collectionView.frame.width - max(0, numberOfColumns - 1)*horizontalSpacing)/numberOfColumns
    flowLayout.itemSize = CGSize(width: cellWidth, height: cellWidth)
}

Answer 2

I made a collection layout.

To make the separator visible, Set the background color of the collection view to gray. One row per section.

Useage:

let layout = GridCollectionViewLayout()
layout.cellHeight = 50 // if not set, cellHeight = Collection.height/numberOfSections
layout.cellWidth = 50  // if not set, cellWidth = Collection.width/numberOfItems(inSection)
collectionView.collectionViewLayout = layout

Layout:

import UIKit

class GridCollectionViewLayout: UICollectionViewLayout {


var cellWidth : CGFloat = 0
var cellHeight : CGFloat = 0
var seperator: CGFloat = 1

private var cache = [UICollectionViewLayoutAttributes]()



override func prepare() {

    guard let collectionView = self.collectionView else {
        return
    }

    self.cache.removeAll()



        let numberOfSections = collectionView.numberOfSections

        if cellHeight <= 0
        {
            cellHeight = (collectionView.bounds.height - seperator*CGFloat(numberOfSections-1))/CGFloat(numberOfSections)
        }

        for section in 0..<collectionView.numberOfSections {

            let numberOfItems = collectionView.numberOfItems(inSection: section)

            let cellWidth2 : CGFloat
            if cellWidth <= 0
            {
                cellWidth2 = (collectionView.bounds.width - seperator*CGFloat(numberOfItems-1))/CGFloat(numberOfItems)
            }
            else
            {
                cellWidth2 = cellWidth
            }


            for row in 0..<numberOfItems {


                let indexPath = NSIndexPath(row: row, section: section)

                let attributes = UICollectionViewLayoutAttributes(forCellWith: indexPath as IndexPath)
                attributes.frame = CGRect(x: (cellWidth2+seperator)*CGFloat(row),
                                          y: (cellHeight+seperator)*CGFloat(section),
                                          width: cellWidth2,
                                          height: cellHeight)

                //row_temp.append(attributes)

                self.cache.append(attributes)
            }
            //self.itemAttributes.append(row_temp)
        }

}

override var collectionViewContentSize: CGSize {

    guard let collectionView = collectionView else
    {
        return CGSize.zero
    }

    if (collectionView.numberOfSections <= 0)
    {
        return collectionView.bounds.size
    }

    let width:CGFloat
    if cellWidth <= 0
    {
        width = collectionView.bounds.width
    }
    else
    {
        width = cellWidth*CGFloat(collectionView.numberOfItems(inSection: 0))
    }

    let numberOfSections = CGFloat(collectionView.numberOfSections)
    var height:CGFloat = 0
    height += numberOfSections * cellHeight
    height += (numberOfSections - 1) * seperator



    return CGSize(width: width, height: height)
}

override func layoutAttributesForElements(in rect: CGRect) -> [UICollectionViewLayoutAttributes]? {

    var layoutAttributes = [UICollectionViewLayoutAttributes]()

    for attributes in cache {
        if attributes.frame.intersects(rect) {
            layoutAttributes.append(attributes)
        }
    }
    return layoutAttributes
}

override func layoutAttributesForItem(at indexPath: IndexPath) -> UICollectionViewLayoutAttributes? {
    return cache[indexPath.item]
}
}

Answer 3

Here is the working code for Swift 3, to have a two-columns layout :

func collectionView(_ collectionView: UICollectionView,
                    layout collectionViewLayout: UICollectionViewLayout,
                    sizeForItemAt indexPath: IndexPath) -> CGSize {

    let nbCol = 2

    let flowLayout = collectionViewLayout as! UICollectionViewFlowLayout
    let totalSpace = flowLayout.sectionInset.left
        + flowLayout.sectionInset.right
        + (flowLayout.minimumInteritemSpacing * CGFloat(nbCol - 1))
    let size = Int((collectionView.bounds.width - totalSpace) / CGFloat(nbCol))
    return CGSize(width: size, height: size)
}

Feel free to change "nbCol" to your desired number of columns.

Answer 4

Updated to Swift 5+ iOS 13

Collectionview Estimate Size must be none

Declare margin for cell

let margin: CGFloat = 10

In viewDidLoad configure minimumInteritemSpacing, minimumLineSpacing, sectionInset

 guard let collectionView = docsColl, let flowLayout = collectionView.collectionViewLayout as? UICollectionViewFlowLayout else { return }

    flowLayout.minimumInteritemSpacing = margin
    flowLayout.minimumLineSpacing = margin
    flowLayout.sectionInset = UIEdgeInsets(top: margin, left: margin, bottom: margin, right: margin)

UICollectionViewDataSource method sizeForItemAt

func collectionView(_ collectionView: UICollectionView, layout collectionViewLayout: UICollectionViewLayout, sizeForItemAt indexPath: IndexPath) -> CGSize {

    let noOfCellsInRow = 2   //number of column you want
    let flowLayout = collectionViewLayout as! UICollectionViewFlowLayout
    let totalSpace = flowLayout.sectionInset.left
        + flowLayout.sectionInset.right
        + (flowLayout.minimumInteritemSpacing * CGFloat(noOfCellsInRow - 1))

    let size = Int((collectionView.bounds.width - totalSpace) / CGFloat(noOfCellsInRow))
    return CGSize(width: size, height: size)
}

Answer 5

CollectionViews are very powerful, and they come at a price. Lots, and lots of options. As omz said:

there are multiple ways you could change the number of columns

I'd suggest implementing the <UICollectionViewDelegateFlowLayout> Protocol, giving you access to the following methods in which you can have greater control over the layout of your UICollectionView, without the need for subclassing it:

• collectionView:layout:insetForSectionAtIndex:
• collectionView:layout:minimumInteritemSpacingForSectionAtIndex:
• collectionView:layout:minimumLineSpacingForSectionAtIndex:
• collectionView:layout:referenceSizeForFooterInSection:
• collectionView:layout:referenceSizeForHeaderInSection:
• collectionView:layout:sizeForItemAtIndexPath:

Also, implementing the following method will force your UICollectionView to update it's layout on an orientation change: (say you wanted to re-size the cells for landscape and make them stretch)

-(void)willRotateToInterfaceOrientation:(UIInterfaceOrientation)toInterfaceOrientation
                               duration:(NSTimeInterval)duration{

    [self.myCollectionView.collectionViewLayout invalidateLayout];
}

Additionally, here are 2 really good tutorials on UICollectionViews:

http://www.raywenderlich.com/22324/beginning-uicollectionview-in-ios-6-part-12

http://skeuo.com/uicollectionview-custom-layout-tutorial

Answer 6

If you are lazy using delegate.

extension UICollectionView {
    func setItemsInRow(items: Int) {
        if let layout = self.collectionViewLayout as? UICollectionViewFlowLayout {
            let contentInset = self.contentInset
            let itemsInRow: CGFloat = CGFloat(items);
            let innerSpace = layout.minimumInteritemSpacing * (itemsInRow - 1.0)
            let insetSpace = contentInset.left + contentInset.right + layout.sectionInset.left + layout.sectionInset.right
            let width = floor((CGRectGetWidth(frame) - insetSpace - innerSpace) / itemsInRow);
            layout.itemSize = CGSizeMake(width, width)
        }
    }
}

PS: Should be called after rotation too