Change character spacing on UILabel within Interface Builder

Question

Is there anyway to change the character spacing (track) on UILabel text using Interface Builder? If not, is there a way to do it programmatically on an existing UILabel that

Answer 1

Ended up using this for now to get existing attributed text and modify to add character spacing:

let attributedString = discoveryTitle.attributedText as NSMutableAttributedString
attributedString.addAttribute(NSKernAttributeName, value: 1.0, range: NSMakeRange(0, attributedString.length))
discoveryTitle.attributedText = attributedString

Swift 3:

let attributedString = NSMutableAttributedString(string: discoveryTitle.text)
attributedString.addAttribute(NSKernAttributeName, value: CGFloat(1.0), range: NSRange(location: 0, length: attributedString.length))
discoveryTitle.attributedText = attributedString

Using NSRange instead of NSMakeRange works in Swift 3.

Answer 2

SWIFT 4 UILabel extension:

import UIKit

extension UILabel {

    @IBInspectable
    var letterSpace: CGFloat {
        set {
            let attributedString: NSMutableAttributedString!
            if let currentAttrString = attributedText {
                attributedString = NSMutableAttributedString(attributedString: currentAttrString)
            } else {
                attributedString = NSMutableAttributedString(string: text ?? "")
                text = nil
            } 
            attributedString.addAttribute(NSAttributedString.Key.kern,
                                          value: newValue,
                                          range: NSRange(location: 0, length: attributedString.length))
            attributedText = attributedString
        }

        get {
            if let currentLetterSpace = attributedText?.attribute(NSAttributedString.Key.kern, at: 0, effectiveRange: .none) as? CGFloat {
                return currentLetterSpace
            } else {
                return 0
            }
        }
    }
}

Answer 3

Swift 5.3.1

extension UILabel {
  func addCharacterSpacing(kernValue: Double = 1.15) {
    if let labelText = text, labelText.count > 0 {
      let attributedString = NSMutableAttributedString(string: labelText)
        attributedString.addAttribute(NSAttributedString.Key.kern, value: kernValue, range: NSRange(location: 0, length: attributedString.length - 1))
      attributedText = attributedString
    }
  }
}

Answer 4

Here is a solution for Swift 4 that won't override existing text attributes:

extension UILabel {

    /**
     Add kerning to a UILabel's existing `attributedText`
     - note: If `UILabel.attributedText` has not been set, the `UILabel.text`
     value will be returned from `attributedText` by default
     - note: This method must be called each time `UILabel.text` or
     `UILabel.attributedText` has been set
     - parameter kernValue: The value of the kerning to add
     */
    func addKern(_ kernValue: CGFloat) {
        guard let attributedText = attributedText,
            attributedText.string.count > 0,
            let fullRange = attributedText.string.range(of: attributedText.string) else {
                return
        }
        let updatedText = NSMutableAttributedString(attributedString: attributedText)
        updatedText.addAttributes([
            .kern: kernValue
            ], range: NSRange(fullRange, in: attributedText.string))
        self.attributedText = updatedText
    }
}

Answer 5

Try this. It will add the character spacing you assign, either you set simple text or attributed text.

open class UHBCustomLabel : UILabel {
    @IBInspectable open var characterSpacing:CGFloat = 1 {
        didSet {
            updateWithSpacing()
        }

    }

    open override var text: String? {
        set {
            super.text = newValue
            updateWithSpacing()
        }
        get {
            return super.text
        }
    }
    open override var attributedText: NSAttributedString? {
        set {
            super.attributedText = newValue
            updateWithSpacing()     
        }
        get {
            return super.attributedText
        }
    }
    func updateWithSpacing() {
        let attributedString = self.attributedText == nil ? NSMutableAttributedString(string: self.text ?? "") : NSMutableAttributedString(attributedString: attributedText!)
        attributedString.addAttribute(NSKernAttributeName, value: self.characterSpacing, range: NSRange(location: 0, length: attributedString.length))
        super.attributedText = attributedString
    }
}

Answer 6

Programming approach. (Try this, it should work for you)
Note: I tested in Swift 4

let label = UILabel()
let stringValue = "How to\ncontrol\nthe\nline spacing\nin UILabel"
let attrString = NSMutableAttributedString(string: stringValue)
var style = NSMutableParagraphStyle()
style.lineSpacing = 24 // change line spacing between paragraph like 36 or 48
style.minimumLineHeight = 20 // change line spacing between each line like 30 or 40

// Line spacing attribute
attrString.addAttribute(NSAttributedStringKey.paragraphStyle, value: style, range: NSRange(location: 0, length: stringValue.characters.count))

// Character spacing attribute
attrString.addAttribute(NSAttributedStringKey.kern, value: 2, range: NSMakeRange(0, attrString.length))

label.attributedText = attrString