Is there a way to disable transparency on the keyboard in iOS 7?

Question

I would like to have a keyboard with a non-transparent keyboard - I couldn\'t get this with any of the supported UIKeyboardTypes. Is there another way around this?

I

Answer 1

Apple does not allow anyone to modify the default keyboard. If you are going to be using iOS 7 then you will have to deal with the translucent keyboard.

The only other way I can think of is designing your own keyboard, but that's a tedious process to go through.

Answer 2

I was looking into the same thing today, and I found a simple workaround (although, not yet sure how reliable it is).

In order to work, I've set up an inputAccessoryView for my keyboard controls (UITextView and UITextField). In the UIView class that I've set as the inputAccessoryView I added the followings:

-(void)layoutSubviews{
    [super layoutSubviews];

    frame = _lKeyboardBackground.frame;
    frame.origin.y = [self convertPoint:self.frame.origin toView:self.superview].y+self.frame.size.height;
    frame.size.width = self.bounds.size.width;
    frame.origin.x = 0;
    frame.size.height = 500;
    _lKeyboardBackground.frame = frame;

    [self refreshKeyboardBackground];
}
-(void)didMoveToSuperview{
    [super didMoveToSuperview];
    if (self.superview) {
        [self.superview.layer insertSublayer:_lKeyboardBackground atIndex:lMagicLayerIndex];
    }
    else {
        [_lKeyboardBackground removeFromSuperlayer];
    }
}
-(void)setFrame:(CGRect)frame{
    [super setFrame:frame];
    [self refreshKeyboardBackground];  // setFrame: is called when keyboard changes (e.g: to a custom input view)
}
-(void)refreshKeyboardBackground{
    if (_lKeyboardBackground.superlayer) {
        CALayer *parent = _lKeyboardBackground.superlayer;
        [_lKeyboardBackground removeFromSuperlayer];
        [parent insertSublayer:_lKeyboardBackground atIndex:lMagicLayerIndex];
    }
}

_lKeyboardBackground is a CALayer that I've setup in the init methods:

_lKeyboardBackground = [CALayer layer];
_lKeyboardBackground.backgroundColor = [[UIColor redColor] CGColor]; //or some less annoying color

This should theoretically pass Apple's approval, but I never tested. There's also plenty of changes this will not work in future versions, or in some other situations (e.g when there's a split keyboard on the iPad)

lMagicLayerIndex that I use is 1, which gives the absolute color.
Note that the blur can still be noticed on key-strokes.

Answer 3

The keyboard in iOS7 is translucent when app is compiled in Xcode 5 with a Base SDK of iOS 7.
If you build the app on Xcode 4.6.x instead, you'll have the non-translucent keyboard as before.
(i know this is a shitty fix but nonetheless, i thought i'd suggest it)

anyways, you could alternatively try making use of the default keyboard notifications:

1. UIKeyboardWillShowNotification
2. UIKeyboardWillHideNotification

should go something like:

-(void)viewWillAppear:(BOOL)animated
{
    [[NSNotificationCenter defaultCenter] addObserver:self
                                             selector:@selector(keyboardWillShow:)
                                                 name:UIKeyboardWillShowNotification
                                               object:nil];

    [[NSNotificationCenter defaultCenter] addObserver:self
                                             selector:@selector(keyboardWillHide:)
                                                 name:UIKeyboardWillHideNotification
                                               object:nil];
}

-(void)viewWillDisappear:(BOOL)animated
{
    [[NSNotificationCenter defaultCenter] removeObserver:self
                                                    name:UIKeyboardWillShowNotification
                                                  object:nil];

    [[NSNotificationCenter defaultCenter] removeObserver:self
                                                    name:UIKeyboardWillHideNotification
                                                  object:nil];
}

---

-(void)keyboardWillShow:(NSNotification *)note
{
    /*
     Would have used:
     CGRect rectStart = [note.userInfo[UIKeyboardFrameBeginUserInfoKey] CGRectValue];
     CGRect rectEnd = [note.userInfo[UIKeyboardFrameEndUserInfoKey] CGRectValue];

     Reason for not using:
     The above two keys are not being used although, ideally, they should have been
     since they seem to be buggy when app is in landscape mode

     Resolution:
     Using the deprecated UIKeyboardBoundsUserInfoKey since it works more efficiently
     */

    CGRect rectStart_PROPER = [note.userInfo[UIKeyboardBoundsUserInfoKey] CGRectValue];
    rectStart_PROPER.origin.y = self.view.frame.size.height;

    UIView *vwUnderlay = [self.view viewWithTag:8080];
    if (vwUnderlay) {
        [vwUnderlay removeFromSuperview];
    }

    vwUnderlay = [[UIView alloc] init];
    [vwUnderlay setFrame:rectStart_PROPER];
    [vwUnderlay setBackgroundColor:[UIColor orangeColor]];
    [vwUnderlay setTag:8080];
    [self.view addSubview:vwUnderlay];

    [UIView animateWithDuration:[note.userInfo[UIKeyboardAnimationDurationUserInfoKey] floatValue]
                          delay:0
                        options:[note.userInfo[UIKeyboardAnimationCurveUserInfoKey] integerValue] << 16
                     animations:^{
                         [vwUnderlay setFrame:CGRectOffset(vwUnderlay.frame, 0, -vwUnderlay.frame.size.height)];
                     }
                     completion:nil];
}

---

-(void)keyboardWillHide:(NSNotification *)note
{
    UIView *vwUnderlay = [self.view viewWithTag:8080];

    [UIView animateWithDuration:[note.userInfo[UIKeyboardAnimationDurationUserInfoKey] floatValue]
                          delay:0
                        options:[note.userInfo[UIKeyboardAnimationCurveUserInfoKey] integerValue] << 16
                     animations:^{
                         [vwUnderlay setFrame:CGRectOffset(vwUnderlay.frame, 0, vwUnderlay.frame.size.height)];
                     }
                     completion:^(BOOL finished){
                         [vwUnderlay removeFromSuperview];
                     }];
}

Answer 4

Use keyboard notification to show/hide a custom black view behind the keyboard (or white if you use the white keyboard) and voila, transparent no more.