AutoLayout in UITableview with dynamic cell height

Question

For dynamic height of my table view cell I take reference from this link. Using Auto Layout in UITableView for dynamic cell layouts & variable row heights

Here is my code of tableview data source and delegate methods

-(NSInteger)tableView:(UITableView *)tableView numberOfRowsInSection:(NSInteger)section;
  {
       return arrTemp. count;
  }

- (UITableViewCell *)tableView:(UITableView *)tableView cellForRowAtIndexPath:(NSIndexPath *)indexPath
{
static NSString *cellIdentifier=@"AutoLAyoutCell";

AutoLayoutTableViewCell *cell=(AutoLayoutTableViewCell *)[tableView dequeueReusableCellWithIdentifier:cellIdentifier];
if (cell==nil) {
    for (id currentObject in [[NSBundle mainBundle] loadNibNamed:@"AutoLayoutTableViewCell" owner:self options:nil]) {
        if ([currentObject isKindOfClass:[UITableViewCell class]]) {
            cell = (AutoLayoutTableViewCell *)currentObject;
            break;
        }
    }
}

cell.IBlblLineNo.text=[NSString stringWithFormat:@"Line:%i",indexPath.row];
cell.IBlblLineText.text=[arrTemp objectAtIndex:indexPath.row];
[cell setNeedsUpdateConstraints];
[cell updateConstraintsIfNeeded];

CGSize expectedlineLabelSize = [cell.IBlblLineText.text sizeWithFont:cell.IBlblLineText.font constrainedToSize:CGSizeMake(280, 1000) lineBreakMode:NSLineBreakByTruncatingTail];
cell.IBlblLineText.numberOfLines=expectedlineLabelSize.height/17;

CGRect frmlbl=cell.IBlblLineText.frame;
frmlbl.size.height=expectedlineLabelSize.height;
cell.IBlblLineText.frame=frmlbl;

return cell;
}

- (CGFloat)tableView:(UITableView *)tableView heightForRowAtIndexPath:(NSIndexPath *)indexPath
{

AutoLayoutTableViewCell *cell = (AutoLayoutTableViewCell *)[IBtblAutoLayoutExample cellForRowAtIndexPath:indexPath];

cell.IBlblLineNo.text=[NSString stringWithFormat:@"Line:%i",indexPath.row];
cell.IBlblLineText.text=[arrTemp objectAtIndex:indexPath.row];

[cell setNeedsUpdateConstraints];
[cell updateConstraintsIfNeeded];

CGSize expectedlineLabelSize = [cell.lineLabel.text sizeWithFont:cell.lineLabel.font constrainedToSize:CGSizeMake(280, 1000) lineBreakMode:NSLineBreakByWordWrapping];

 cell.IBlblLineText.numberOfLines=expectedlineLabelSize.height/17;
CGRect frmlbl=cell.IBlblLineText.frame;
frmlbl.size.height=expectedlineLabelSize.height;
cell.IBlblLineText.frame=frmlbl;

CGFloat height = [cell.contentView systemLayoutSizeFittingSize:UILayoutFittingCompressedSize].height;
height += 1.0f;

return height;
}

- (CGFloat)tableView:(UITableView *)tableView estimatedHeightForRowAtIndexPath:(NSIndexPath *)indexPath
{
     AutoLayoutTableViewCell *cell = (AutoLayoutTableViewCell *)[IBtblAutoLayoutExample cellForRowAtIndexPath:indexPath];

 CGSize expectedlineLabelSize = [cell.IBlblLineText.text sizeWithFont:cell.IBlblLineText.font constrainedToSize:CGSizeMake(280, 1000) lineBreakMode:NSLineBreakByTruncatingTail];

 return expectedlineLabelSize.height;

}

I have 2 questions :

1. My issue is I get the error EXE_BAD_EXCESS near the line

   AutoLayoutTableViewCell *cell = (AutoLayoutTableViewCell *)[IBtblAutoLayoutExample cellForRowAtIndexPath:indexPath]; 
   

   in heightForRowAtIndexPath and estimatedHeightForRowAtIndexPath.

2. Why do I have to write label text in both cellForRowAtIndexPath and heightForRowAtIndexPath?

Also, am I missing anything needed to achieve dynamic height for the cell?

Answer 1

To set automatic dimension for row height & estimated row height, ensure following steps to make, auto dimension effective for cell/row height layout.

• Assign and implement tableview dataSource and delegate
• Assign UITableViewAutomaticDimension to rowHeight & estimatedRowHeight
• Implement delegate/dataSource methods (i.e. heightForRowAt and return a value UITableViewAutomaticDimension to it)

-

Objective C:

// in ViewController.h
#import <UIKit/UIKit.h>

@interface ViewController : UIViewController <UITableViewDelegate, UITableViewDataSource>

  @property IBOutlet UITableView * table;

@end

// in ViewController.m

- (void)viewDidLoad {
    [super viewDidLoad];
    self.table.dataSource = self;
    self.table.delegate = self;

    self.table.rowHeight = UITableViewAutomaticDimension;
    self.table.estimatedRowHeight = UITableViewAutomaticDimension;
}

-(CGFloat)tableView:(UITableView *)tableView heightForRowAtIndexPath:(NSIndexPath *)indexPath {

    return UITableViewAutomaticDimension;
}

Swift:

@IBOutlet weak var table: UITableView!

override func viewDidLoad() {
    super.viewDidLoad()

    // Don't forget to set dataSource and delegate for table
    table.dataSource = self
    table.delegate = self

    // Set automatic dimensions for row height
    // Swift 4.2 onwards
    table.rowHeight = UITableView.automaticDimension
    table.estimatedRowHeight = UITableView.automaticDimension


    // Swift 4.1 and below
    table.rowHeight = UITableViewAutomaticDimension
    table.estimatedRowHeight = UITableViewAutomaticDimension

}



// UITableViewAutomaticDimension calculates height of label contents/text
func tableView(_ tableView: UITableView, heightForRowAt indexPath: IndexPath) -> CGFloat {
    // Swift 4.2 onwards
    return UITableView.automaticDimension

    // Swift 4.1 and below
    return UITableViewAutomaticDimension
}

For label instance in UITableviewCell

• Set number of lines = 0 (& line break mode = truncate tail)
• Set all constraints (top, bottom, right left) with respect to its superview/ cell container.
• Optional: Set minimum height for label, if you want minimum vertical area covered by label, even if there is no data.

Note: If you've more than one labels (UIElements) with dynamic length, which should be adjusted according to its content size: Adjust 'Content Hugging and Compression Resistance Priority` for labels which you want to expand/compress with higher priority.