uitableview subview : why this uilabel is not visible?

Question

I want to display a label showing a number in each cell of the tableview but the label is only visible when I click on a row (when the cell is highlited)

- (UITableViewCell *)tableView:(UITableView *)tableView cellForRowAtIndexPath:(NSIndexPath *)indexPath {
    static NSString *CellIdentifier = @"Cell";
    UILabel *label;
    UITableViewCell *cell = [tableView dequeueReusableCellWithIdentifier:CellIdentifier];
    if (cell == nil) {
        cell = [[[UITableViewCell alloc] initWithFrame:CGRectZero reuseIdentifier:CellIdentifier] autorelease];
        cell.accessoryType = UITableViewCellAccessoryDisclosureIndicator;
        label = [[UILabel alloc] initWithFrame:CGRectMake(200,10, 15, 15)];
        label.tag = 1;
        [cell.contentView addSubview:label];
        [label release];
    }
    else {
        label = (UILabel *)[cell viewWithTag:1];   
    }
    if (indexPath.row == 0) {
        cell.textLabel.text = @"Photos";
        label.text = [NSString stringWithFormat:@"%d",1];
    }
    return cell;
}

Answer 1

I had the same problem and it was solved by setting the text for textlabel BEFORE adding the custom label as a subview.

...
cell.textLabel.text = @"X";
...
[cell.contentView addSubview:label]

Answer 2

When you update the textLabel property of a UITableViewCell, it lazily creates a UILabel and adds it to the cell's subviews. Usually you wouldn't use a combination of textLabel and adding subviews to contentView, but if you do you need to make sure the textLabel view isn't placed over the top of your contentView subviews.

Answer 3

First, I assume this is targeting 3.0. Apple has changed how UITableViewCells are created in 3.0, and you should move over to that. -initWithFrame:reuseIdentifier: is deprecated.

That said, a likely problem is that the built-in textLabel is interfering with your added label, perhaps overlapping. You should look first at whether one of the new built-in styles meets your needs directly. If not I would recommend either just using your own views or only using the built-in views, possibly rearranging them. If you want to rearrange them, Apple suggests subclassing the cell and overloading -layoutSubviews. I also believe that -tableView:willDisplayCell:forRowAtIndexPath: is a good place to do final cell layout without subclassing.

Answer 4

Using a custom UITableViewCell gives you more control over the layout of a cell. Add custom views to the cell's contentView in the subclass and override the layoutSubviews to set the order of the subviews:

- (void)layoutSubviews {
    [super layoutSubviews];
    [self.contentView bringSubviewToFront:self.yourCustomView];
}