How to reload all tableview cells, while editing a textfield in a tableview cell - iOS Swift

Question

For Clarity I have a UIView Controller with a top view containing a textfield. I also have a tableview below that each row containing

Answer 1

I would avoid reloading the table view at all so that you don't disturb the first responder status of your text. You could either (1) insert and delete only what's changed or (2) redecorate cells that need updating.

1. Inserting and Deleting

So, instead of calling myTableView.reloadData(), figure out which index paths need to be added or removed and call the appropriate methods.

myTableView.insertRows(at: newIndexPaths, with: .automatic)
myTableView.deleteRows(at: oldIndexPaths, with: .automatic)

2. Redecorating

This requires a more modular approach to how you are dequeuing cells. Instead of doing this:

func tableView(_ tableView: UITableView, cellForRowAt indexPath: IndexPath) -> UITableViewCell {
    let cell = tableView.dequeueReusableCell(withIdentifier: "myCell", for: indexPath)
    cell.data = dataArray[indexPath.row]
    return cell
}

Do this:

func tableView(_ tableView: UITableView, cellForRowAt indexPath: IndexPath) -> UITableViewCell {
    let cell = tableView.dequeueReusableCell(withIdentifier: "myCell", for: indexPath)
    decorate(cell, at: indexPath)
    return cell
}

func decorate(_ cell: UITableViewCell, at indexPath: IndexPath) {
    cell.data = dataArray[indexPath.row]
}

That way later on you can redecorate, i.e. update the content and configuration of the cells without reloading and disturbing the first responder status:

for cell in myTableView.visibleCells {
    if let indexPath = myTableView.indexPath(for: cell) {
        decorate(cell: cell, at: indexPath)
    }
}