How do I add a Navigation Bar to a UITableViewController in Interface Builder?

Question

Interface builder does not let me click and drag a Navigation Bar onto a Table View Controller!!! It is super frustrating.

All I want is a table view with an edit bu

Answer 1

I agree that it's difficult to figure out how to do things like this in Interface Builder, but luckily it is possible to add a Navigation Bar and Bar Button Item to a Table View this way. Here's how to do it:

1. Drag a blank View (an instance of UIView) from the Library to the area near the top of the Table View. As you drag near the target area, Interface Builder will highlight it in blue to show you where to drop the View. Let go, and the View will be added as a subview of the Table View's header view.
2. Drag a Navigation Bar from the Library and drop it on the blank View you just added.
3. Drag a Bar Button Item from the Library and drop it onto the Navigation Bar.

EDIT

The problem with the above approach is that, as Bogatyr points out, the Navigation Bar will then scroll along with the Table View. Apple recommends using a custom subclass of UIViewController that owns both the Navigation Bar and an instance of UITableView resized to fit. Unfortunately, that means you would have to implement the UITableViewController behavior needed by your UIViewController subclass yourself.

Another approach that seems to work well is to create a custom subclass of UIViewController that owns a blank background view containing the Navigation Bar as well as a blank content view (an instance of UIView) that fits under the Navigation Bar. Your custom subclass would have an outlet pointing to an instance of UITableViewController in the same nib file.

This has the advantage of allowing all the view components to be created and configured in Interface Builder, and doesn't require implementing UITableViewController methods from scratch. The only detail you'd need to take care of in the Table View Controller's parent would be to add Table View as a subview of the parent's content view in viewDidLoad.

The parent could implement the action methods for the Navigation Bar's button items, and implement the delegate pattern if necessary.