How do I remove a subview added using self.view addSubview ?

Question

This is the initial code:
[self.view addSubview:newView];
OK, now the view is up.
Now...how to remove it ?
When I remove it...is the information [say there is a textfield in newView] still retain or gone for good ?

Answer 1

Bracer-J wrote:
This is the initial code:
[self.view addSubview:newView];
Now...how to remove it ?
To remove any subview, send it the removeFromSuperview message. Of course you can't make use of this message unless you know the address of the subview. There are two good ways to find the subview:
1) Assign a tag number, then remove the subview like this:
// MyController.m
UIView *subView = [self.view viewWithTag:NN];
[subView removeFromSuperview];
2) Save a pointer to the subview in an ivar:
// MyController.h
@interface MyController: UIViewController {
UITextField *subView;
@property (nonatomic, retain) UITextField *subView;
@end
When I remove it...is the information say there is a textfield in newView still retain or gone for good ?
In the first example, the only thing retaining the subview was the superview. In other words, addSubview retains, but if the subview hasn't been retained anyplace else, removeFromSubview releases it, and it's gone forever, taking its data with it.
But in the second example, the subview was retained by the ivar (by the setter declared in the @property). The subview can then be added and removed from the superview multiple times without being deallocated, since its retain count will remain above zero until it's released by the ivar.
So if you want to keep a text field (and its data) after removing it from the superview, use the second example.
- Ray