Tab key to move to next field

Question

Under iPhone OS 2.x or 3.x, is there a way to cause the keyboard focus to switch to the next field? Like hitting the tab key under Mac OSX.
I'm trying to do my 'object add' screen and want, ideally, to do it as a table view with a section, title, and cell for each of the 9 data fields.

Answer 1

Hi Phil - I've been playing with a test bed, trying to get it to do what you described. It's close to finished, but I need to quit now and won't be able to get back to it until Sunday. Here's what I've got so far. Maybe you'll be able to finish it before I do:
// RootViewController.h
#import <UIKit/UIKit.h>
#define kTableViewSections 9
#define kTableViewRowHeight 36
#define kTextFieldTag 100
@interface RootViewController : UIViewController <UITableViewDataSource, UITableViewDelegate, UITextFieldDelegate> {
IBOutlet UITableView *theTableView;
@property (nonatomic, retain) IBOutlet UITableView *theTableView;
@end
// RootViewController.m
#import "RootViewController.h"
#import "BlueAppDelegate.h"
@implementation RootViewController
@synthesize theTableView;
- (NSInteger)numberOfSectionsInTableView:(UITableView *)tableView {
return kTableViewSections;
- (NSInteger)tableView:(UITableView *)tableView numberOfRowsInSection:(NSInteger)section {
return 1;
- (NSString)tableView:(UITableView)tableView
titleForHeaderInSection:(NSInteger)section {
return [NSString stringWithFormat:@"Field %d", section];
- (CGFloat)tableView:(UITableView *)tableView heightForRowAtIndexPath:(NSIndexPath *)indexPath {
return kTableViewRowHeight;
- (UITableViewCell *)tableView:(UITableView *)tableView cellForRowAtIndexPath:(NSIndexPath *)indexPath {
static NSString *CellIdentifier = @"Cell";
UITableViewCell *cell = [tableView dequeueReusableCellWithIdentifier:CellIdentifier];
if (cell == nil) {
cell = [[[UITableViewCell alloc] initWithFrame:CGRectZero reuseIdentifier:CellIdentifier] autorelease];
cell.selectionStyle = UITableViewCellSelectionStyleNone;
CGRect textFieldRect = CGRectMake(20, 4, 280, kTableViewRowHeight-8);
UITextField *textField = [[UITextField alloc] initWithFrame:textFieldRect];
textField.backgroundColor = [UIColor lightGrayColor];
textField.font = [UIFont systemFontOfSize:22];
[textField setAutocorrectionType:UITextAutocorrectionTypeNo];
textField.tag = kTextFieldTag;
textField.delegate = self;
[cell.contentView addSubview:textField];
[textField release];
// find the text field and set its tag based on the current section
for (UIView *txtField in cell.contentView.subviews) {
if (txtField.tag >= kTextFieldTag) {
txtField.tag = kTextFieldTag + indexPath.section;
NSLog(@"cell: Found %@ tag=%d", txtField, txtField.tag);
break;
return cell;
- (NSIndexPath *)tableView:(UITableView *)tableView willSelectRowAtIndexPath:(NSIndexPath *)indexPath {
return nil;
- (BOOL)textFieldShouldReturn:(UITextField *)textField {
// textField is the current first responder
NSLog(@"textFieldShouldReturn: textField.tag=%d", textField.tag);
[textField resignFirstResponder];
// scroll the next cell into view
int nextSection = (textField.tag - kTextFieldTag + 1) % kTableViewSections;
NSLog(@" nextSection=%d", nextSection);
NSIndexPath *indexPath = [NSIndexPath indexPathForRow:0 inSection:nextSection];
[self.theTableView scrollToRowAtIndexPath:indexPath atScrollPosition:UITableViewScrollPositionTop animated:NO];
// find the textField for the cell and make it first responder
UITableViewCell *cell = [self.theTableView cellForRowAtIndexPath:indexPath];
for (UIView *textField in cell.contentView.subviews) {
if (textField.tag >= kTextFieldTag) {
NSLog(@"return: Found %@ tag=%d", textField, textField.tag);
[textField becomeFirstResponder];
break;
return YES;
- (void)viewDidAppear:(BOOL)animated {
[super viewDidAppear:animated];
NSLog(@"viewDidAppear");
// find the first text field and make it first responder
NSIndexPath *indexPath = [NSIndexPath indexPathForRow:0 inSection:0];
UITableViewCell *cell = [self.theTableView cellForRowAtIndexPath:indexPath];
for (UIView *textField in cell.contentView.subviews) {
if (textField.tag >= kTextFieldTag) {
NSLog(@"appear: Found %@ tag=%d", textField, textField.tag);
[textField becomeFirstResponder];
break;
- (void)dealloc {
[theTableView release];
[super dealloc];
@end
There are three jobs on my todo list:
1) Bug fix: In textFieldShouldReturn, I had to turn off the animation for scrollToRowAtIndexPath because when the focus wanted to wrap from section 8 back to section 0, the cell for section 0 wasn't ready. I think we need to wait for the scroll animation to end before trying to reset the focus;
2) Bug fix: The contents of each text field needs to be saved as soon as it loses focus. The saved text then needs to refresh the section when it next becomes visible. Right now you'll see, for example. the text from section 1 reappears in section 6 when that section becomes visible. Of course, this is because the cell from section 1 has been reused for section 6. So the contents of each reused text field needs to be cleared and refreshed from a cache in cellForRowAtIndexPath;
3) Clean up: I use a for loop to find each cell's text field. I can't simply use viewWithTag because the tag is within a range instead of being a constant. There are three of these loops, so that code wants to be in a helper method. Of course, if you're using a subclassed cell, you won't need those loops, since the text field can be a property of the cell.
I'm sure there willl be other odds and ends to clean up, but I think the above structure might do the job for you. Please let me know if you have things working before Sunday afternoon.
- Ray