Programmatically set image to UIImageView with Xcode 6.1/Swift

Question

I'm trying to set UIImageView programmatically in Xcode 6.1:

@IBOutlet weak var bgImage: UIImageView!

var image : UIImage = UIImage(named:"afternoon")!
bgImage = UIImageView(image: image)
bgImage.frame = CGRect(x: 0, y: 0, width: 100, height: 200)
view.addSubview(bgImage)

But Xcode is saying "expected declaration" with bgImage = UIImageView(image: image) Image "afternoon"is a PNG, and my understanding is PNG does not need an extension in XCode 6.1.

Also tried just bgImage.image = UIImage(named: "afternoon"), but still get:

enter image description here

UPDATE

OK, I have put the code to update UIImageView into the viewDidLoad function, but UIImageView is still not showing the image (which exists in the base directory as afternoon.png):

@IBOutlet weak var bgImage: UIImageView!
@IBOutlet weak var dateLabel: UILabel!
@IBOutlet weak var timeLabel: UILabel!

override func viewDidLoad() {
    super.viewDidLoad()
    // Do any additional setup after loading the view, typically from a nib.

    updateTime()
    var timer = NSTimer()
    let aSelector : Selector = "updateTime"
    timer = NSTimer.scheduledTimerWithTimeInterval(0.01, target: self, selector: aSelector, userInfo: nil, repeats: true)

    var image : UIImage = UIImage(named:"afternoon")!
    bgImage = UIImageView(image: image)
}

You need to put that code into a function. I'd put it in viewDidLoad(). — HAS, Nov 20 '14 at 12:16
Since you declared it as an outlet, have you tried simply assigning the image instead of re-initializing it? instead of `bgImage = UIImageView(image: image)` just using `bgImage.image = UIImage(named: "afternoon")`? — c_rath, Nov 20 '14 at 12:28
See updated OP...Very new to XCode...very familiar with JavaScript, jQuery, PHP etc — IlludiumPu36, Nov 20 '14 at 12:49

score 171 · Accepted Answer · edited Nov 03 '16 at 17:40

Since you have your bgImage assigned and linked as an IBOutlet, there is no need to initialize it as a UIImageView... instead all you need to do is set the image property like bgImage.image = UIImage(named: "afternoon"). After running this code, the image appeared fine since it was already assigned using the outlet.

enter image description here

However, if it wasn't an outlet and you didn't have it already connected to a UIImageView object on a storyboard/xib file, then you could so something like the following...

class ViewController: UIViewController {
    var bgImage: UIImageView?

    override func viewDidLoad() {
        super.viewDidLoad()

        var image: UIImage = UIImage(named: "afternoon")!
        bgImage = UIImageView(image: image)
        bgImage!.frame = CGRectMake(0,0,100,200)
        self.view.addSubview(bgImage!)
    }
}

score 52 · Answer 2 · answered Sep 28 '16 at 11:54

52

In xcode 8 you can directly choose image from the selection window (NEW)...

You just need to type - "image" and you will get a suggestion box then select -"Image Literal" from list (see in attached picture) and
then tap on the square you will be able to see all images(see in
second attached picture) which are in your image assets... or select other image from there.

Now tap on square box - (You will see that square box after selecting above option)

answered Sep 28 '16 at 11:54

Vijay Sharma

1,046
9
19

4

Wow, first time seeing something like that in an IDE, looks pretty cool in my code now – Big_Chair Jun 28 '18 at 20:22
Thanks for the help buddy. Take care mate. – Mr. Disability Oct 03 '20 at 11:02
My Xcode version is 14.2. What am I missing that when I type *image* that **Literal** option does not appears in the list? – Kozmotronik Apr 28 '23 at 14:14

IlludiumPu36 · Answer 3 · 2014-11-21T03:34:34.470

11

OK, got it working with this (creating the UIImageView programmatically):

var imageViewObject :UIImageView

imageViewObject = UIImageView(frame:CGRectMake(0, 0, 600, 600))

imageViewObject.image = UIImage(named:"afternoon")

self.view.addSubview(imageViewObject)

self.view.sendSubviewToBack(imageViewObject)

edited Nov 21 '14 at 03:34

answered Nov 21 '14 at 02:55

IlludiumPu36

4,196
10
61
100

score 10 · Answer 4 · answered Jun 10 '16 at 03:20

10

How about this;

myImageView.image=UIImage(named: "image_1")

where image_1 is within the assets folder as image_1.png.

This worked for me since i'm using a switch case to display an image slide.

answered Jun 10 '16 at 03:20

dnaatwork.com

362
5
9

score 5 · Answer 5 · answered Nov 20 '14 at 13:19

5

This code is in the wrong place:

var image : UIImage = UIImage(named:"afternoon")!
bgImage = UIImageView(image: image)
bgImage.frame = CGRect(x: 0, y: 0, width: 100, height: 200)
view.addSubview(bgImage)

You must place it inside a function. I recommend moving it inside the viewDidLoad function.

In general, the only code you can add within the class that's not inside of a function are variable declarations like:

@IBOutlet weak var bgImage: UIImageView!

answered Nov 20 '14 at 13:19

Alfie Hanssen

16,964
12
68
74

1

..thanks for your help, but UIImageView is still not showing the image...see updated OP – IlludiumPu36 Nov 21 '14 at 02:04

score 3 · Answer 6 · answered Nov 28 '16 at 05:36

With swift syntax this worked for me :

    let leftImageView = UIImageView()
    leftImageView.image = UIImage(named: "email")

    let leftView = UIView()
    leftView.addSubview(leftImageView)

    leftView.frame = CGRect(x: 0, y: 0, width: 40, height: 40)
    leftImageView.frame = CGRect(x: 10, y: 10, width: 20, height: 20)
    userNameTextField.leftViewMode = .always
    userNameTextField.leftView = leftView

score 3 · Answer 7 · answered Jul 25 '17 at 11:19

3

In Swift 4, if the image is returned as nil.

Click on image, on the right hand side (Utilities) -> Check Target Membership

answered Jul 25 '17 at 11:19

yoshiiiiiiii

953
8
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My UIImage was returning nil, for the reason you mentioned, 10x – Ziv Kesten May 25 '21 at 10:51

score 3 · Answer 8 · answered Jan 17 '18 at 21:35

If you want to do it the way you showed in your question, this is a way to do it inline

class YourClass: UIViewController{

  @IBOutlet weak var tableView: UITableView!
  //other IBOutlets

  //THIS is how you declare a UIImageView inline
  let placeholderImage : UIImageView = {
        let placeholderImage = UIImageView(image: UIImage(named: "nophoto"))
        placeholderImage.contentMode = .scaleAspectFill
        return placeholderImage
    }()

   var someVariable: String!
   var someOtherVariable: Int!

   func someMethod(){
      //method code
   }

   //and so on
}

score 2 · Answer 9 · answered Jul 18 '19 at 07:54

You just need to drag and drop an ImageView, create the outlet action, link it, and provide an image (Xcode is going to look in your assets folder for the name you provided (here: "toronto"))

In yourProject/ViewController.swift

import UIKit

class ViewController: UIViewController {

    @IBOutlet weak var imgView: UIImageView!

    override func viewDidLoad() {
        super.viewDidLoad()

        imgView.image = UIImage(named: "toronto")
    }
}

Programmatically set image to UIImageView with Xcode 6.1/Swift

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