Add UITableView (outside of ViewController) as UIWindow subview

Question

I am working with a custom view class that is NOT in a UIViewController. Based on the text entered into the text field of my custom view, I want to present a UITableView over the rest of the screen (nevermind frame size concerns).

This behavior is identical to what happens when you start tagging someone in a post on Facebook or Twitter, starting with the @ sign: A table view is presented with a list of users that you can select to tag.

So, from a view (not viewController), how can I present a UITableView on top of the parent view that my custom view is displayed in? Is my only option to do this by adding a UITableView to the UIWindow? If so, how? I've read all the questions related to that, and none of them address my concerns.

I'm aware of that. I'm just pointing this out because all the other possible duplicate questions users might claim here, are referring to viewControllers, not views. — jungledev, Aug 20 '15 at 22:47
BTW: from what I understand you should stick with UIViewControllers. Using containment. — vikingosegundo, Aug 20 '15 at 22:49
Intentionally being redundant doesn't mean I'm unaware. Just telling me to stick with a VC isn't going to solve my issue. — jungledev, Aug 20 '15 at 22:53
well, taking the words "uiviewcontroller" and "containment" and ask google would solve it. — vikingosegundo, Aug 20 '15 at 22:54
or simply check the the docs for `presentViewController:animated:` and transition delegate to create a transparent background. — vikingosegundo, Aug 20 '15 at 22:57
http://stackoverflow.com/questions/12741224/ios-modal-viewcontroller-with-transparent-background — vikingosegundo, Aug 20 '15 at 22:58
though presenting would mean it would take over the whole screen. go with containment. — vikingosegundo, Aug 20 '15 at 23:00
Add the table view as a subview to your custom view and make sure that clipsToBounds is false for your custom view. — Tamás Zahola, Aug 20 '15 at 23:01

score 1 · Accepted Answer · answered Aug 21 '15 at 06:28

Yes, you can do that.

AppDelegate *delegate = (AppDelegate *)[[UIApplication sharedApplication]delegate]; //create object of your AppDelegate

UITableView *tableView = [[UITableView alloc]initWithFrame:CGRectMake(0, 0, 200, 200)]; //set your desired frame
[delegate.window addSubview:tableView];
tableView.layer.zPosition = 1; //table will appear on top of your screen

I have checked it, its working, so hope it helps

Add UITableView (outside of ViewController) as UIWindow subview

1 Answers1