Customize an InstantSearch iOS widget
With InstantSearch iOS, you are in control of every widget’s UI. Each widget is represented by a protocol, for which Algolia provides default implementations. If these implementations don’t fit your purpose, you can either customize the existing implementation, or create your own.
Customize the existing implementation
All InstantSearch widgets are built through composition. This enables you to adapt the underlying Controller and add the behavior you want on top of the existing implementation.
For example, here’s how you can set text content type of a UISearchBar embedded in the SearchBarController:
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let searchBarController = SearchBarController(searchBar: UISearchBar())
// if your project targets iOS 13+, we recommend to use TextFieldController(searchBar: UISearchBar())
searchBarController.searchBar.textContentType = .countryName
Implement your own Controller
When you want to replace the existing behavior of a default implementation, you should implement your own Controller.
Example
Here is a custom search box controller that uses UITextView as the input field.
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public class TextFieldController: NSObject, SearchBoxController {
public var onQueryChanged: ((String?) -> Void)?
public var onQuerySubmitted: ((String?) -> Void)?
public let textField: UITextField
public init(textField: UITextField) {
self.textField = textField
super.init()
setupTextField()
}
public func setQuery(_ query: String?) {
textField.text = query
}
private func setupTextField() {
textField.returnKeyType = .search
textField.addTarget(self, action: #selector(textFieldDidChange), for: .editingChanged)
textField.addTarget(self, action: #selector(textFieldDidReturn), for: .editingDidEndOnExit)
}
@objc private func textFieldDidChange() {
onQueryChanged?(textField.text)
}
@objc private func textFieldDidReturn() {
textField.resignFirstResponder()
onQuerySubmitted?(textField.text)
}
}
