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How to Hide a UIView in UIKit

iOS Development, UIKit, UIView3 min read

In UIKit, hiding a UIView is a common task that you may encounter when building iOS applications. It is useful when you want to show or hide a certain section of your user interface, depending on the user's actions or some other events.

Fortunately, UIKit provides a simple way to hide a UIView, which involves changing its hidden property. In this article, we will take a closer look at how to hide a UIView in UIKit and some best practices to follow.

Using the hidden property

The hidden property is a Boolean value that determines whether a UIView is hidden or not. By default, it is set to false, which means that the view is visible. However, when you set it to true, the view becomes invisible, and it is not included in the layout of the screen.

To hide a UIView, you can set its hidden property to true, as follows:

1myView.isHidden = true

In the above code, myView is the UIView that you want to hide. When you set its isHidden property to true, the view becomes invisible.

You can also use the isHidden property to unhide a UIView. To make a hidden view visible, you can set its isHidden property to false, as shown below:

1myView.isHidden = false

When you set the isHidden property to false, the view becomes visible again, and it is included in the layout of the screen.

Best practices for hiding a UIView

When hiding a UIView in UIKit, there are some best practices that you should follow to ensure that your user interface looks and behaves as expected.

Use Auto Layout

If you are using Auto Layout to manage your user interface, hiding a UIView can affect the layout of other views. For example, if you hide a UILabel, the views below it will move up to fill the empty space.

To avoid these layout issues, you should use Auto Layout to manage the layout of your user interface. Auto Layout can adjust the position and size of views automatically when you hide or unhide a view, ensuring that your user interface looks and behaves as expected.

Avoid changing the frame or bounds

When you hide a UIView in UIKit, its frame and bounds are still valid. However, you should avoid changing them manually when the view is hidden. Changing the frame or bounds of a hidden view can affect the layout of other views, which can lead to unexpected results.

Instead, you should rely on Auto Layout to manage the layout of your user interface. Auto Layout can adjust the position and size of views automatically when you show or hide a view, ensuring that your user interface looks and behaves as expected.

Use animations to hide and show views

When you hide or show a UIView in UIKit, you can use animations to create a smoother transition. Animating the hide and show actions can make your user interface more engaging and intuitive, providing visual feedback to the user.

To animate the hide and show actions, you can use the UIView.animate method, which allows you to specify the duration of the animation and the type of animation that you want to use. Here's an example of how to animate the hide and show actions:

1UIView.animate(withDuration: 0.3) {
2 myView.isHidden = true // or false
3}

In the above code, the UIView.animate method is used to create a 0.3-second animation. The myView.isHidden property is set to true or false inside the animation block, which creates a smooth transition.

Conclusion

Hiding a UIView in UIKit is a simple task that involves setting its hidden property to true. By doing this, the view becomes invisible, and it is not included in the layout of the screen. You can unhide the view by setting its hidden property to false.

When hiding a UIView in UIKit, it is important to follow some best practices to ensure that your user interface looks and behaves as expected. You should use Auto Layout to manage the layout of your user interface, avoid changing the frame or bounds of a hidden view manually, and use animations to create a smoother transition.

By following these best practices, you can create a more engaging and intuitive user interface that responds to the user's actions and events. Hiding and showing views can help you manage your user interface dynamically, showing the user only the information they need at any given time.