How to deploy iOS 7 mail.app search bar with cancel button functionality

Question

I am looking to create a searchBar and while I have it somewhat working on my Table View, there's still a bit of effort required to get it 100% perfect.

With reference to iOS 7 Mail.app, how do I deploy something like that? So a search bar that does not display the "cancel" button till you click in the search bar, and a cancel button that cancels the search and returns the table to where it was.

I have the following code:

- (void)searchBarSearchButtonClicked:(UISearchBar *)searchBar
{
    _fetchedResultsController = nil;
    NSError *error;

    if (![[self fetchedResultsController] performFetch:&error])
    {
        NSLog(@"Error in search %@, %@", error, [error userInfo]);
    }

    else
    {
        [self.timelineTableView reloadData];
        [self.timelineSearchBar resignFirstResponder];
        [self.noResultsLabel setHidden:_fetchedResultsController.fetchedObjects.count > 0];
    }
}

- (void)searchBarCancelButtonClicked:(UISearchBar *)searchBar
{
    [self.timelineSearchBar resignFirstResponder];
    self.timelineSearchBar.hidden = YES;
    [self.timelineTableView reloadData];
    [self viewDidLoad];
}

So with this, I basically want the searchBar to be visible all the time in the Table View, and to NOT display the cancel button, till the user starts typing. If they perform a search and it produces results or it doesn't, I want the cancel button to:

• ResignFirstResponder of the search bar
• Remove the cancel button
• Return the Table view to how it was before the search.

Thanks

Answer 1

Use the following two methods in the UISearchBarDelegate and do something like this:

- (void)searchBarTextDidBeginEditing:(UISearchBar *)searchBar
{
    [searchBar setShowsCancelButton:YES animated:YES];
}

- (void)searchBarTextDidEndEditing:(UISearchBar *)searchBar
{
    [searchBar setShowsCancelButton:NO animated:YES];
}

If you want the search to appear more responsive you can move your posted code to the searchBar:textDidChange: delegate method and then only use searchBarSearchButtonClicked: to do a [searchBar resignFirstResponder]:

- (void)searchBarSearchButtonClicked:(UISearchBar *)searchBar
{
    [searchBar resignFirstResponder];
}

- (void)searchBar:(UISearchBar *)searchBar textDidChange:(NSString *)searchText
{

    _fetchedResultsController = nil;
    NSError *error;

    if (![[self fetchedResultsController] performFetch:&error])
    {
        NSLog(@"Error in search %@, %@", error, [error userInfo]);
    }

    else
    {
        [self.timelineTableView reloadData];
        [self.noResultsLabel setHidden:_fetchedResultsController.fetchedObjects.count > 0];
    }
}

Additionally you can use the searchBarCancelButtonClicked: to also resign the first responder from the search bar and then update your table view by calling the delegate searchBar:textDidChange::

- (void)searchBarCancelButtonClicked:(UISearchBar *)searchBar
{
    [searchBar setText:@""];
    [self searchBar:searchBar textDidChange:@""];
    [searchBar resignFirstResponder];
}