Can a UITabBar (not UITabBarController) have multiple selections?

Question

In one of my views I need a control that lets the user multi-pick items on a horizontal, graphical list (tap to select, tap again to deselect...think: locking pushbuttons across the screen).

Rather than laying out a bunch of UISwitch controls side-by-side I want to use something prettier...icons of the elements being chosen. I thought a custom UITabBar might do the trick.

Is there a way to get the buttons on a UITabBar to lock state in a multi-pick fashion? So if my user taps the 1st, 2nd, and 4th buttons they stay selected but the 3rd, 5th, and 6th don't?

(If not, I guess I can build something. Can a standard UISwitch control take on a different look?)

Thanks!

Answer 1

Nope, there’s nothing in the UITabBar API that indicates that you can have multiple selections.

As for customizing UISwitch—that’s not what you want. As of iOS 7 you can no longer set a custom “on” or “off” image. You’re better off customizing UIButton, which isn’t quite as close semantically, but which still provides all of the API you’ll need for your application.