(A class implementing this protocol-by inheriting from NSTextView or by implementing the protocol directly-is called a text view.) To do this, you must subclass NSView and implement the NSTextInputClient protocol. NSTextView and its subclasses are the only classes provided in Cocoa that implement NSTextInputClient, and if your application needs more complex behavior than NSTextView can provide, as a word processor might, you may need to implement a text view from the ground up. If you are writing your own text view from scratch, you should use the third level of support and implement the NSTextInputClient protocol in addition to overriding keyDown: and using handleEvent. (The full list of key-binding methods can be found in NSResponder.h.) You then implement the standard key-binding methods that your view wants to support, such as moveForward: or deleteForward. Because the NSView method inputContext does not instantiate NSTextInputContext automatically if the view does not conform to NSTextInputClient, the custom view must instantiate it manually. In the second level of support, you can override keyDown: and use the handleEvent: method to receive key-binding support without implementing the NSTextInputClient protocol. (When overriding keyDown:, you must also override acceptsFirstResponder to make your custom view respond to key events, as described in “ Event Handling Basics” in Cocoa Event Handling Guide.) This level of support is typical of games. In the first level of support, the keyDown: method recognizes a limited set of events and ignores others. Override keyDown: and use handleEvent: to support key bindings.Īlso implement the full NSTextInputClient protocol. There are essentially three levels of support to choose from: Implementing Text Input SupportĬustom Cocoa views can provide varying levels of support for the text input system. This information is relevant to anyone adding to their view keyboard input capabilities that NSTextView does not provide. This article explains how to use the text input system when implementing a custom view. The information in this document has been superseded by the Text Editing chapter of Cocoa Text Architecture Guide.

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