Is it possible to disable floating headers in UITableView with UITableViewStylePlain?

ios objective-c iphone cocoa-touch uikit

135,657

Solution 1

You should be able to fake this by using a custom cell to do your header rows. These will then scroll like any other cell in the table view.

You just need to add some logic in your cellForRowAtIndexPath to return the right cell type when it is a header row.

You'll probably have to manage your sections yourself though, i.e. have everything in one section and fake the headers. (You could also try returning a hidden view for the header view, but I don't know if that will work)

Solution 2

A probably easier way to achieve this:

Objective-C:

CGFloat dummyViewHeight = 40;
UIView *dummyView = [[UIView alloc] initWithFrame:CGRectMake(0, 0, self.tableView.bounds.size.width, dummyViewHeight)];
self.tableView.tableHeaderView = dummyView;
self.tableView.contentInset = UIEdgeInsetsMake(-dummyViewHeight, 0, 0, 0);

Swift:

let dummyViewHeight = CGFloat(40)
self.tableView.tableHeaderView = UIView(frame: CGRect(x: 0, y: 0, width: self.tableView.bounds.size.width, height: dummyViewHeight))
self.tableView.contentInset = UIEdgeInsets(top: -dummyViewHeight, left: 0, bottom: 0, right: 0)

Section headers will now scroll just like any regular cell.

Solution 3

(For who ever got here due to wrong table style) Change Table style from plain to grouped, via the attributes inspector, or via code:

let tableView = UITableView(frame: .zero, style: .grouped)

Solution 4

WARNING: this solution implements a reserved API method. This could prevent the app from being approved by Apple for distribution on the AppStore.

I've described the private methods that turns of section headers floating in my blog

Basically, you just need to subclass UITableView and return NO in two of its methods:

- (BOOL)allowsHeaderViewsToFloat;
- (BOOL)allowsFooterViewsToFloat;

Solution 5

In your Interface Builder click on your problem Table View

Then navigate to Attributes Inspector and change Style Plain to Grouped ;) Easy

View more solutions

135,657

Tricky

Updated on March 06, 2022

Comments

Tricky about 2 years

I'm using a UITableView to layout content 'pages'. I'm using the headers of the table view to layout certain images etc. and I'd prefer it if they didn't float but stayed static as they do when the style is set to UITableViewStyleGrouped.

Other then using UITableViewStyleGrouped, is there a way to do this? I'd like to avoid using grouped as it adds a margin down all my cells and requires disabling of the background view for each of the cells. I'd like full control of my layout. Ideally they'd be a "UITableViewStyleBareBones", but I didn't see that option in the docs...

Many thanks,
- Fattie over 10 years
  
  stackoverflow.com/questions/664781/…
- average Joe over 9 years
  
  Use table style UITableViewStyleGrouped - this is the answer for all who are looking for disabling floating headers and don't read the whole question (it happened to me...).
- Lee Fastenau about 9 years
  
  @Kasztan This is a zero line solution that works great! Thanks.
- Mr. Míng about 3 years
  
  Using empty sections is also a great choice stackoverflow.com/a/8350326/456536
Tricky almost 15 years

Yeah... it seems a bit of a hack though. This seems like an oversight an Apple's part, as clearly the code is there to do it, we just need to be able to set a flag.
Daniel Wood almost 14 years

This doesn't answer the question. Tricky is referring to the titleHeaderViews which are the views that sit between the cells, not the table header view which is what you seem to be suggesting.
jemmons almost 14 years

The original poster doesn't want a custom header. They want a header that doesn't "float" at the top of the table. Your suggestion still floats.
jemmons almost 14 years

An answer doesn't deserve a downvote just because it references private APIs (not everybody is writing code to be submitted to the AppStore). This is doubly true when the answer happens to be correct. Subclassing (or, more easily, making a UITableView category) that returns NO for these methods stops headers from floating. If you'd like to see this added as a public API, please file a bug report: bugreport.apple.com
Javier Soto over 12 years

If we implement that function in an App, how would Apple realize you're using a private API? From all they know, I just implemented a method in a subclass of UITableView, and they can't even see that without de-assembling the code, and it wouldn't be so easy. It's not CALLING a method in a private API, it's just implementing one....
Steve Moser over 12 years

Great idea. I love this hack.
Layynezz about 12 years

This should be the top answer. There is a blog post about it here: corecocoa.wordpress.com/2011/09/17/…
Shyam Bhat almost 12 years

This friggin works like a charm!! The presence of a table header view header stops the section headers from floating. And an invisible header with appropriate content insets for the table does the trick .. Thank you so much! wonder why this answer's not getting much attention
Shyam Bhat almost 12 years

Still don't believe it! No private APIs, no digging into the classes, nothing! I have been facing this problem for ages and have been adding tableviews on top of scroll views (with the tableview scroll disabled), which would make the table headers scroll normally. but just started to search if apple's provided any new methods lately to fix this.. so glad i stumbled upon your answer. thanks again
Shyam Bhat almost 12 years

kinda funny. appreciate the idea, but a hack is a hack. the headers would start floating at the bottom so doesn't really solve the problem
gsempe over 11 years

This solution do not really work. I keep getting an extra space around at the around cells. Any idea ?
Sebastian Łuczak over 11 years

You saved my day with this little thing. Works as expected without single line of code. I'm amazed. Thank You Sir!
whyoz over 11 years

Yeah, I just returned a UILabel in viewForHeaderInSection with the same height as the dragged UIView and set the contentInset to the same negative height, and blammo...samvermette, you're a saver mate!
Piotr Tomasik over 11 years

Wouldn't the contentView of the cells still be shifted to the right?
Piotr Tomasik over 11 years

Stumbled upon this solution as well... But really thinking about it, isn't it just taking advantage of a bug? Ideally the contentInset should also inset the point at which the headers scroll. Apple still hasn't patched it 2 years later!
Ruzard over 11 years

the only drawback I saw is that top header will not be shown anymore (you can see it only through scrolling up). At least for me it is not shown
Joel Martinez over 11 years

Unfortunately, I'm seeing the same behavior as @Ruzard.
makdad over 11 years

This isn't for a section, this is for 1 header at the top.
anemo over 11 years

Implemented 'willSelectRowAtIndexPath' so that the control never reaches 'didSelectRowAtIndexPath' on selecting the Section Header row.
Yariv Nissim over 11 years

Actually, I fold + unfold the rows when the header is selected. But good to know you can do that
onekiloparsec over 11 years

This solutions worked well for me. Apparently, here's another one completely different: stackoverflow.com/a/3984585/707984
Vilém Kurz about 11 years

you can make the original top table view header appear by raising its height by 100. This cancels out content inset setting influence on header, but still allows disabling floating headers.
Stavash almost 11 years

Another drawback: This completely confuses any index bar you might have considered using.
nonamelive almost 11 years

Has anyone used this method and got approved in the App Store?
jhabbott almost 11 years

I got this working in code with: self.tableView.tableHeaderView = [[UIView alloc] initWithFrame:CGRectMake(0, 0, 320, 24)]; and setting the content-inset-top to -24 in IB. How do you "Drag a UIView onto your TableView to make it its header view." in IB? There is no outlet for the tableHeaderView property.
anemo almost 11 years

Private Methods! be wary, the app will get rejected. Check my answer below for the correct way to achieve the effect
anemo almost 11 years

Check my answer below for the correct way to achieve the effect without any special hack, just manage the first cell of every section as its section header!
Shyam Bhat almost 11 years

You can still show the tableHeaderView of the table by increasing it's height on the top, by a number equal to the height of section header and reduce the content inset by the same number.
Glenn85 almost 11 years

Great answer, but why the 'if (indexPath.row != 0)' check in 'didSelectRowAtIndexPath'? Is it just to be extra secure? The row can never be 0 with your 'willSelectRowAtIndexPath' implementation, right?
kas-kad over 10 years

@jemmons if you don't want me to downvote your answer mark it as "private API is used here". Sort of disclaimer :)
anemo over 10 years

@Glenn85, Sorry for the late reply. Yes it is just for an extra security.
lucaslt89 about 10 years

you deserve heaven buddy...worked like a charm! i can't believe Apple doesn't provide a property to set this so typical behaviour...
mskw about 10 years

change the tableview to UITableViewStyleGrouped with viewforheader, then it will make it stop
MartinMoizard about 10 years

Your "my blog" link is broken
hasan about 9 years

Do you mean return NO?!
iDevAmit about 9 years

Great!! This solution saved my time.
aryaxt almost 9 years

@jemmons "not everybody is writing code to be submitted to the AppStore" Appstore is not really the problem. The problem is apple can change the private APIs without communicating or deprecating which will break your app. That's a better reason on why you shouldn't use private APIs than getting rejected by Apple
deepax11 over 8 years

It's old post but could not stop my self to write this. Awesome! Thanks.
Eric Smith over 8 years

Perfect! This is just what I needed
cohen72 over 8 years

David, This is an excellent answer! You can also use the 72 names and meditate on ayin resh yud :)
Balazs Nemeth about 8 years

I cannot increase this enough time!
Michael Peterson about 8 years

"Other then using UITableViewStyleGrouped, is there a way to do this?"
NSGangster about 8 years

For me I had to use positive dummy height for my inset but This helped a ton!
Saurabh Bhatia almost 8 years

Thank you @david72, your answer has turned out to be the most accurate one.
Ell Neal over 7 years

I wish I could upvote this again, I'm fairly certain this is at least the third time I've ended up on this question and this has solved my problem.
Mark A. Donohoe over 7 years

FooterViews do float, just like HeaderViews. They just float at the bottom of the screen, not top.
Tung Fam over 7 years

Good thing i learned to check all the answers before implementing the most upvoted one :)
ostap_holub over 6 years

Guys, be aware of using this method with Swift 4. Default settings of Swift 4 project in Xcode 9 has @objc inference property disabled. So, you should to mark these methods like @objc manually otherwise it will lead to undefined behavior. Hope, this tip can help you.
Cristian Holdunu over 6 years

Now this guys, is the answer you were looking for. Be aware that you can find the TableView Style property in the AttributesInspector as well.
lennartk almost 6 years

These are the kind of workarounds that I just laugh at, it feels so bad doing this but I love it. Thank you man
Buglinjo over 5 years

You saved my day! Thanks!
Pomme2Poule over 5 years

I've found this solution super hacky. It doesn't work well if your headers can vary in size (like when you support dynamic type). 😕
Ferdz over 5 years

The question specifically mentions to look for a way "Other then using UITableViewStyleGrouped"
COSMO BAKER over 5 years

It's also in the attributes inspector in IB.
MQoder about 5 years

Please, don't do that🙏
Jason over 4 years

If you want the grouped table to look like the plain table, change the heightForHeader and Footer to return 0.1 (returning 0 will use the default value instead)
Daniel over 4 years

This does not work with a refresh control. The control will be off screen.
Ilias Karim over 4 years

You can return 0 instead of .leastNormalMagnitude. Also you need to implement tableView(_ tableView: UITableView, viewForFooterInSection section: Int) -> UIView?
Tamás Sengel over 4 years

@IliasKarim Setting it to 0 casues it to have a non-zero height. Also, it's not necessary to implement the viewForFooterInSection function in this case.
Ilias Karim over 4 years

0 and .leastNormalMagnitude had the same effect. Implementing the viewForFooterSection method is necessary. You should return nil. This is on Swift 5.1 with Xcode 11.3.1.
Nikola Markovic over 3 years

☝️ This should be marked as correct answer. Also, for storyboard lovers, you have this property in storyboard Attribute inspector when you select your UITableView
Mr. Míng about 3 years

Great answer! But, grouped table view has different separators for the first and last cell of every section, which may be you don't like.
Farhandika over 2 years

a huge thank you mate, your answer satisfy what I need so far, best of luck to you
Zin Win Htet over 2 years

how about for Swift?