Change NSTableView alternate row colors

Question

I'm using the "Alternating Rows" option in Interface Builder to get alternating row colors on an NSTableView. Is there any way to change the colors of the alternating rows?

Answer 1

If you want to use an undocumented way, make a NSColor category and override _blueAlternatingRowColor like this:

@implementation NSColor (ColorChangingFun)

+(NSColor*)_blueAlternatingRowColor
{
    return [NSColor redColor];
}

@end

or to change both colors, override controlAlternatingRowBackgroundColors to return an array of colors you want alternated.

@implementation NSColor (ColorChangingFun)

+(NSArray*)controlAlternatingRowBackgroundColors
{
    return [NSArray arrayWithObjects:[NSColor redColor], [NSColor greenColor], nil];
}

@end

Answer 2

Found a better way to do it here. That method overrides the highlightSelectionInClipRect: method in an NSTableView subclass so you can use any color you want for the alternating rows. It's not as hackish as using an NSColor category, and it only affects table views you choose.

Answer 3

I subclassed NSTableView and implemented drawRow:clipRect: like this...

- (void)drawRow:(NSInteger)row clipRect:(NSRect)clipRect
{
    NSColor *color = (row % 2) ? [NSColor redColor] : [NSColor whiteColor];
    [color setFill];
    NSRectFill([self rectOfRow:row]);
    [super drawRow:row clipRect:clipRect];
}

It seems to work, but it's so simple that I'm wondering if I'm missing something.