Create a standalone view in storyboard to use programmatically

Question

I'm trying to create and design a UIView using a storyboard but include it in a UIActionSheet programmatically. This is basically to avoid using CoreGraphics positioning functions with pixels

In old xcode I remember that it was possible to drag a UIView onto the nib without any controllers.

The view obviously has to be connected to the class, so it would have an IBOutlet, but not being added to the self.view

One thing that makes me feel like this should be possible is that if you drag a UIView into the controller black bar in storyboard it pops into place like so:

But its not shown on the screen itself. What is this feature for? Can I somehow open up this view and design it a bit?

Answer 1

Just create a new .xib file.

1. Right Click somewhere in the Navigator Area and select 'New File...'.
2. Select 'User Interface' from the list on the right and Select 'View'.
3. Click 'Next', 'Next', give your new view a name, and 'Create'.
4. A new .xib fill will be added to your project.
5. Double clicking on the new .xib file and it opens in Interface Builder (not Storyboard).
6. Edit/Design your View to your liking.

Then after you have your new view (.xib) in Interface Builder, it's a simple matter of creating a new subclass of UIView (ex. MyView), switching the class of your new view (.xib) to MyView, creating an instance of MyView in your controller, and adding it as a subview to your other view.

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*And to answer your question about that little black bar at the bottom, it's called the 'Dock', and it's just a mini representation of the top-level documents of your scene. The dock is convenient for quickly dragging/dropping icons onto and making connections. See apple's storyboard description here. Ray Wenderlich has an easy to follow tutorial on storyboards here.