How to disable the selection of a UITextField?

Question

I'm using UITextField because I want to have a custom pop-up keyboard. However, I don't want the user to be able to change the insertion point or have access to the copy, paste menu.

I have found two useful stackoverflow questions, and attempted to implement them:

• Disable Magnifying Glass in UITextField

  (iPhone) How to handle touches on a UITextView?

I have removed the menu by subclassing the UITextField and implementing the method:

- (BOOL)canPerformAction:(SEL)action withSender:(id)sender {
    return NO;
}

However, I have failed to stop the field from being selected when the user double taps it:

I have tried removing the gestureRecognizers which I believe to be responsible for the selection behaviour, but with no success. So what am I doing wrong?

@property (nonatomic, strong) MinimalTextField *inputText;
...
@synthesize inputText;
...

- (void)viewDidAppear:(BOOL)animated
{
    [super viewDidAppear: animated];    
    NSLog(@"%ld gestureRecognizers initially ", (long)inputText.gestureRecognizers.count);

    for (UIGestureRecognizer *gestureRecognizer in inputText.gestureRecognizers) {        
        if ([gestureRecognizer isKindOfClass:[UITapGestureRecognizer class]]) {
            UITapGestureRecognizer *tapGestureRecognizer = (UITapGestureRecognizer *)gestureRecognizer;
            if ([tapGestureRecognizer numberOfTapsRequired] == 2) {
                NSLog(@"found & removed: %@", tapGestureRecognizer);
                [inputText removeGestureRecognizer:tapGestureRecognizer];
            }
        }
        if ([gestureRecognizer isKindOfClass:[UILongPressGestureRecognizer class]]) {
            UILongPressGestureRecognizer *longPressGestureRecognizer = (UILongPressGestureRecognizer *)gestureRecognizer;
            NSLog(@"found & removed: %@", longPressGestureRecognizer);
            [inputText removeGestureRecognizer:longPressGestureRecognizer];
        }
    }

    NSLog(@"%ld gestureRecognizers remaining", (long)inputText.gestureRecognizers.count);

    for (UIGestureRecognizer *gestureRecognizer in inputText.gestureRecognizers) {
        NSLog(@"gestureRecognizer: %@", gestureRecognizer);
    }
}

This code produces the following output, so I know it is working, but it fails to affect the double tap action.

7 gestureRecognizers initially 
found & removed: <UITextTapRecognizer: 0x7ff6086571f0; state = Possible; delaysTouchesEnded = NO; view = <MinimalTextField 0x7ff608414b10>; target= <(action=oneFingerDoubleTap:, target=<UITextInteractionAssistant 0x7ff608652de0>)>; numberOfTapsRequired = 2>
found & removed: <UILongPressGestureRecognizer: 0x7ff608658180; state = Possible; delaysTouchesEnded = NO; view = <MinimalTextField 0x7ff608414b10>; target= <(action=twoFingerRangedSelectGesture:, target=<UITextInteractionAssistant 0x7ff608652de0>)>>
found & removed: <UIVariableDelayLoupeGesture: 0x7ff608658a40; state = Possible; delaysTouchesEnded = NO; view = <MinimalTextField 0x7ff608414b10>; target= <(action=loupeGesture:, target=<UITextInteractionAssistant 0x7ff608652de0>)>>

4 gestureRecognizers remaining
gestureRecognizer: <UITextTapRecognizer: 0x7ff608653960; state = Possible; delaysTouchesEnded = NO; view = <MinimalTextField 0x7ff608414b10>; target= <(action=oneFingerTripleTap:, target=<UITextInteractionAssistant 0x7ff608652de0>)>; numberOfTapsRequired = 3>
gestureRecognizer: <UITextTapRecognizer: 0x7ff6086576e0; state = Possible; delaysTouchesEnded = NO; view = <MinimalTextField 0x7ff608414b10>; target= <(action=twoFingerSingleTap:, target=<UITextInteractionAssistant 0x7ff608652de0>)>; numberOfTouchesRequired = 2>
gestureRecognizer: <UITapAndAHalfRecognizer: 0x7ff608657c70; state = Possible; view = <MinimalTextField 0x7ff608414b10>; target= <(action=tapAndAHalf:, target=<UITextInteractionAssistant 0x7ff608652de0>)>>
gestureRecognizer: <UITextTapRecognizer: 0x7ff6086585f0; state = Possible; delaysTouchesEnded = NO; view = <MinimalTextField 0x7ff608414b10>; target= <(action=oneFingerTap:, target=<UITextInteractionAssistant 0x7ff608652de0>)>>

I have even tried adding the following code to my subclass of UITextField:

- (BOOL)gestureRecognizerShouldBegin:(UIGestureRecognizer *)gestureRecognizer
{
    NSLog(@"Gesture should begin");
    if ([gestureRecognizer isKindOfClass:[UIRotationGestureRecognizer class]])
        NSLog(@"rotate");
    if ([gestureRecognizer isKindOfClass:[UIPinchGestureRecognizer class]])
        NSLog(@"pinch");
    if ([gestureRecognizer isKindOfClass:[UITapGestureRecognizer class]]) {
        NSLog(@"tap");
        NSLog(@"numberOfTouches: %ld", (long)gestureRecognizer.numberOfTouches);
    }
    if ([gestureRecognizer isKindOfClass:[UIPanGestureRecognizer class]])
        NSLog(@"pan");
    if ([gestureRecognizer isKindOfClass:[UILongPressGestureRecognizer class]])
        NSLog(@"long");
    if ([gestureRecognizer isKindOfClass:[UISwipeGestureRecognizer class]])
        NSLog(@"swipe");
    return YES;
}

However, there is no property gestureRecognizer.numberOfTaps available, so how can I tell how often it has been tapped.

Answer 1

I have found this useful article that solved the problem for me: https://www.transpire.com/insights/blog/disabling-caret-text-entry-uitextfields/

You need to add the following overrides to your UITextField subclass (they basically disable the UIMenuController and hide the selection and caret rects):

Objective-C

- (CGRect)caretRectForPosition:(UITextPosition*) position {
    return CGRectNull;
}

- (NSArray *)selectionRectsForRange:(UITextRange *)range {
    return nil;
}

- (BOOL)canPerformAction:(SEL)action withSender:(id)sender {
    return NO;
}

Swift

override func canPerformAction(_ action: Selector, withSender sender: Any?) -> Bool {
    false
}

override func selectionRects(for range: UITextRange) -> [UITextSelectionRect] {
    []
}

override func caretRect(for position: UITextPosition) -> CGRect {
    .null
}