Override back button in navigation stack while keeping appearance of default back button?

Question

How do I override the back button for just one view (not for all the back buttons present in different views) such that on click of the back button, the root view controller is shown?

Answer 1

You need to replace the backbutton and associate an action handler:

- (void)viewDidLoad {
    [super viewDidLoad];

    // change the back button to cancel and add an event handler
    UIBarButtonItem *backButton = [[UIBarButtonItem alloc] initWithTitle:@”back”
                                                                   style:UIBarButtonItemStyleBordered
                                                                  target:self
                                                                  action:@selector(handleBack:)];

    self.navigationItem.leftBarButtonItem = backButton;
}

- (void)handleBack:(id)sender {
    // pop to root view controller
    [self.navigationController popToRootViewControllerAnimated:YES];
}

Answer 2

Found a solution which retains the back button style as well. Add the following method to your view controller.

-(void) overrideBack{

    UIButton *transparentButton = [[UIButton alloc] init];
    [transparentButton setFrame:CGRectMake(0,0, 50, 40)];
    [transparentButton setBackgroundColor:[UIColor clearColor]];
    [transparentButton addTarget:self action:@selector(backAction:) forControlEvents:UIControlEventTouchUpInside];
    [self.navigationController.navigationBar addSubview:transparentButton];


}

Now provide a functionality as needed in the following method:

-(void)backAction:(UIBarButtonItem *)sender {
    //Your functionality
}

All it does is to cover the back button with a transparent button ;)