Take a snapshot of a hidden UIView

Question

I'm trying to take a snapshot of a hidden view but am running into several issues. If I try unhiding it quickly, taking a snapshot, and then rehiding it, I sometimes get a quick flicker on the screen that is pretty jarring.

toCollectionViewCell.hidden = NO;
UIView *toPlaceHolderSnapshot = [toCollectionViewCell resizableSnapshotViewFromRect:toCollectionViewCell.bounds afterScreenUpdates:YES withCapInsets:UIEdgeInsetsZero];
toCollectionViewCell.hidden = YES;

I'm pretty sure the flicker is caused by the afterScreenUpdates:YES, but I can't imagine that is intended behavior.

I've also tried moving the cell/view off screen instead of hiding it, but I can't be certain when that cell might be reloaded and therefore moved back into its place prematurely.

Is there a way to take a snapshot of a hidden view or a more clever way to achieve this? I need this functionality during a custom transition animation where I am pulling a collection view cell out of the collection view and then returning it back into place on dismiss. I am taking snapshots of the before/after state and then transitioning between the two during the animation.

Thanks!

Answer 1

Add an extra container view to your view hierarchy. Hiding the container will have the same visual effect, but you'll be able to snapshot the content of a container with ease.