Tab Bar on iPhone, but Not on iPad: A Comprehensive Guide

Introduction

As a universal app developer, you may have encountered the challenge of displaying tab bars only on iPhones and hiding them on iPads. This article aims to provide a comprehensive guide on how to achieve this behavior using various approaches.

Understanding the Problem

The issue at hand is that the tab bar is displayed on both iPhone and iPad devices when a universal app is launched. However, you want to display the tab bar only on iPhones and hide it on iPads. This can be achieved by using different strategies based on the device’s user interface identifier.

User Interface Identifier

The UI_USER_INTERFACE_IDIOM() function returns an integer value that indicates whether the current device is an iPhone (1) or an iPad (2). By checking this value, you can conditionally display or hide the tab bar based on the device type.

Hiding Tab Bar in a Specific iPad View

One common approach to hiding the tab bar on iPads is to check the user interface identifier in the viewDidLoad() method of your view controller. If it’s an iPad, set the tabBarController.tabBar.hidden property to YES.

if (UI_USER_INTERFACE_IDIOM() == UIUserInterfaceIdiomPad) {
    self.tabBarController.tabBar.hidden = YES;
}

This approach is simple and can be applied to most view controllers that require this behavior.

Creating a Custom View Controller Class

If you have multiple view controllers that need to hide the tab bar on iPads, it’s more efficient to create a custom class of UIViewController that includes this method. You can then inherit from this class in your view controllers that require this behavior.

#import <UIKit/UIKit.h>

@interface CustomPadViewController : UIViewController

- (void)hideTabBarOniPad;

@end

@implementation CustomPadViewController

- (void)hideTabBarOniPad {
    if (UI_USER_INTERFACE_IDIOM() == UIUserInterfaceIdiomPad) {
        self.tabBarController.tabBar.hidden = YES;
    }
}

@end

Using hidesBottomBarWhenPushed Property

Another approach is to use the hidesBottomBarWhenPushed property in your navigation controller. If set to YES, this will hide the tab bar when a new view is pushed onto the navigation stack.

MyController *myController = [[MyController alloc] init];
if (UI_USER_INTERFACE_IDIOM() == UIUserInterfaceIdiomPad) {
    myController.hidesBottomBarWhenPushed = YES;
}

[self.navigationController pushViewController:myController animated:YES];

Subclassing UINavigationController

If you’re using interface builder to configure your navigation controller, you can subclass it and override the viewDidLayout method to hide the tab bar on iPads.

@interface CustomNavigationController : UINavigationController

- (void)viewDidLayout;

@end

@implementation CustomNavigationController

- (void)viewDidLayout {
    if (UI_USER_INTERFACE_IDIOM() == UIUserInterfaceIdiomPad) {
        self.tabBarController.tabBar.hidden = YES;
    }
}

@end

Conclusion

Displaying tab bars only on iPhones and hiding them on iPads requires a combination of user interface identifier checks, custom view controller classes, and navigation controller properties. By understanding the different approaches outlined in this article, you can achieve this behavior in your universal app.

Example Use Cases

• In your viewDidLoad() method, check if it’s an iPad and hide the tab bar:

- (void)viewDidLoad {
    [super viewDidLoad];
    if (UI_USER_INTERFACE_IDIOM() == UIUserInterfaceIdiomPad) {
        self.tabBarController.tabBar.hidden = YES;
    }
}

• Create a custom class of UIViewController that includes a method to hide the tab bar on iPads:

#import <UIKit/UIKit.h>

@interface CustomPadViewController : UIViewController

- (void)hideTabBarOniPad;

@end

@implementation CustomPadViewController

- (void)hideTabBarOniPad {
    if (UI_USER_INTERFACE_IDIOM() == UIUserInterfaceIdiomPad) {
        self.tabBarController.tabBar.hidden = YES;
    }
}

@end

• Use the hidesBottomBarWhenPushed property in your navigation controller:

MyController *myController = [[MyController alloc] init];
if (UI_USER_INTERFACE_IDIOM() == UIUserInterfaceIdiomPad) {
    myController.hidesBottomBarWhenPushed = YES;
}

[self.navigationController pushViewController:myController animated:YES];

• Subclass UINavigationController and override the viewDidLayout method to hide the tab bar on iPads:

@interface CustomNavigationController : UINavigationController

- (void)viewDidLayout;

@end

@implementation CustomNavigationController

- (void)viewDidLayout {
    if (UI_USER_INTERFACE_IDIOM() == UIUserInterfaceIdiomPad) {
        self.tabBarController.tabBar.hidden = YES;
    }
}

@end

Last modified on 2024-08-10