Can I change multiplier property for NSLayoutConstraint?

Question

I created two views in one superview, and then added constraints between views:

_indicatorConstrainWidth = [NSLayoutConstraint constraintWithItem:self.view1 attribute:NSLayoutAttributeWidth relatedBy:NSLayoutRelationEqual toItem:self.view2 attribute:NSLayoutAttributeWidth multiplier:1.0f constant:0.0f];
[_indicatorConstrainWidth setPriority:UILayoutPriorityDefaultLow];
_indicatorConstrainHeight = [NSLayoutConstraint constraintWithItem:self.view1 attribute:NSLayoutAttributeHeight relatedBy:NSLayoutRelationEqual toItem:self.view2 attribute:NSLayoutAttributeHeight multiplier:1.0f constant:0.0f];
[_indicatorConstrainHeight setPriority:UILayoutPriorityDefaultLow];
[self addConstraint:_indicatorConstrainWidth];
[self addConstraint:_indicatorConstrainHeight];

Now I want to change multiplier property with animation, but I can't figure out how to change the multipler property. (I found _coefficient in private property in header file NSLayoutConstraint.h, but it private.)

How do I change multipler property?

My workaround is to remove the old constraint and add the new one with a different value for multipler.

Answer 1

Here is an NSLayoutConstraint extension in Swift that makes setting a new multiplier pretty easy:

In Swift 3.0+

import UIKit
extension NSLayoutConstraint {
    /**
     Change multiplier constraint

     - parameter multiplier: CGFloat
     - returns: NSLayoutConstraint
    */
    func setMultiplier(multiplier:CGFloat) -> NSLayoutConstraint {

        NSLayoutConstraint.deactivate([self])

        let newConstraint = NSLayoutConstraint(
            item: firstItem,
            attribute: firstAttribute,
            relatedBy: relation,
            toItem: secondItem,
            attribute: secondAttribute,
            multiplier: multiplier,
            constant: constant)

        newConstraint.priority = priority
        newConstraint.shouldBeArchived = self.shouldBeArchived
        newConstraint.identifier = self.identifier

        NSLayoutConstraint.activate([newConstraint])
        return newConstraint
    }
}

Demo usage:

@IBOutlet weak var myDemoConstraint:NSLayoutConstraint!

override func viewDidLoad() {
    let newMultiplier:CGFloat = 0.80
    myDemoConstraint = myDemoConstraint.setMultiplier(newMultiplier)

    //If later in view lifecycle, you may need to call view.layoutIfNeeded() 
}