What are the differences between segues: "show", "show detail", "present modally", "present as popover"?
What do the different segues do in Xcode 6?
Answer
1. Show - Pushes the destination view controller onto the navigation stack, moving the source view controller out of the way (destination slides overtop from right to left), providing a back button to navigate back to the source - on all devices.
Example: Navigating inboxes/folders in Mail.
2. Show Detail - Replaces the detail/secondary view controller when in a UISplitViewController with no ability to navigate back to the previous view controller.
Example: In Mail on iPad in landscape, tapping an email in the sidebar replaces the view controller on the right to show the new email.
3. Present Modally - Presents a view controller in various different ways as defined by the Presentation option, covering up the previous view controller - most commonly used to present a view controller that animates up from the bottom and covers the entire screen on iPhone, but on iPad it's common to present it in a centered box format overtop that darkens the underlying view controller.
Example: Tapping the + button in Calendar on iPhone.
4. Popover Presentation - When run on iPad, the destination appears in a small popover, and tapping anywhere outside of this popover will dismiss it. On iPhone, popovers are supported as well but by default if it performs a Popover Presentation segue, it will present the destination view controller modally over the full screen.
Example: Tapping the + button in Calendar on iPad (or iPhone, realizing it is converted to a full screen presentation as opposed to an actual popover).
5. Custom - You may implement your own custom segue and have complete control over its appearance and transition.