Programmatically create and position an NSButton in a macOS app?

Matt Payne picture Matt Payne · Apr 20, 2012 · Viewed 18.5k times · Source

How do I programmatically create and position a button in a macOS Cocoa application?

Answer

Justin Boo picture Justin Boo · Apr 20, 2012

To possition button You need to change the button's origins x and y. Look at the sample code which I wrote below and comments.

You can do it like this:

-(void)awakeFromNib {

    //Start from bottom left corner

    int x = 100; //possition x
    int y = 100; //possition y

    int width = 130;
    int height = 40; 

    NSButton *myButton = [[[NSButton alloc] initWithFrame:NSMakeRect(x, y, width, height)] autorelease];
    [[windowOutlet contentView] addSubview: myButton];
    [myButton setTitle: @"Button title!"];
    [myButton setButtonType:NSMomentaryLightButton]; //Set what type button You want
    [myButton setBezelStyle:NSRoundedBezelStyle]; //Set what style You want

    [myButton setTarget:self];
    [myButton setAction:@selector(buttonPressed)];
}

-(void)buttonPressed {
    NSLog(@"Button pressed!"); 

    //Do what You want here...  
}

** WindowOutlet is window so don't forget to IBOutlet it.