---

NSWindowController Class Reference

Overview

An NSWindowController object manages a window, usually a window stored in a nib file.

This management entails:

• Loading and displaying the window

• Closing the window when appropriate

• Customizing the window’s title

• Storing the window’s frame (size and location) in the defaults database

• Cascading the window in relation to other document windows of the application

A window controller can manage a window by itself or as a role player in the Application Kit’s document-based architecture, which also includes NSDocument and NSDocumentController objects. In this architecture, a window controller is created and managed by a “document” (an instance of an NSDocument subclass) and, in turn, keeps a reference to the document.

The relationship between a window controller and a nib file is important. Although a window controller can manage a programmatically created window, it usually manages a window in a nib file. The nib file can contain other top-level objects, including other windows, but the window controller’s responsibility is this primary window. The window controller is usually the owner of the nib file, even when it is part of a document-based application. Regardless of who is the file’s owner, the window controller is responsible for freeing all top-level objects in the nib file it loads.

For simple documents—that is, documents with only one nib file containing a window—you need do little directly with NSWindowController. The Application Kit will create one for you. However, if the default window controller is not sufficient, you can create a custom subclass of NSWindowController. For documents with multiple windows or panels, your document must create separate instances of NSWindowController (or of custom subclasses of NSWindowController), one for each window or panel. An example is a CAD application that has different windows for side, top, and front views of drawn objects. What you do in your NSDocument subclass determines whether the default NSWindowController or separately created and configured NSWindowController objects are used.

Subclassing NSWindowController

You should create a subclass of NSWindowController when you want to augment the default behavior, such as to give the window a custom title or to perform some setup tasks before the window is loaded. In your class’s initialization method, be sure to invoke on super either one of the initWithWindowNibName:... initializers or the initWithWindow: initializer. Which one depends on whether the window object originates in a nib file or is programmatically created.

Three NSWindowController methods are most commonly overridden:

You can also override loadWindow to get different nib-searching or nib-loading behavior, although there is usually no need to do this.

Adopted Protocols

• – encodeWithCoder:

• – initWithCoder:

Tasks

Initializing NSWindowControllers

• – initWithWindow:
• – initWithWindowNibName:
• – initWithWindowNibName:owner:
• – initWithWindowNibPath:owner:

Loading and Display the Window

• – loadWindow
• – showWindow:
• – isWindowLoaded
• – window
• – setWindow:
• – windowDidLoad
• – windowWillLoad

Setting and Getting the Document

• – setDocument:
• – document
• – setDocumentEdited:

Closing the Window

• – close
• – shouldCloseDocument
• – setShouldCloseDocument:

Getting Nib File Information

• – owner
• – windowNibName
• – windowNibPath

Setting and Getting Window Attributes

• – setShouldCascadeWindows:
• – shouldCascadeWindows
• – setWindowFrameAutosaveName:
• – windowFrameAutosaveName
• – synchronizeWindowTitleWithDocumentName
• – windowTitleForDocumentDisplayName:

Instance Methods

close

Closes the window if it was loaded.

- (void)close

Discussion

Because this method closes the window without asking the user for confirmation, you usually do not invoke it when the Close menu command is chosen. Instead invoke NSWindow’s performClose: on the receiver’s window. See “Window Closing Behavior” for an overview of deallocation behavior when a window is closed.

Availability

• Available in Mac OS X v10.0 and later.

See Also

• – shouldCloseDocument
• – setShouldCloseDocument:

Declared In

NSWindowController.h

document

Returns the document associated with the receiver.

- (id)document

Return Value

The document associated with the receiver or nil if there is none.

Discussion

When a window controller is added to a document's list of window controllers, the document sets the window controller’s document with setDocument:. The Application Kit uses this outlet to access the document for relevant next-responder messages.

Availability

• Available in Mac OS X v10.0 and later.

See Also

• – setDocument:

Related Sample Code

• EnhancedAudioBurn
• Link Snoop
• PDFKitLinker2
• Sketch-112

Declared In

NSWindowController.h

initWithWindow:

Returns a window controller initialized with a given window.

- (id)initWithWindow:(NSWindow *)window

Parameters

window

The window object to manage; can be nil.

Return Value

A newly initialized window controller.

Discussion

This method is the designated initializer for NSWindowController.

This initializer is useful when a window has been loaded but no window controller is assigned. The default initialization turns on cascading, sets the shouldCloseDocument flag to NO, and sets the window frame autosave name to an empty string. As a side effect, the created window controller is added as an observer of the NSWindowWillCloseNotifications posted by that window object (which is handled by a private method). If you make the window controller a delegate of the window, you can implement NSWindow’s windowShouldClose: delegate method.

Availability

• Available in Mac OS X v10.0 and later.

Declared In

NSWindowController.h

initWithWindowNibName:

Returns a window controller initialized with a nib file.

- (id)initWithWindowNibName:(NSString *)windowNibName

Parameters

windowNibName

The name of the nib file (minus the “.nib” extension) that archives the receiver’s window; cannot be nil.

Discussion

Sets the owner of the nib file to the receiver. The default initialization turns on cascading, sets the shouldCloseDocument flag to NO, and sets the autosave name for the window’s frame to an empty string.

Availability

• Available in Mac OS X v10.0 and later.

Related Sample Code

• BundleLoader
• DockTile
• EnhancedAudioBurn
• QTKitCreateMovie
• QTKitFrameStepper

Declared In

NSWindowController.h

initWithWindowNibName:owner:

Returns a window controller initialized with a nib file and a specified owner for that nib file.

- (id)initWithWindowNibName:(NSString *)windowNibName owner:(id)owner

Parameters

windowNibName

The name of the nib file (minus the “.nib” extension) that archives the receiver’s window; cannot be nil.

owner

The nib file's owner; cannot be nil.

Discussion

The default initialization turns on cascading, sets the shouldCloseDocument flag to NO, and sets the autosave name for the window’s frame to an empty string.

Availability

• Available in Mac OS X v10.0 and later.

Declared In

NSWindowController.h

initWithWindowNibPath:owner:

Returns a window controller initialized with a nib file at an absolute path and a specified owner.

- (id)initWithWindowNibPath:(NSString *)windowNibPath owner:(id)owner

Parameters

windowNibPath

The full path to the nib file that archives the receiver’s window; cannot be nil.

owner

The nib file's owner; cannot be nil.

Discussion

Use this method if your nib file is at a fixed location (which is not inside either the file’s owner’s class’s bundle or in the application’s main bundle). The default initialization turns on cascading, sets the shouldCloseDocument flag to NO, and sets the autosave name for the window’s frame to an empty string.

Availability

• Available in Mac OS X v10.0 and later.

Declared In

NSWindowController.h

isWindowLoaded

Returns whether the nib file containing the receiver’s window has been loaded.

- (BOOL)isWindowLoaded

Return Value

YES if the nib file containing the receiver’s window has been loaded, NO otherwise.

Availability

• Available in Mac OS X v10.0 and later.

See Also

• – loadWindow
• – window
• – windowDidLoad
• – windowWillLoad

Related Sample Code

• Sketch-112

Declared In

NSWindowController.h

loadWindow

Loads the receiver’s window from the nib file.

- (void)loadWindow

Discussion

You should never directly invoke this method. Instead, invoke window so the windowDidLoad and windowWillLoad methods are invoked. Subclasses can override this method if the way it finds and loads the window is not adequate. It uses NSBundle’s bundleForClass: method to get the bundle, using the class of the nib file owner as argument. It then locates the nib file within the bundle and, if successful, loads it; if unsuccessful, it tries to find the nib file in the main bundle.

Availability

• Available in Mac OS X v10.0 and later.

See Also

• – isWindowLoaded

Declared In

NSWindowController.h

owner

Returns the owner of the nib file containing the window managed by the receiver.

- (id)owner

Return Value

The owner of the nib file containing the window managed by the receiver; usually self, but can be the receiver’s document or some other object.

Availability

• Available in Mac OS X v10.0 and later.

See Also

• – windowNibName

Declared In

NSWindowController.h

setDocument:

Sets the document associated with the window managed by the receiver.

- (void)setDocument:(NSDocument *)document

Parameters

document

The new document.

Discussion

Documents automatically call this method when they add a window controller to their list of window controllers; you should not call it directly.

Availability

• Available in Mac OS X v10.0 and later.

See Also

• – document

Declared In

NSWindowController.h

setDocumentEdited:

Sets the document edited flag for the window controller.

- (void)setDocumentEdited:(BOOL)flag

Parameters

flag

YES if the document has been edited since its last save, NO if it hasn't.

Discussion

The window controller uses this flag to control whether its associated window shows up as dirty. You should not call this method directly for window controllers with an associated document; the document calls this method on its window controllers as needed.

Availability

• Available in Mac OS X v10.0 and later.

Declared In

NSWindowController.h

setShouldCascadeWindows:

Sets whether the window should cascade in relation to other document windows.

- (void)setShouldCascadeWindows:(BOOL)flag

Parameters

flag

YES if the window should cascade in relation to other document windows, NO otherwise.

Discussion

Cascading in relation to other document windows means having a slightly offset location so that the title bars of previously displayed windows are still visible.

The default is YES.

Availability

• Available in Mac OS X v10.0 and later.

See Also

• – shouldCascadeWindows

Declared In

NSWindowController.h

setShouldCloseDocument:

Sets whether the receiver should necessarily close the associated document when the window it manages is closed.

- (void)setShouldCloseDocument:(BOOL)flag

Parameters

flag

YES if the receiver necessarily closes the associated document when the window it manages is closed, NO otherwise.

Discussion

If NO, the document is closed only when the last remaining window of the document is closed.

The default is NO.

Availability

• Available in Mac OS X v10.0 and later.

See Also

• – shouldCloseDocument

Declared In

NSWindowController.h

setWindow:

Sets the window controller’s window.

- (void)setWindow:(NSWindow *)aWindow

Parameters

aWindow

The new window.

Discussion

This method releases the old window and any associated top-level objects in its nib file and assumes ownership of the new window. You should generally create a new window controller for a new window and release the old window controller instead of using this method.

Availability

• Available in Mac OS X v10.0 and later.

Declared In

NSWindowController.h

setWindowFrameAutosaveName:

Sets the name under which the window’s frame is saved in the defaults database.

- (void)setWindowFrameAutosaveName:(NSString *)name

Parameters

name

The name under which the window’s frame is saved in the defaults database.

Discussion

By default, name is an empty string, causing no information to be stored in the defaults database.

Availability

• Available in Mac OS X v10.0 and later.

See Also

• – windowFrameAutosaveName
• – setFrameAutosaveName: (NSWindow)

Declared In

NSWindowController.h

shouldCascadeWindows

Returns whether the window will cascade in relation to other document windows when it is displayed.

- (BOOL)shouldCascadeWindows

Return Value

YES if the window will cascade in relation to other document windows, NO otherwise.

Discussion

The default is YES.

Availability

• Available in Mac OS X v10.0 and later.

See Also

• – setShouldCascadeWindows:

Declared In

NSWindowController.h

shouldCloseDocument

Returns whether the receiver necessarily closes the associated document when the window it manages is closed.

- (BOOL)shouldCloseDocument

Return Value

YES if the receiver necessarily closes the associated document when the window it manages is closed, NO otherwise.

Discussion

If NO, the document is closed only when the last remaining window of the document is closed.

The default is NO.

Availability

• Available in Mac OS X v10.0 and later.

See Also

• – setShouldCloseDocument:

Declared In

NSWindowController.h

showWindow:

Displays the window associated with the receiver.

- (IBAction)showWindow:(id)sender

Parameters

sender

The control sending the message; can be nil.

Discussion

If the window is an NSPanel object and has its becomesKeyOnlyIfNeeded flag set to YES, the window is displayed in front of all other windows but is not made key; otherwise it is displayed in front and is made key. This method is useful for menu actions.

Availability

• Available in Mac OS X v10.0 and later.

See Also

• – makeKeyAndOrderFront: (NSWindow)
• – orderFront: (NSWindow)

Related Sample Code

• CarbonCocoaCoreImageTab
• CarbonQuartzComposer_TV
• CoreRecipes
• CubePuzzle
• Sketch-112

Declared In

NSWindowController.h

synchronizeWindowTitleWithDocumentName

Synchronizes the displayed window title and the represented filename with the information in the associated document.

- (void)synchronizeWindowTitleWithDocumentName

Discussion

Does nothing if the window controller has no associated document or loaded window. This method queries the window controller’s document to get the document’s display name and full filename path, then calls windowTitleForDocumentDisplayName: to get the display name to show in the window title.

Availability

• Available in Mac OS X v10.0 and later.

Declared In

NSWindowController.h

window

Returns the window owned by the receiver.

- (NSWindow *)window

Return Value

The window owned by the receiver or nil if there isn’t one.

Discussion

If the window has not yet been loaded, this method attempts to load the window’s nib file using loadWindow. Before it loads the window, it invokes windowWillLoad, and if the window controller has a document, it invokes the document's corresponding method windowControllerWillLoadNib: (if implemented). After loading the window, this method invokes windowDidLoad and, if there is a document, the NSDocument method windowControllerDidLoadNib: (if implemented).

Availability

• Available in Mac OS X v10.0 and later.

See Also

• – windowControllerWillLoadNib: (NSDocument)

Related Sample Code

• CarbonCocoaCoreImageTab
• ColorMatching
• GridCalendar
• iSpend
• QTMetadataEditor

Declared In

NSWindowController.h

windowDidLoad

Sent after the window owned by the receiver has been loaded.

- (void)windowDidLoad

Discussion

The default implementation does nothing.

Availability

• Available in Mac OS X v10.0 and later.

See Also

• – loadWindow
• – window
• – windowWillLoad

Related Sample Code

• BasicCocoaAnimations
• EnhancedAudioBurn
• GridCalendar
• QTAudioExtractionPanel
• Sketch-112

Declared In

NSWindowController.h

windowFrameAutosaveName

Returns the name under which the frame rectangle of the window owned by the receiver is stored in the defaults database.

- (NSString *)windowFrameAutosaveName

Return Value

The name under which the frame rectangle of the window owned by the receiver is stored in the defaults database.

Availability

• Available in Mac OS X v10.0 and later.

See Also

• – setWindowFrameAutosaveName:

Declared In

NSWindowController.h

windowNibName

Returns the name of the nib file that stores the window associated with the receiver.

- (NSString *)windowNibName

Return Value

The name of the nib file that stores the window associated with the receiver.

Discussion

If initWithWindowNibPath:owner: was used to initialize the instance, windowNibName returns the last path component with the “.nib” extension stripped off. If initWithWindowNibName: or initWithWindowNibName:owner: was used, windowNibName returns the name without the “.nib” extension.

Availability

• Available in Mac OS X v10.0 and later.

See Also

• – owner

Related Sample Code

• CarbonCocoaCoreImageTab
• CarbonQuartzComposer_TV
• ObjectPath

Declared In

NSWindowController.h

windowNibPath

Returns the full path of the nib file that stores the window associated with the receiver.

- (NSString *)windowNibPath

Return Value

The full path of the nib file that stores the window associated with the receiver; nil if it cannot be located.

Discussion

If initWithWindowNibPath:owner: was used to initialize the instance, the path is just returned. If initWithWindowNibName: or initWithWindowNibName:owner: was used, windowNibPath locates the nib in the file’s owner’s class’ bundle or in the application’s main bundle and returns the full path (or nil if it cannot be located). Subclasses can override this to augment the search behavior, but probably ought to call super first.

Availability

• Available in Mac OS X v10.0 and later.

Declared In

NSWindowController.h

windowTitleForDocumentDisplayName:

Returns the window title to be used for a given document display name.

- (NSString *)windowTitleForDocumentDisplayName:(NSString *)displayName

Parameters

displayName

The display name for the document. This is the last path component under which the document file is saved.

Discussion

The default implementation returns displayName. Subclasses can override this method to customize the window title. For example, a CAD application could append “-Top” or “-Side,” depending on the view displayed by the window.

Availability

• Available in Mac OS X v10.0 and later.

See Also

• synchronizeWindowTitleWithDocumentName

Declared In

NSWindowController.h

windowWillLoad

Sent before the window owned by the receiver is loaded.

- (void)windowWillLoad

Discussion

The default implementation does nothing.

Availability

• Available in Mac OS X v10.0 and later.

See Also

• – loadWindow
• – window
• – windowDidLoad

Declared In

NSWindowController.h

---