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Application Kit Functions Reference

Framework
AppKit/AppKit.h
Declared in
NSAccessibility.h
NSApplication.h
NSCell.h
NSEvent.h
NSFont.h
NSGraphics.h
NSInterfaceStyle.h
NSKeyValueBinding.h
NSOpenGL.h
NSPanel.h
NSPasteboard.h

Overview

This document describes functions and function-like macros defined in the Application Kit framework.

Functions by Task

Accessibility

Additional information on accessibility can be found in NSAccessibility.

Applications

Additional information on NSApplication can be found in NSApplication Class Reference.

Events

Fonts

Graphics

Graphics-Window Depth

Interface Styles

Key Value Bindings

OpenGL

Panels

Pasteboards

System Beep

Additional information on sounds can be found in NSSound.

Functions

NSAccessibilityActionDescription

Returns a standard description for an action.

NSString * NSAccessibilityActionDescription (
   NSString *action
);

Discussion

This function returns a standard description for action.

Availability
Related Sample Code
Declared In
NSAccessibility.h

NSAccessibilityPostNotification

Sends a notification to any observing assistive applications.

void NSAccessibilityPostNotification (
   id element,
   NSString *notification
);

Discussion

Sends notification to any assistive applications that have registered to receive the notification from the user interface object element in your application. Accessibility notifications require special handling, so they cannot be posted using NSNotificationCenter.

Availability
Related Sample Code
Declared In
NSAccessibility.h

NSAccessibilityRaiseBadArgumentException

Raises an error if the parameter is the wrong type or has an illegal value

void NSAccessibilityRaiseBadArgumentException (
   id element,
   NSString *attribute,
   id value
);

Discussion

Raises an error if a parameter is the wrong type or has an illegal value. This function can also be used to raise an error if an attempt is made to set an attribute's value with the wrong type or an illegal value.

Availability
Declared In
NSAccessibility.h

NSAccessibilityRoleDescription

Returns a standard description for a role and subrole.

NSString * NSAccessibilityRoleDescription (
   NSString *role,
   NSString *subrole
);

Discussion

You should pass nil to this function if there is no subrole. This function returns a description of a standard role. For example, if you implement a button widget that does not inherit from NSButton, you should use this function to return a localized role description matching that returned by a standard button.

Availability
Related Sample Code
Declared In
NSAccessibility.h

NSAccessibilityRoleDescriptionForUIElement

Returns a standard role description for a user interface element.

NSString * NSAccessibilityRoleDescriptionForUIElement (
   id element
);

Discussion

This function is like the NSAccessibilityRoleDescription function, except that it queries element to get the role and subrole. The NSAccessibilityRoleDescription function is more efficient, but this function is useful for accessorizing base classes so that they properly handle derived classes, which may override the subrole or even the role.

Availability
Related Sample Code
Declared In
NSAccessibility.h

NSAccessibilityUnignoredAncestor

Returns an unignored accessibility object, ascending the hierarchy if necessary.

id NSAccessibilityUnignoredAncestor (
   id element
);

Discussion

Tests whether element is an ignored object, returning either element, if it is not ignored, or the first unignored ancestor of element.

Availability
Related Sample Code
Declared In
NSAccessibility.h

NSAccessibilityUnignoredChildren

Returns a list of unignored accessibility objects, descending the hierarchy if necessary.

NSArray * NSAccessibilityUnignoredChildren (
   NSArray *originalChildren
);

Discussion

Returns a copy of originalChildren with any ignored objects in the array replaced by their unignored descendants.

Availability
Related Sample Code
Declared In
NSAccessibility.h

NSAccessibilityUnignoredChildrenForOnlyChild

Returns a list of unignored accessibility objects, descending the hierarchy if necessary.

NSArray * NSAccessibilityUnignoredChildrenForOnlyChild (
   id originalChild
);

Discussion

Tests whether originalChild is an ignored object and returns an array containing either originalChild, if it is not ignored, or its unignored descendants.

Availability
Declared In
NSAccessibility.h

NSAccessibilityUnignoredDescendant

Returns an unignored accessibility object, descending the hierarchy if necessary.

id NSAccessibilityUnignoredDescendant (
   id element
);

Discussion

Tests whether element is an ignored object, returning either element, if it is not ignored, or the first unignored descendant of element. Use this function only if you know there is a linear, one-to-one, hierarchy below element. Otherwise, if element has either no unignored children or multiple unignored children, this function fails and returns nil.

Availability
Related Sample Code
Declared In
NSAccessibility.h

NSApplicationLoad

Startup function to call when running Cocoa code from a Carbon application.

BOOL NSApplicationLoad (void);

Return Value

YES if the NSApplication object was successfully initialized and can now be used from your Carbon application or NO if there was an error during initialization.

Discussion

You typically call this function before calling other Cocoa code in a plug-in loaded into a primarily Carbon application. If the shared NSApplication object is not already initialized, this function initializes it and sets up the necessary event handlers for Cocoa.

Availability
Related Sample Code
Declared In
NSApplication.h

NSApplicationMain

Called by the main function to create and run the application.

int NSApplicationMain (
   int argc,
   const char *argv[]
);

Parameters
argc

The number of arguments in the argv parameter.

argv

An array of pointers containing the arguments that were passed to the application at startup.

Return Value

This method never returns a result code. Instead, it calls the exit function to exit the application and terminate the process. If you want to determine why the application exited, you should look at the result code from the exit function instead.

Discussion

Creates the application, loads the main nib file from the application’s main bundle, and runs the application. You must call this function from the main thread of your application, and you typically call it only once from your application’s main function, which is usually generated automatically by Xcode.

Special Considerations

NSApplicationMain itself ignores the argc and argv arguments. Instead, Cocoa gets its arguments indirectly via _NSGetArgv, _NSGetArgc, and _NSGetEnviron (see <crt_externs.h>).

Availability
Related Sample Code
Declared In
NSApplication.h

NSAvailableWindowDepths

Returns the available window depth values.

const NSWindowDepth * NSAvailableWindowDepths (void);

Discussion

Returns a null-terminated array of NSWindowDepth—Window Depth values that specify which window depths are currently available. Window depth values are converted to specific display properties using the functions NSBitsPerPixelFromDepth, NSBitsPerSampleFromDepth, NSColorSpaceFromDepth, and NSPlanarFromDepth.

Availability
Declared In
NSGraphics.h

NSBeep

Plays the system beep.

void NSBeep (void);

Discussion

Plays the system beep. Users can select a sound to be played as the system beep. On a Macintosh computer, for example, you can change sounds with the Sound pane of System Preferences.

Availability
Related Sample Code
Declared In
NSGraphics.h

NSBeginAlertSheet

Creates and runs an alert sheet.

void NSBeginAlertSheet (
   NSString *title,
   NSString *defaultButton,
   NSString *alternateButton,
   NSString *otherButton,
   NSWindow *docWindow,
   id modalDelegate,
   SEL didEndSelector,
   SEL didDismissSelector,
   void *contextInfo,
   NSString *msg,
   ...
);

Discussion

Creates and runs an alert sheet on docWindow, with the title of title, the text of msg, and buttons with titles of defaultButton, alternateButton, and otherButton.

The buttons are laid out on the lower-right corner of the sheet, with defaultButton on the right, alternateButton on the left, and otherButton in the middle. If title is nil or an empty string, a default localized title is used (“Alert” in English). If defaultButton is nil or an empty string, a default localized button title (“OK” in English) is used. For the remaining buttons, this function creates them only if their corresponding button title is non-nil.

A Command-D key equivalent for the “Don’t Save” button is provided, if one is found. The button titles are searched for the localized value for “Don’t Save.” If a match is found, that button is assigned a Command-D key equivalent, provided it is not the default button.

If you create a modal panel using runModalForWindow: or beginSheet:modalForWindow:modalDelegate:didEndSelector:contextInfo:, you can assign the key equivalent yourself, using setKeyEquivalent: and setKeyEquivalentModifierMask:.

The msg argument is the message that’s displayed in the panel. It can use printf-style formatting characters; any necessary arguments should be listed at the end of the function’s argument list (after the msg argument). For more information on formatting characters, see the man page for printf.

When the modal session is ended, and before the sheet is dismissed, the didEndSelector is invoked on the modalDelegate. passing contextInfo. After the sheet is dismissed, the didDismissSelector is invoked on the modalDelegate, passing contextInfo. Typically, you will want to implement the didEndSelector but you may pass NULL for the didDismissSelector. The two selectors should be defined as follows:

sheetDidEnd:(NSWindow *)sheet returnCode:(int)returnCode contextInfo:(void  *)contextInfo;
sheetDidDismiss:(NSWindow *)sheet returnCode:(int)returnCode contextInfo:(void  *)contextInfo;

where sheet is the alert sheet, returnCode specifies which button the user pressed, and contextInfo is the same contextInfo passed into NSBeginAlertSheet. returnCode can be one of the following:

Availability
Related Sample Code
Declared In
NSPanel.h

NSBeginCriticalAlertSheet

Creates and runs a critical alert sheet.

void NSBeginCriticalAlertSheet (
   NSString *title,
   NSString *defaultButton,
   NSString *alternateButton,
   NSString *otherButton,
   NSWindow *docWindow,
   id modalDelegate,
   SEL didEndSelector,
   SEL didDismissSelector,
   void *contextInfo,
   NSString *msg,
   ...
);

Discussion

Creates and runs a critical alert sheet on docWindow, with the title of title, the text of msg, and buttons with titles of defaultButton, alternateButton, and otherButton.

See the description of NSBeginAlertSheet for information on layout, default parameters, and the selectors.

The sheet presented to the user is badged with a caution icon. Critical alerts should be used only as specified in the "Alerts” section of the Windows chapter of Apple Human Interface Guidelines.

Availability
Declared In
NSPanel.h

NSBeginInformationalAlertSheet

Creates and runs an informational alert sheet.

void NSBeginInformationalAlertSheet (
   NSString *title,
   NSString *defaultButton,
   NSString *alternateButton,
   NSString *otherButton,
   NSWindow *docWindow,
   id modalDelegate,
   SEL didEndSelector,
   SEL didDismissSelector,
   void *contextInfo,
   NSString *msg,
   ...
);

Discussion

Creates and runs an informational alert sheet on docWindow, with the title of title, the text of msg, and buttons with titles of defaultButton, alternateButton, and otherButton.

See the description of NSBeginAlertSheet for information on layout, default parameters, and the selectors.

Availability
Related Sample Code
Declared In
NSPanel.h

NSBestDepth

Attempts to return a window depth adequate for the specified parameters.

NSWindowDepth NSBestDepth (
   NSString *colorSpace,
   NSInteger bps,
   NSInteger bpp,
   BOOL planar,
   BOOL *exactMatch
);

Discussion

Returns a window depth deep enough for the given number of colors in colorSpace, bits per sample specified by bps, bits per pixel specified by bpp, and whether planar as specified by planar. Upon return, the variable pointed to by exactMatch is YES if the window depth can accommodate all of the values specified by the parameters, NO if it can’t.

Use this function to compute window depths. This function tries to accommodate all the parameters (match or better); if there are multiple matches, it gives the closest, with matching colorSpace first, then bps, then planar, then bpp. bpp is “bits per pixel”; 0 indicates default (same as the number of bits per plane, either bps or bps * NSNumberOfColorComponents); other values may be used as hints to provide backing stores of different configuration; for instance, 8-bit color. The exactMatch parameter is optional and indicates whether all the parameters matched exactly.

Availability
Declared In
NSGraphics.h

NSBitsPerPixelFromDepth

Returns the bits per pixel for the specified window depth.

NSInteger NSBitsPerPixelFromDepth (
   NSWindowDepth depth
);

Discussion

Returns the number of bits per pixel for the window depth specified by depth.

Availability
Declared In
NSGraphics.h

NSBitsPerSampleFromDepth

Returns the bits per sample for the specified window depth.

NSInteger NSBitsPerSampleFromDepth (
   NSWindowDepth depth
);

Discussion

Returns the number of bits per sample (bits per pixel in each color component) for the window depth specified by depth.

Availability
Declared In
NSGraphics.h

NSColorSpaceFromDepth

Returns the name of the color space corresponding to the passed window depth.

NSString * NSColorSpaceFromDepth (
   NSWindowDepth depth
);

Discussion

Returns the color space name for the specified depth. For example, the returned color space name can be NSCalibratedRGBColorSpace, or NSDeviceCMYKColorSpace.

Availability
Declared In
NSGraphics.h

NSConvertGlyphsToPackedGlyphs

Prepares a set of glyphs for processing by character-based routines.

NSInteger NSConvertGlyphsToPackedGlyphs (
   NSGlyph *glBuf,
   NSInteger count,
   NSMultibyteGlyphPacking packing,
   char *packedGlyphs
);

Discussion

Takes a buffer of glyphs, specified in the glBuf parameter, and packs them into a condensed character array. The character array is returned in the packedGlyphs parameter, which should have enough space for at least ((4 * count) + 1) bytes to guarantee that the packed glyphs fit. count specifies the number of glyphs in glBuf. packing specifies how the glyphs are currently packed.

Availability
Declared In
NSFont.h

NSCopyBits

Copies a bitmap image to the location specified by a destination point.

void NSCopyBits (
   NSInteger srcGState,
   NSRect srcRect,
   NSPoint destPoint
);

Discussion

Copies the pixels in the rectangle specified by srcRect to the location specified by destPoint. The source rectangle is defined in the graphics state designated by srcGState. If srcGState is NSNullObject, the current graphics state is assumed. The destPoint destination is defined in the current graphics state.

Availability
Declared In
NSGraphics.h

NSCountWindows

Counts the number of onscreen windows.

void NSCountWindows (
   NSInteger *count
);

Parameters
count

On output, this parameter contains the number of onscreen windows.

Availability
Declared In
NSGraphics.h

NSCountWindowsForContext

Counts the number of onscreen windows belonging to a particular application.

void NSCountWindowsForContext (
   NSInteger context,
   NSInteger *count
);

Discussion

Counts the number of onscreen windows belonging to a particular application, identified by context, which is a window server connection ID. The function returns the number by reference in count.

Use of this function is discouraged as it may be deprecated in a future release.

Availability
Declared In
NSGraphics.h

NSCreateFileContentsPboardType

Returns a pasteboard type based on the passed file type.

NSString * NSCreateFileContentsPboardType (
   NSString *fileType
);

Discussion

Returns an NSString to a pasteboard type representing a file’s contents based on the supplied string fileType. fileType should generally be the extension part of a filename. The conversion from a named file type to a pasteboard type is simple; no mapping to standard pasteboard types is attempted.

Availability
Declared In
NSPasteboard.h

NSCreateFilenamePboardType

Returns a pasteboard type based on the passed file type.

NSString * NSCreateFilenamePboardType (
   NSString *fileType
);

Discussion

Returns an NSString to a pasteboard type representing a filename based on the supplied string fileType.

Availability
Declared In
NSPasteboard.h

NSDisableScreenUpdates

Disables screen updates.

void NSDisableScreenUpdates (void);

Discussion

Prevents drawing operations from being flushed to the screen for all windows belonging to the calling process. When you re-enable screen updates (with NSEnableScreenUpdates) screen flushing for all windows belonging to the calling process appears to be simultaneous. You typically call this function so that operations on multiple windows appear atomic to the user. This is a technique particularly useful for synchronizing parent and child windows. Make sure that the period after calling this function and before reenabling updates is short; the system only allow updating to be disabled for a limited time (currently one second) before automatically reenabling updates. Successive calls to this function are placed on a stack and must be popped off that stack by matching NSEnableScreenUpdates calls.

Availability
Declared In
NSGraphics.h

NSDottedFrameRect

Draws a bordered rectangle.

void NSDottedFrameRect (
   NSRect aRect
);

Discussion

Deprecated. Use a dashed NSBezierPath instead.

Availability
See Also
Declared In
NSGraphics.h

NSDrawBitmap

Draws a bitmap image.

void NSDrawBitmap (
   NSRect rect,
   NSInteger width,
   NSInteger height,
   NSInteger bps,
   NSInteger spp,
   NSInteger bpp,
   NSInteger bpr,
   BOOL isPlanar,
   BOOL hasAlpha,
   NSString *colorSpaceName,
   const unsigned char *const data[5]
);

Discussion

This function is marginally obsolete. Most applications are better served using the NSBitmapImageRep class to read and display bitmap images.

This function renders an image from a bitmap, binary data that describes the pixel values for the image.

This function renders a bitmap image using an appropriate display operator. It puts the image in the rectangular area specified by its first argument, rect; the rectangle is specified in the current coordinate system and is located in the current window. The next two arguments, pixelsWide and pixelsHigh, give the width and height of the image in pixels. If either of these dimensions is larger or smaller than the corresponding dimension of the destination rectangle, the image will be scaled to fit.

The remaining arguments describe the bitmap data, as explained in the following paragraphs.

The bitsPerSample argument is the number of bits per sample for each pixel and samplesPerPixel is the number of samples per pixel. bitsPerPixel is based on samplesPerPixel and the configuration of the bitmap: if the configuration is planar, then the value of bitsPerPixel should equal the value of bitsPerSample; if the configuration isn’t planar (is meshed instead), bitsPerPixel should equal bitsPerSample * samplesPerPixel.

The bytesPerRow argument is calculated in one of two ways, depending on the configuration of the image data (data configuration is described below). If the data is planar, bytesPerRow is (7 + (pixelsWide * bitsPerSample)) / 8. If the data is meshed, bytesPerRow is (7 + (pixelsWide * bitsPerSample * samplesPerPixel)) / 8.

A sample is data that describes one component of a pixel. In an RGB color system, the red, green, and blue components of a color are specified as separate samples, as are the cyan, magenta, yellow, and black components in a CMYK system. Color values in a grayscale are a single sample. Alpha values that determine transparency and opaqueness are specified as a coverage sample separate from color. In bitmap images with alpha, the color (or gray) components have to be premultiplied with the alpha. This is the way images with alpha are displayed, this is the way they are read back, and this is the way they are stored in TIFFs.

The isPlanar argument refers to the way data is configured in the bitmap. This flag should be set to YES if a separate data channel is used for each sample. The function provides for up to five channels, data1, data2, data3, data4, and data5. It should be set NO if sample values are interwoven in a single channel (meshed); all values for one pixel are specified before values for the next pixel.

Grayscale windows store pixel data in planar configuration; color windows store it in meshed configuration. NSDrawBitmap can render meshed data in a planar window, or planar data in a meshed window. However, it’s more efficient if the image has a depth (bitsPerSample) and configuration (isPlanar) that match the window.

The hasAlpha argument indicates whether the image contains alpha. If it does, the number of samples should be 1 greater than the number of color components in the model (for example, 4 for RGB).

The colorSpace argument can be NSCustomColorSpace, indicating that the image data is to be interpreted according to the current color space in the graphics state. This allows for imaging using custom color spaces. The image parameters supplied as the other arguments should match what the color space is expecting.

If the image data is planar, data[0] through data[samplesPerPixel–1] point to the planes; if the data is meshed, only data[0] needs to be set.

Availability
Declared In
NSGraphics.h

NSDrawButton

Draws a gray-filled rectangle representing a user-interface button.

void NSDrawButton (
   NSRect aRect,
   NSRect clipRect
);

Parameters
aRect

The bounding rectangle (in the current coordinate system) in which to draw. Only those parts of aRect that lie within the clipRect are actually drawn.

clipRect

The clipping rectangle to use during drawing.

Discussion

Draws a gray-filled rectangle, used to signify a user-interface button. Since this function is often used to draw the border of a view, the aRect parameter typically contains the view’s bounds rectangle. For an Aqua button, use an NSButton object instead.

This function fills the specified rectangle with light gray. This function is designed for rectangles that are defined in unscaled, unrotated coordinate systems (that is, where the y axis is vertical, the x axis is horizontal, and a unit along either axis is equal to 1 screen pixel). The coordinate system can be either flipped or unflipped. The sides of the rectangle should lie on pixel boundaries.

Availability
Declared In
NSGraphics.h

NSDrawColorTiledRects

Draws a colored bordered rectangle.

NSRect NSDrawColorTiledRects (
   NSRect boundsRect,
   NSRect clipRect,
   const NSRectEdge *sides,
   NSColor **colors,
   NSInteger count
);

Parameters
boundsRect

The bounding rectangle (in the current coordinate system) in which to draw. Since this function is often used to draw the border of a view, this rectangle will typically be that view’s bounds rectangle. Only those parts of boundsRect that lie within the clipRect are actually drawn.

clipRect

The clipping rectangle to use during drawing.

sides

The sides of the rectangle for which you want to specify custom colors. Each side must have a corresponding entry in the colors parameter.

colors

The colors to draw for each of the edges listed in the sides parameter.

count

The number of 1.0-unit-wide slices to draw on the specified sides.

Return Value

The rectangle that lies within the resulting border.

Discussion

Behaves the same as NSDrawTiledRects except it draws its border using colors from the colors array.

Availability
Declared In
NSGraphics.h

NSDrawDarkBezel

Draws a dark gray-filled rectangle with a bezel border.

void NSDrawDarkBezel (
   NSRect aRect,
   NSRect clipRect
);

Parameters
aRect

The bounding rectangle (in the current coordinate system) in which to draw. Only those parts of aRect that lie within the clipRect are actually drawn.

clipRect

The clipping rectangle to use during drawing.

Availability
See Also
Related Sample Code
Declared In
NSGraphics.h

NSDrawGrayBezel

Draws a gray-filled rectangle with a bezel border.

void NSDrawGrayBezel (
   NSRect aRect,
   NSRect clipRect
);

Parameters
aRect

The bounding rectangle (in the current coordinate system) in which to draw. Only those parts of aRect that lie within the clipRect are actually drawn.

clipRect

The clipping rectangle to use during drawing.

Availability
See Also
Declared In
NSGraphics.h

NSDrawGroove

Draws a gray-filled rectangle with a groove border.

void NSDrawGroove (
   NSRect aRect,
   NSRect clipRect
);

Parameters
aRect

The bounding rectangle (in the current coordinate system) in which to draw. Only those parts of aRect that lie within the clipRect are actually drawn.

clipRect

The clipping rectangle to use during drawing.

Availability
See Also
Declared In
NSGraphics.h

NSDrawLightBezel

Draws a white-filled rectangle with a bezel border.

void NSDrawLightBezel (
   NSRect aRect,
   NSRect clipRect
);

Parameters
aRect

The bounding rectangle (in the current coordinate system) in which to draw. Only those parts of aRect that lie within the clipRect are actually drawn.

clipRect

The clipping rectangle to use during drawing.

Availability
See Also
Related Sample Code
Declared In
NSGraphics.h

NSDrawNinePartImage

Draws a nine-part tiled image. 

void NSDrawNinePartImage(NSRect frame,
   NSImage *topLeftCorner,
   NSImage *topEdgeFill,
   NSImage *topRightCorner,
   NSImage *leftEdgeFill,
   NSImage *centerFill,
   NSImage *rightEdgeFill,
   NSImage *bottomLeftCorner,
   NSImage *bottomEdgeFill,
   NSImage *bottomRightCorner,
   NSCompositingOperation op,
   CGFloat alphaFraction,
   BOOL flipped
);

Parameters
frame

The rectangle (specified in the current coordinate system) in which to draw the images.

topLeftCorner

The image to display in the top-left corner.

topEdgeFill

The image used to tile the space between the topLeftCorner and topRightCorner images.

topRightCorner

The image to display in the top-right corner.

leftEdgeFill

The image used to tile the space between the topLeftCorner and bottomLeftCorner images.

centerFill

The image used to tile the center area between the other eight images.

rightEdgeFill

The image used to tile the space between the topRightCorner and bottomRightCorner images.

bottomLeftCorner

The image to display in the bottom-left corner.

bottomEdgeFill

The image used to tile the space between the bottomLeftCorner and bottomRightCorner images.

bottomRightCorner

The image to display in the bottom-right corner.

op

The compositing operation to use when rendering the images.

alphaFraction

The alpha value to apply to the rendered image. This value can range between 0.0 and 1.0, with 0.0 being fully transparent and 1.0 being fully opaque.

flipped

Specify YES if you are drawing the images in a flipped coordinate system; otherwise, specify NO.

Discussion

This function is typically used to draw custom cells that are capable of being resized both vertically and horizontally. Cells of this type are comprised of four fixed-size corner images along and a set of edge and center images that are used to fill the gaps between the corners. These cells allow you to create sophisticated looking controls that can grow and shrink in any direction without distorting the control’s overall appearance.

You should prefer the use of this function over your own custom code for handling multi-part images whose size can change. This function correctly manages the subtle behaviors needed to handle resolution independence issues and to avoid visual artifacts caused by tiling the various images.

This function uses the top-left and bottom-right corner images to determine the widths and heights of the edge areas that need to be filled. If the width or height of the bottom-left and top-right images are not sized appropriately, they may be scaled to fill their corner area. Edge areas between the corners are tiled using the corresponding image. Similarly, the center area is tiled using the specified center image.

The flipped parameter lets you reorient the contents of each image when drawing in a flipped coordinate system. By default, images use an internal coordinate system that is not flipped. Rendering such an image in a flipped coordinate system would therefore cause the image to appear upside down. Passing YES for the flipped parameter adjusts the image’s internal coordinate system to draw it correctly in a flipped environment.

Availability
Declared In
NSCell.h

NSDrawThreePartImage

Draws a three-part tiled image.

void NSDrawThreePartImage(NSRect frame,
   NSImage *startCap,
   NSImage *centerFill,
   NSImage *endCap,
   BOOL vertical,
   NSCompositingOperation op,
   CGFloat alphaFraction,
   BOOL flipped
);

Parameters
frame

The rectangle (specified in the current coordinate system) in which to draw the images.

startCap

For a horizontal three-part image, this is the image located at the left edge of the frame rectangle. For a vertical three-part image, this image appears at the top of the screen in an unflipped coordinate system and at the bottom of the screen in a flipped coordinate system.

centerFill

The image used to tile the space between the startCap and endCap images.

endCap

For a horizontal three-part image, this is the image located at the right edge of the frame rectangle. For a vertical three-part image, this image appears at the bottom of the screen in an unflipped coordinate system and at the top of the screen in a flipped coordinate system.

vertical

Specify YES if the images should be stacked on top of one another to create a vertically oriented element. Specify NO if the images should be laid out side-by-side to create a horizontally oriented element.

op

The compositing operation to use when rendering the images.

alphaFraction

The alpha value to apply to the rendered image. This value can range between 0.0 and 1.0, with 0.0 being fully transparent and 1.0 being fully opaque.

flipped

Specify YES if you are drawing the images in a flipped coordinate system; otherwise, specify NO.

Discussion

This function is typically used to draw custom cells (such as the backgrounds for push button and slider controls) that are capable of being resized along a single axis only. Cells of this type are comprised of fixed-size end cap images and a center area that is filled by tiling the specified center image as many times as needed to fill the gap. These cells allow you to create sophisticated looking controls that can grow and shrink without distorting the control’s overall appearance.

You should prefer the use of this function over your own custom code for handling multi-part images whose size can change. This function correctly manages the subtle behaviors needed to handle resolution independence issues and to avoid visual artifacts caused by tiling the various images.

When drawing a horizontally oriented control, the images in the startCap, centerFill, and endCap parameters should all have the same height, and that height should match the height of the frame rectangle. If an image’s height does not match the height of the frame rectangle, it is scaled until it does match, which might yield less desirable results. For vertically oriented controls, the image widths are scaled instead of the heights.

The flipped parameter lets you reorient the contents of each image when drawing in a flipped coordinate system. By default, images use an internal coordinate system that is not flipped. Rendering such an image in a flipped coordinate system would therefore cause the image to appear upside down. Passing YES for the flipped parameter adjusts the image’s internal coordinate system to draw it correctly in a flipped environment.

Availability
Declared In
NSCell.h

NSDrawTiledRects

Draws rectangles with borders.

NSRect NSDrawTiledRects (
   NSRect boundsRect,
   NSRect clipRect,
   const NSRectEdge *sides,
   const CGFloat *grays,
   NSInteger count
);

Parameters
boundsRect

The bounding rectangle (in the current coordinate system) in which to draw. Since this function is often used to draw the border of a view, this rectangle will typically be that view’s bounds rectangle. Only those parts of boundsRect that lie within the clipRect are actually drawn.

clipRect

The clipping rectangle to use during drawing.

sides

The sides of the rectangle for which you want to specify custom gray levels. Each side must have a corresponding entry in the grays parameter.

grays

The gray levels to draw for each of the edges listed in the sides parameter.

count

The number of 1.0-unit-wide slices to draw on the specified sides.

Return Value

The rectangle that lies within the resulting border.

Discussion

This is a generic function that can be used to draw different types of borders inside a given rectangle. These borders can be used to outline an area or to give rectangles the effect of being recessed from or elevated above the surface of the screen.

The sides, grays, and count parameters determine how thick the border is and what gray levels are used to form it. This function uses the NSDivideRect function to take successive 1.0-unit-wide slices from the sides of the rectangle specified by the sides parameter. Each slice is drawn using the corresponding gray level from the grays parameter. This function makes and draws these slices count number of times. If you specify the same side more than once, the second slice is drawn inside the first.

The following example uses this function to draw a bezeled border consisting of a 1.0–unit-wide white line at the top and on the left side and a 1.0-unit-wide dark-gray line inside a 1.0–unit-wide black line on the other two sides. The resulting rectangle inside this border is then filled in using light gray.

NSRectEdge mySides[] = {NSMinYEdge, NSMaxXEdge, NSMaxYEdge, NSMinXEdge,
                        NSMinYEdge, NSMaxXEdge};
float myGrays[] = {NSBlack, NSBlack, NSWhite, NSWhite,
                        NSDarkGray, NSDarkGray};
NSRect aRect, clipRect; // Assume exists
 
aRect = NSDrawTiledRects(aRect, clipRect, mySides, myGrays, 6);
[[NSColor grayColor] set];
NSRectFill(aRect);

In the preceding example, mySides is an array that specifies sides of a rectangle; for example, NSMinYEdge selects the side parallel to the x axis with the smallest y coordinate value. myGrays is an array that specifies the successive gray levels to be used in drawing parts of the border.

Availability
Declared In
NSGraphics.h

NSDrawWhiteBezel

Draws a white-filled rectangle with a bezel border.

void NSDrawWhiteBezel (
   NSRect aRect,
   NSRect clipRect
);

Parameters
aRect

The bounding rectangle (in the current coordinate system) in which to draw. Only those parts of aRect that lie within the clipRect are actually drawn.

clipRect

The clipping rectangle to use during drawing.

Availability
See Also
Related Sample Code
Declared In
NSGraphics.h

NSDrawWindowBackground

Draws the window’s default background pattern into the specified rectangle of the currently focused view.

void NSDrawWindowBackground (
   NSRect aRect
);

Parameters
aRect

The rectangle (in the current coordinate system) in which to draw the window’s background pattern.

Availability
Declared In
NSGraphics.h

NSEnableScreenUpdates

Enables screen updates

void NSEnableScreenUpdates (void);

Discussion

Reenables, for all windows of a process, the flushing of drawing operations to the screen that was previously disabled by NSDisableScreenUpdates. Successive calls to NSDisableScreenUpdates are placed on a stack and must be popped off that stack by matching calls to this function.

Availability
Declared In
NSGraphics.h

NSEraseRect

Erases the specified rect by filling it with white.

void NSEraseRect (
   NSRect aRect
);

Parameters
aRect

The rectangle (in the current coordinate system) defining the area to erase.

Discussion

This function fills the specified rectangle with white. It does not alter the current color.

Availability
Related Sample Code
Declared In
NSGraphics.h

NSEventMaskFromType

Returns the event mask for the specified type.

static NSUInteger NSEventMaskFromType (
   NSEventType type
);

Parameters
type

The event type whose mask you want to get.

Return Value

The event mask corresponding to the specified type. The returned mask is equivalent to the number 1 left-shifted by type bits.

Availability
Related Sample Code
Declared In
NSEvent.h

NSFrameRect

Draw a bordered rectangle.

void NSFrameRect (
   NSRect aRect
);

Parameters
aRect

The bounding rectangle (in the current coordinate system) in which to draw.

Discussion

Draws a frame around the inside of aRect in the current color and using the NSCompositeCopy compositing operation. The width is equal to 1.0 in the current coordinate system. Since the frame is drawn inside the rectangle, it will be visible even if drawing is clipped to the rectangle.

Because this function does not draw directly on the line, but rather inside it, it uses the current fill color (not stroke color) when drawing.

For a list of compositing operations and how you use them, see Cocoa Drawing Guide.

Availability
See Also
Related Sample Code
Declared In
NSGraphics.h

NSFrameRectWithWidth

Draw a bordered rectangle.

void NSFrameRectWithWidth (
   NSRect aRect,
   CGFloat frameWidth
);

Parameters
aRect

The bounding rectangle (in the current coordinate system) in which to draw.

frameWidth

The width of the frame, specified in points.

Discussion

Draws a frame around the inside of aRect in the current color and using the NSCompositeCopy compositing operation. The width is equal to frameWidth in the current coordinate system. Since the frame is drawn inside the rectangle, it will be visible even if drawing is clipped to the rectangle.

Because this function does not draw directly on the line, but rather inside it, it uses the current fill color (not stroke color) when drawing.

For a list of compositing operations and how you use them, see Cocoa Drawing Guide.

Availability
See Also
Related Sample Code
Declared In
NSGraphics.h

NSFrameRectWithWidthUsingOperation

Draw a bordered rectangle using the specified compositing operation.

void NSFrameRectWithWidthUsingOperation (
   NSRect aRect,
   CGFloat frameWidth,
   NSCompositingOperation op
);

Parameters
aRect

The bounding rectangle (in the current coordinate system) in which to draw.

frameWidth

The width of the frame, specified in points.

op

The compositing operation to use when drawing the frame.

Discussion

Draws a frame around the inside of aRect in the current color, using the compositing operation op. The width is equal to frameWidth in the current coordinate system. Since the frame is drawn inside the rectangle, it will be visible even if drawing is clipped to the rectangle.

Because this function does not draw directly on the line, but rather inside it, it uses the current fill color (not stroke color) when drawing.

For a list of compositing operations and how you use them, see Cocoa Drawing Guide.

Availability
Related Sample Code
Declared In
NSGraphics.h

NSGetAlertPanel

Returns an alert panel.

id NSGetAlertPanel (
   NSString *title,
   NSString *msg,
   NSString *defaultButton,
   NSString *alternateButton,
   NSString *otherButton,
   ...
);

Discussion

Returns an NSPanel that can be used to set up a modal session. A modal session is useful for allowing the user to interrupt the program. During a modal session, you can perform activities while the panel is displayed and check at various points in your program whether the user has clicked one of the panel’s buttons. The arguments for this function are the same as those for NSRunAlertPanel, but unlike that function, no button is displayed if defaultButton is nil.

To set up a modal session, send the Application object beginModalSessionForWindow: with the panel returned by NSGetAlertPanel as its argument. When you want to check if the user has clicked one of the panel’s buttons, use runModalSession:. To end the modal session, use endModalSession:. When you’re finished with the panel created by NSGetAlertPanel, you must free it by passing it to NSReleaseAlertPanel.

Availability
Declared In
NSPanel.h

NSGetCriticalAlertPanel

Returns an alert panel to display a critical message.

id NSGetCriticalAlertPanel (
   NSString *title,
   NSString *msg,
   NSString *defaultButton,
   NSString *alternateButton,
   NSString *otherButton,
   ...
);

Discussion

Returns an NSPanel that can be used to set up a modal session. No button is displayed if defaultButton is nil. When you’re finished with the panel created by this function, you must free it by passing it to NSReleaseAlertPanel.

The arguments for this function are the same as those for the NSGetAlertPanel. For more information on using a panel in a modal session, see NSGetAlertPanel.

The panel presented to the user is badged with a caution icon. Critical alerts should be used only as specified in the "Alerts” section of the Windows chapter of Apple Human Interface Guidelines.

Availability
Declared In
NSPanel.h

NSGetFileType

Returns a file type based on the passed pasteboard type.

NSString * NSGetFileType (
   NSString *pboardType
);

Discussion

This function is the inverse of both NSCreateFileContentsPboardType and NSCreateFilenamePboardType. When passed a pasteboard type as returned by those functions, it returns the extension or filename from which the type was derived. It returns nil if pboardType isn’t a pasteboard type created by those functions.

Availability
Declared In
NSPasteboard.h

NSGetFileTypes

Returns an array of file types based on the passed pasteboard types.

NSArray * NSGetFileTypes (
   NSArray *pboardTypes
);

Discussion

Accepts a null-terminated array of pointers to pasteboard types and returns a null-terminated array of the unique extensions and filenames from the file content and filename types found in the input array. It returns nil if the input array contains no file content or filename types. The returned array is allocated and must be freed by the caller. The pointers in the return array point into strings passed in the input array.

Availability
Declared In
NSPasteboard.h

NSGetInformationalAlertPanel

Returns an alert panel to display an informational message.

id NSGetInformationalAlertPanel (
   NSString *title,
   NSString *msg,
   NSString *defaultButton,
   NSString *alternateButton,
   NSString *otherButton,
   ...
);

Discussion

Returns an NSPanel that can be used to set up a modal session. No button is displayed if defaultButton is nil. When you’re finished with the panel created by this function, you must free it by passing it to NSReleaseAlertPanel.

The arguments for this function are the same as those for the NSRunAlertPanel function. For more information on using a panel in a modal session, see NSGetAlertPanel.

Availability
Declared In
NSPanel.h

NSGetWindowServerMemory

Returns the amount of memory being used by a context.

NSInteger NSGetWindowServerMemory (
   NSInteger context,
   NSInteger *virtualMemory,
   NSInteger *windowBackingMemory,
   NSString **windowDumpString
);

Discussion

Calculates the amount of memory being used at the moment by the given context. If NULL is passed for context, the current context is used. The amount of virtual memory used by the current context is returned in the int pointed to by virtualMemory; the amount of window backing store used by windows owned by the current context is returned in the int pointed to by windowBackingMemory. The sum of these two numbers is the amount of the memory that this context is responsible for.

Calculating these numbers takes some time to execute; thus, calling this function in normal operation is not recommended.

If nil is not passed in for windowDumpStream, the information returned is echoed to the specified stream. This fact can be useful for finding out more about which windows are using up your storage.

Normally, NSGetWindowServerMemory returns 0. If NULL is passed for context and there’s no current display context, this function returns –1.

Availability
Declared In
NSGraphics.h

NSHighlightRect

Highlights the specified rect by filling it with white.

void NSHighlightRect (
   NSRect aRect
);

Parameters
aRect

The bounding rectangle (in the current coordinate system) in which to draw.

Discussion

Highlights the rectangle referred to by aRect. Light gray becomes white, and white becomes light gray. This function must be called twice, once to highlight the rectangle and once to unhighlight it; the rectangle should not be left in its highlighted state. When not drawing on the screen, the compositing operation is replaced by one that fills the rectangle with light gray.

Availability
Declared In
NSGraphics.h

NSInterfaceStyleForKey

Returns an interface style value for the specified key and responder.

NSInterfaceStyle NSInterfaceStyleForKey (
   NSString *key,
   NSResponder *responder
);

Discussion

Used to determine an interface style based on a key and a responder, either of which may be nil. An NSInterfaceStyle value specifies the style in which an interface item, such as a button or a scroll bar, should be drawn. For example, a value of NSMacintoshInterfaceStyle indicates an item should be drawn in the Macintosh style. The values defined for NSInterfaceStyle are NSNoInterfaceStyle, NSNextStepInterfaceStyle, NSWindows95InterfaceStyle, and NSMacintoshInterfaceStyle. Note that this function never returns NSNoInterfaceStyle.

The interface style value returned by this function depends on several factors. If responder is not nil and if responder specifies an interface style other than NSNoInterfaceStyle, this function returns the responder’s style, and key is ignored.

Otherwise, if key is not nil and there is an interface style for key specified by the defaults system, this function returns the interface style for key from the defaults system.

Finally, if key is nil, or if there is no interface style for key specified by the defaults system, this function returns the global interface style specified by the defaults system.

The defaults system allows an application to customize its behavior to match a user’s preferences. You can read about the defaults system in the documentation for NSUserDefaults.

Availability
Related Sample Code
Declared In
NSInterfaceStyle.h

NSIsControllerMarker

Tests whether a given object is special marker object used for indicating the state of a selection in relation to a key.

BOOL NSIsControllerMarker (
   id object
);

Parameters
Term

Specify the object you want to check. This parameter can be nil.

Return Value

YES if the object is one of the designated controller markers or NO if it is not.

Discussion

This function helps you to create bindings between user interface elements and controller objects. The Application Kit predefines several special marker objects used as values for indicating selection state; currently these are NSMultipleValuesMarker, NSNoSelectionMarker, and NSNotApplicableMarker. These markers are typed as id and only exist for the purpose of indicating a state; they are never archived and cannot be used as object values in controls. You use this function to test whether a given object value is a marker, in which case it is not directly assignable to the object that is bound. This check is important, especially since additional markers may be added in the future.

See the NSKeyValueBinding.h header file for further details.

Availability
Related Sample Code
Declared In
NSKeyValueBinding.h

NSNumberOfColorComponents

Returns the number of color components in the specified color space.

NSInteger NSNumberOfColorComponents (
   NSString *colorSpaceName
);

Discussion

Returns the number of color components in the color space whose name is provided by colorSpaceName.

Availability
Declared In
NSGraphics.h

NSOpenGLGetOption

Returns global OpenGL options.

void NSOpenGLGetOption (
   NSOpenGLGlobalOption pname,
   GLint *param
);

Discussion

Returns in param the value of the global OpenGL parameter pname. The available options are enumerated by the NSOpenGLGlobalOption type.

Availability
Declared In
NSOpenGL.h

NSOpenGLGetVersion

Returns the NSOpenGL version numbers.

void NSOpenGLGetVersion (
   GLint *major,
   GLint *minor
);

Discussion

Returns by reference the major and minor version numbers of the NSOpenGL implementation. This function is not the same as the OpenGL version.

Availability
Declared In
NSOpenGL.h

NSOpenGLSetOption

Sets global OpenGL options.

void NSOpenGLSetOption (
   NSOpenGLGlobalOption pname,
   GLint param
);

Discussion

Sets the value of the global OpenGL parameter pname to param. The available options are enumerated by the NSOpenGLGlobalOption type.

Availability
Declared In
NSOpenGL.h

NSPerformService

Programmatically invokes a Services menu service.

BOOL NSPerformService (
   NSString *itemName,
   NSPasteboard *pboard
);

Parameters
itemName

Specifies a Services menu item, in any language. If the requested service is from a submenu of the Services menu, the value must contain a slash (for example, “Mail/Selection”).

pboard

The pasteboard containing the data required by the service. This data must be present for the service to succeed. On output, this pasteboard contains the data returned by the service provider.

Return Value

YES if the service was successfully performed or NO if it was not.

Discussion

Use this function to programmatically invoke a service found in the application’s Services menu.

Availability
Declared In
NSApplication.h

NSPlanarFromDepth

Returns whether the specified window depth is planar.

BOOL NSPlanarFromDepth (
   NSWindowDepth depth
);

Discussion

Returns YES if the specified window depth is planar and NO if it is not.

Availability
Declared In
NSGraphics.h

NSReadPixel

Reads the color of the pixel at the specified location.

NSColor * NSReadPixel (
   NSPoint passedPoint
);

Parameters
passedPoint

The pixel location to read, specified in the current coordinate system.

Return Value

The color of the pixel at the specified location.

Discussion

Because the passedPoint parameter is relative to the current coordinate system, if you wish to read a pixel from a specific view, you must convert points in the view’s coordinate system to the current coordinate system before calling this function. Alternatively, you can lock focus on the view and then specify the pixel coordinate in the view’s coordinate system.

When mapping the specified point to pixel boundaries, this method rounds to the nearest pixel. For more information on how coordinate points map to the underlying pixels, see Coordinate Systems and Transforms in Cocoa Drawing Guide.

Availability
Related Sample Code
Declared In
NSGraphics.h

NSRectClip

Modifies the current clipping path by intersecting it with the passed rect.

void NSRectClip (
   NSRect aRect
);

Parameters
aRect

The rectangle to intersect with the current clipping rectangle.

Discussion

This function modifies the clipping path permanently. If you need to undo this modification later, you should save the current graphics state before calling this function and restore it once you are done.

A side effect of this function is that it clears the current Quartz 2D drawing path information. If you used Quartz 2D functions to create a drawing path in the current context, and you want to save that path information and use it later, you should transfer it to a CGPathRef opaque type before calling this function. If you are using only Cocoa to do your drawing, this behavior should not affect you.

Availability
Related Sample Code
Declared In
NSGraphics.h

NSRectClipList

Modifies the current clipping path by intersecting it with the passed rect.

void NSRectClipList (
   const NSRect *rects,
   NSInteger count
);

Parameters
rects

A pointer to an array of NSRect structures, which are combined and intersected with the current clipping path.

count

The number of rectangles in rects.

Discussion

This function modifies the clipping path permanently by generating a graphical union of the specified rectangles and then intersecting that union with the current clipping path. If you need to undo this modification later, you should save the current graphics state before calling this function and restore it once you are done.

A side effect of this function is that it clears the current Quartz 2D drawing path information. If you used Quartz 2D functions to create a drawing path in the current context, and you want to save that path information and use it later, you should transfer it to a CGPathRef opaque type before calling this function. If you are using only Cocoa to do your drawing, this behavior should not affect you.

Availability
Declared In
NSGraphics.h

NSRectFill

Fills the passed rectangle with the current color.

void NSRectFill (
   NSRect aRect
);

Parameters
aRect

The bounding rectangle (in the current coordinate system) in which to draw.

Discussion

Fills aRect with the current color using the compositing mode NSCompositeCopy, which fills with the current color by copying the RGBA values. Use NSRectFillUsingOperation to fill specifying a compositing mode.

For a list of compositing operations and how you use them, see Cocoa Drawing Guide.

Availability
Related Sample Code
Declared In
NSGraphics.h

NSRectFillList

Fills the rectangles in the passed list with the current fill color.

void NSRectFillList (
   const NSRect *rects,
   NSInteger count
);

Parameters
rects

A pointer to an array of NSRect structures representing the rectangles to fill.

count

The number of rectangles in rects.

Discussion

Fills the specified rectangles with the current fill color using the compositing mode NSCompositeCopy.

For a list of compositing operations and how you use them, see Cocoa Drawing Guide.

Availability
Declared In
NSGraphics.h

NSRectFillListUsingOperation

Fills the rectangles in a list using the current fill color and specified compositing operation.

void NSRectFillListUsingOperation (
   const NSRect *rects,
   NSInteger count,
   NSCompositingOperation op
);

Parameters
rects

A pointer to an array of NSRect structures representing the rectangles to fill.

count

The number of rectangles in the rects parameter.

op

The compositing operation to use when filling the rectangles.

Discussion

Fills a list of count rectangles with the current fill color, using the compositing operation op. For example, specifying NSCompositeSourceOver will blend with what's already been drawn.

For a list of compositing operations and how you use them, see Cocoa Drawing Guide.

Availability
Declared In
NSGraphics.h

NSRectFillListWithColors

Fills the rectangles in the passed list with the passed list of colors.

void NSRectFillListWithColors (
   const NSRect *rects,
   NSColor **colors,
   NSInteger num
);

Parameters
rects

A pointer to an array of NSRect structures representing the rectangles to fill.

colors

A pointer to an array of NSColor objects. The number of color objects in this parameter must equal the number of rectangles in the rects parameter.

num

The number of rectangles in the rects parameter.

Discussion

Takes a list of num rectangles and a matching list of color objects. The first rectangle is filled with the first color, the second rectangle with the second color, and so on. There must be an equal number of rectangles and color values. The rectangles are composited using the NSCompositeCopy operator and the order in which the rectangles are filled cannot be guaranteed; therefore, overlapping rectangles may not draw as expected. This function alters the current color of the current graphics state, setting it unpredictably to one of the values passed in colors.

For a list of compositing operations and how you use them, see Cocoa Drawing Guide.

Availability
Declared In
NSGraphics.h

NSRectFillListWithColorsUsingOperation

Fills the rectangles in a list using the specified colors and compositing operation.

void NSRectFillListWithColorsUsingOperation (
   const NSRect *rects,
   NSColor **colors,
   NSInteger num,
   NSCompositingOperation op
);

Parameters
rects

A pointer to an array of NSRect structures representing the rectangles to fill.

colors

A pointer to an array of NSColor objects. The number of color objects in this parameter must equal the number of rectangles in the rects parameter.

num

The number of rectangles in the rects parameter.

op

The compositing operation to use when filling the rectangles.

Discussion

Takes a list of num rectangles and a matching list of color values. The first rectangle is filled with the first color, the second rectangle with the second color, and so on. There must be an equal number of rectangles and color values. Each fill operation is performed using the compositing operation op. The rectangles should not overlap; the order in which they are filled cannot be guaranteed. This function alters the current color of the current graphics state, setting it unpredictably to one of the values passed in colors.

For a list of compositing operations and how you use them, see Cocoa Drawing Guide.

Availability
Declared In
NSGraphics.h

NSRectFillListWithGrays

Fills the rectangles in the passed list with the passed list of grays.

void NSRectFillListWithGrays (
   const NSRect *rects,
   const CGFloat *grays,
   NSInteger num
);

Parameters
rects

A pointer to an array of NSRect structures representing the rectangles to fill.

grays

A pointer to an array of floating-point values in the range 0.0 to 1.0, where 0.0 represents absolute black and 1.0 represents absolute white and numbers in between are varying levels of gray. Values outside this range are clamped to 0.0 or 1.0.

num

The number of rectangles in the rects parameter.

Discussion

Takes a list of num rectangles and a matching list of gray values. The first rectangle is filled with the first gray, the second rectangle with the second gray, and so on. There must be an equal number of rectangles and gray values. The rectangles are composited using the NSCompositeCopy operator and the order in which the rectangles are filled cannot be guaranteed; therefore, overlapping rectangles may not draw as expected. This function alters the current color of the current graphics state, setting it unpredictably to one of the values passed in grays.

For a list of compositing operations and how you use them, see Cocoa Drawing Guide.

Availability
Declared In
NSGraphics.h

NSRectFillUsingOperation

Fills a rectangle using the current fill color and the specified compositing operation.

void NSRectFillUsingOperation (
   NSRect aRect,
   NSCompositingOperation op
);

Parameters
aRect

The rectangle to fill with the current fill color.

op

The compositing operation to use when filling the rectangle.

Discussion

For a list of compositing operations and how you use them, see Cocoa Drawing Guide.

Availability
Related Sample Code
Declared In
NSGraphics.h

NSRegisterServicesProvider

Registers a service provider.

void NSRegisterServicesProvider (
   id provider,
   NSString *name
);

Parameters
provider

The object providing the service you want to register.

name

The unique name to associate with the service. This string is used to advertise the service to interested clients.

Discussion

Use this function to register custom services not directly related to your application.

You should not use this function to register the services provided by your application. For your application’s services, you should use the setServicesProvider: method of NSApplication, passing a non-nil argument.

Availability
Declared In
NSApplication.h

NSReleaseAlertPanel

Releases an alert panel.

void NSReleaseAlertPanel (
   id panel
);

Discussion

When you’re finished with a panel created by a function such as NSGetAlertPanel, NSGetCriticalAlertPanel, or NSGetInformationalAlertPanel, you must free it by passing it to this function.

Note that the alert panel may not be deallocated immediately because it may have internal references that are released in a deferred way. You should not make the assumption that the alert panel is immediately removed from the application window list.

Availability
Declared In
NSPanel.h

NSRunAlertPanel

Creates an alert panel.

NSInteger NSRunAlertPanel (
   NSString *title,
   NSString *msg,
   NSString *defaultButton,
   NSString *alternateButton,
   NSString *otherButton,
   ...
);

Discussion

Creates and runs an alert panel (or dialog) with the title of title, the text of msg, and buttons with titles of defaultButton, alternateButton, and otherButton. See the description of NSBeginAlertSheet for information on layout of buttons, default parameters, and possible return values. NSRunAlertPanel runs the panel in a modal event loop.

A Command-D key equivalent for the “Don’t Save” button is provided, if one is found. The button titles are searched for the localized value for “Don’t Save.” If a match is found, that button is assigned a Command-D key equivalent, provided it is not the default button.

If you create a modal panel using runModalForWindow: or beginSheet:modalForWindow:modalDelegate:didEndSelector:contextInfo:, you can assign the key equivalent yourself, using setKeyEquivalent: and setKeyEquivalentModifierMask:.

This function not only creates the panel; it also puts the panel onscreen and runs it using the runModalForWindow: method defined in the NSApplication class. This method sets up a modal event loop that causes the panel to remain onscreen until the user clicks one of its buttons. This function then removes the panel from the screen list and returns a value that indicates which of the three buttons the user clicked. For efficiency, this function creates the panel the first time it’s called and reuses it on subsequent calls, reconfiguring it if necessary.

Availability
Related Sample Code
Declared In
NSPanel.h

NSRunCriticalAlertPanel

Creates and runs a critical alert panel.

NSInteger NSRunCriticalAlertPanel (
   NSString *title,
   NSString *msg,
   NSString *defaultButton,
   NSString *alternateButton,
   NSString *otherButton,
   ...
);

Discussion

Creates a critical alert panel that warns the user of some critical consequence of a requested action; the panel lets the user cancel the action and may allow the user to modify the action. It then runs the panel in a modal event loop.

The panel presented to the user is badged with a caution icon. Critical alerts should be used only as specified in the "Alerts” section of the Windows chapter of Apple Human Interface Guidelines.

The arguments for this function are the same as those for NSRunAlertPanel.

Availability
Related Sample Code
Declared In
NSPanel.h

NSRunInformationalAlertPanel

Creates and runs an informational alert panel.

NSInteger NSRunInformationalAlertPanel (
   NSString *title,
   NSString *msg,
   NSString *defaultButton,
   NSString *alternateButton,
   NSString *otherButton,
   ...
);

Discussion

Creates an informational alert panel that provides information related to a requested action. It then runs the panel in a modal event loop.

The arguments for this function are the same as those for NSRunAlertPanel.

Availability
Declared In
NSPanel.h

NSSetFocusRingStyle

Specifies how a focus ring will be drawn.

void NSSetFocusRingStyle (
   NSFocusRingPlacement placement
);

Parameters
placement

Specifies how you want the focus ring to be drawn.

Discussion

Use NSFocusRingAbove to draw the focus ring over an image, use NSFocusRingBelow to draw the focus ring under text, and use NSFocusRingOnly if you don’t have an image or text. For the NSFocusRingOnly case, fills a shape to add the focus ring around the shape.

Note that the focus ring may actually be drawn outside the view but will be clipped to any clipping superview or the window content view.

Availability
Related Sample Code
Declared In
NSGraphics.h

NSSetShowsServicesMenuItem

Specifies whether an item should be included in Services menus.

NSInteger NSSetShowsServicesMenuItem (
   NSString *itemName,
   BOOL enabled
);

Discussion

Deprecated. This function simply returns 0.

Availability
Declared In
NSApplication.h

NSShowAnimationEffect

Runs a system animation effect.

void NSShowAnimationEffect (
   NSAnimationEffect animationEffect,
   NSPoint centerLocation,
   NSSize size,
   id animationDelegate,
   SEL didEndSelector,
   void *contextInfo
);

Parameters
animationEffect

The type of animation you want to apply.

centerLocation

The location at which to show the animated image, specified in screen coordinates. The animation is centered on the point you specify.

size

The desired size of the animated image. Specify NSZeroSize to perform the animation at the default size.

animationDelegate

The object to notify when the animation completes. Specify nil if you do not need to be notified when the animation completes.

didEndSelector

The selector of animationDelegate to call when the animation completes. Specify nil if you do not need to be notified when the animation completes. If you specify a selector, the corresponding method should have the following signature:

    - (void)animationEffectDidEnd:(void *)contextInfo;
contextInfo

A pointer to any optional information you want passed as a parameter to the selector in the didEndSelector parameter.

Discussion

This function runs one of the standard system animation effects, which includes display and sound. For example, you can use this function to display the puff of smoke effect. For a complete list of animation effects, see NSAnimationEffect.

Availability
Declared In
NSGraphics.h

NSShowsServicesMenuItem

Specifies whether a Services menu item is currently enabled.

BOOL NSShowsServicesMenuItem (
   NSString *itemName
);

Discussion

Deprecated. This function simply returns YES.

Availability
Declared In
NSApplication.h

NSUnregisterServicesProvider

Unregisters a service provider.

void NSUnregisterServicesProvider(NSString *name);

Parameters
name

The name of the service you want to unregister.

Discussion

Use this function to unregister custom services not directly related to your application.

You should not use this function to unregister the services provided by your application. For your application’s services, you should use the setServicesProvider: method of NSApplication, passing a nil argument.

Availability
Declared In
NSApplication.h

NSUpdateDynamicServices

Causes the services information for the system to be updated.

void NSUpdateDynamicServices (void);

Discussion

Used by a service-providing application to reregister the services it is willing to provide. To do this, you create a bundle with the extension “.service” and place it in the application’s path or ~/Library/Services. The content of the bundle is identical to a normal service bundle. You then call this function.

It is only necessary to call this function if your program adds dynamic services to the system.

Availability
Related Sample Code
Declared In
NSApplication.h

NSWindowList

Gets information about onscreen windows.

void NSWindowList (
   NSInteger size,
   NSInteger list[]
);

Discussion

Provides an ordered list of all onscreen windows. It fills list with up to size window numbers; the order of windows in the array is the same as their order in the window server’s screen list (their front-to-back order on the screen). Use the count obtained by NSCountWindows to specify the size of the array for this function.

Availability
Declared In
NSGraphics.h

NSWindowListForContext

Gets information about an application’s onscreen windows.

void NSWindowListForContext (
   NSInteger context,
   NSInteger size,
   NSInteger list[]
);

Discussion

Provides an ordered list of onscreen windows for a particular application, identified by context, which is a window server connection ID. It fills list with up to size window numbers; the order of windows in the array is the same as their order in the window server’s screen list (their front-to-back order on the screen). Use the count obtained by the NSCountWindowsForContext function to specify the size of the array for this function.

Use of this function is discouraged as it may be deprecated in a future release.

Availability
Declared In
NSGraphics.h

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© 2008 Apple Inc. All Rights Reserved. (Last updated: 2008-11-19)

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