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Leopard Reference: Cocoa
User experience encompasses the visual appearance, interactive behavior, and assistive capabilities of software. From an application's graphical user interface to its use of additional technologies such as speech recognition and speech synthesis, a cohesive and professional user experience is what Mac users have come to expect. Cocoa provides a complete suite of Interface Builder palettes and programmatic interfaces that developers can use to deliver this experience in their applications.

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Application Kit Framework Reference (HTML) (PDF)
Describes the interface for all things related to an application's user interface.
2008-11-19
Cocoa Bindings Reference (HTML) (PDF)
Describes the exposed bindings of Cocoa classes.
2007-10-31
Disc Recording UI Framework Reference (HTML)
Describes the Objective-C and C API for presenting a user interface when burning audio and data CDs and DVDs.
2008-04-08
DOMDocument Additions Reference (HTML) (PDF)
Describes the API added to the DOMDocument class to facilitate communication between WebKit and the DOM API.
2008-10-15
DOMElement Additions Reference (HTML)
Describes the API added to the DOMElement class to facilitate communication between WebKit and the DOM API.
2008-10-15
DOMHTMLDocument Additions Reference (HTML) (PDF)
Describes the API added to the DOMHTMLDocument class to facilitate communication between WebKit and the DOM API.
2009-01-26
DOMHTMLFrameElement Additions Reference (HTML) (PDF)
Describes the API added to the DOMHTMLFrameElement class to facilitate communication between WebKit and the DOM API.
2006-05-23
DOMHTMLIFrameElement Additions Reference (HTML) (PDF)
Describes the API added to the DOMHTMLIFrameElement class to facilitate communication between WebKit and the DOM API.
2006-05-23
DOMHTMLObjectElement Additions Reference (HTML) (PDF)
Describes the API added to the DOMHTMLObjectElement class to facilitate communication between WebKit and the DOM API.
2006-05-23
DOMNode Additions Reference (HTML) (PDF)
Describes the API added to the DOMNode class to facilitate communication between WebKit and the DOM API.
2009-02-04
DOMRange Additions Reference (HTML) (PDF)
Describes the API added to the DOMRange class to facilitate communication between WebKit and the DOM API.
2008-10-15
Find By Content Reference (HTML) (PDF)
Deprecated - Describes the legacy C API for performing relevance-ranked searches. Replaced by Search Kit.
2006-07-13
NSActionCell Class Reference (HTML) (PDF)
Describes the interface for the active area in a control.
2007-02-28
NSAlert Class Reference (HTML) (PDF)
Describes a window that displays a message and obtains the user's response to it.
2007-04-25
NSAnimation Class Reference (HTML) (PDF)
Describes the behavior of an animation.
2007-10-31
NSBox Class Reference (HTML) (PDF)
Describes a view that can display its border and a title.
2008-10-15
NSBrowser Class Reference (HTML) (PDF)
Describes a control for manipulating one- or two-dimensional data sets.
2007-04-05
NSBrowserCell Class Reference (HTML) (PDF)
Describes a cell that displays data in a browser.
2007-04-01
NSButton Class Reference (HTML) (PDF)
Describes a control that responds to clicks.
2007-04-01
NSButtonCell Class Reference (HTML) (PDF)
Describes a cell that responds to mouse clicks.
2009-04-08
NSCell Class Reference (HTML) (PDF)
Describes the interface for cell objects.
2009-02-04
NSCollectionView Class Reference (HTML) (PDF)
Describes a collection of views that displays content in a grid.
2007-12-11
NSCollectionViewItem Class Reference (HTML) (PDF)
Describes a controller that mediates between a prototype view and a model object.
2006-12-28
NSColorPicker Class Reference (HTML) (PDF)
Describes the interface for custom views in a color panel used for color selection.
2007-02-28
NSColorPickingCustom Protocol Reference (HTML) (PDF)
Describes the interface for receiving custom color-picker user-interface requests.
2007-04-01
NSColorPickingDefault Protocol Reference (HTML) (PDF)
Describes the interface for receiving basic color-picker user-interface requests.
2007-04-27
NSColorWell Class Reference (HTML) (PDF)
Describes a control for displaying and selecting colors.
2007-02-28
NSComboBox Class Reference (HTML) (PDF)
Describes a control for entering text or selecting from a pop-up list of items.
2006-05-23
NSComboBoxCell Class Reference (HTML) (PDF)
Describes the text field that provides the user interface for NSComboBox objects.
2006-05-23
NSComboBoxCellDataSource Protocol Reference (HTML) (PDF)
Describes the interface for receiving data requests from an NSComboBoxCell object.
2006-05-23
NSComboBoxDataSource Protocol Reference (HTML) (PDF)
Describes the interface for receiving data requests from an NSComboBox object.
2006-05-23
NSControl Class Reference (HTML) (PDF)
Describes the interface for views that respond to user actions by sending action messages.
2008-10-15
NSCursor Class Reference (HTML) (PDF)
Describes the appearance of the user interface cursor.
2009-01-06
NSDateFormatter Class Reference (HTML) (PDF)
Describes a date formatter.
2008-11-19
NSDatePicker Class Reference (HTML) (PDF)
Describes a control for displaying and editing a date.
2008-06-09
NSDatePickerCell Class Reference (HTML) (PDF)
Describes a cell for displaying and editing a date.
2008-06-09
NSDockTile Class Reference (HTML) (PDF)
Describes the interface for customizing an application's dock tiles
2009-03-04
NSDrawer Class Reference (HTML) (PDF)
Describes a retractable user interface element that displays view objects.
2006-05-23
NSErrorRecoveryAttempting Protocol Reference (HTML) (PDF)
Describes the interface for attempting recovery from runtime errors.
2007-02-23
NSFontPanel Class Reference (HTML) (PDF)
Describes the panel for font selection.
2007-04-06
NSFontPanelValidation Protocol Reference (HTML) (PDF)
Describes the interface for validating fonts.
2007-04-06
NSForm Class Reference (HTML) (PDF)
Describes a vertical matrix of NSFormCell objects.
2006-05-23
NSFormatter Class Reference (HTML) (PDF)
Describes the interface for formatter objects.
2007-07-09
NSFormCell Class Reference (HTML) (PDF)
Describes a title and text entry field in an NSForm object.
2006-05-23
NSHelpManager Class Reference (HTML) (PDF)
Describes an application-level help system.
2009-02-04
NSImageCell Class Reference (HTML) (PDF)
Describes an object that displays an image in a frame, usually in a control.
2009-01-06
NSImageView Class Reference (HTML) (PDF)
Describes a view that displays an image.
2007-01-22
NSInputManager Class Reference (HTML) (PDF)
Describes the class used by text views to communicate with the text input management system.
2007-04-01
NSInputServer Class Reference (HTML) (PDF)
Describes the class that interprets text view events and communicates them to the text input management system.
2007-04-01
NSInputServerMouseTracker Protocol Reference (HTML) (PDF)
Describes the protocol implemented by text input servers to handle mouse events.
2007-04-02
NSInputServiceProvider Protocol Reference (HTML) (PDF)
Describes the protocol implemented by text input servers to handle application and text field events.
2007-04-02
NSLevelIndicator Class Reference (HTML) (PDF)
Describes a control for displaying a rank or amount along a linear scale.
2007-03-01
NSLevelIndicatorCell Class Reference (HTML) (PDF)
Describes a cell used for displaying a rank or amount along a linear scale.
2007-03-01
NSLocale Class Reference (HTML) (PDF)
Describes a locale.
2008-02-08
NSMatrix Class Reference (HTML) (PDF)
Describes a group of cell objects that work together in various ways.
2008-10-15
NSMenu Class Reference (HTML) (PDF)
Describes an application menu.
2008-02-08
NSMenuItem Class Reference (HTML) (PDF)
Describes a menu item.
2008-02-08
NSMenuItem Protocol Reference (HTML) (PDF)
Deprecated - Describes a deprecated protocol replaced by the NSMenuItem class.
2007-02-08
NSMenuItemCell Class Reference (HTML) (PDF)
Describes a deprecated class replaced by the NSMenuItem class.
2007-03-07
NSMenuValidation Protocol Reference (HTML) (PDF)
Describes the interface for enabling and disabling menu items.
2007-03-02
NSMenuView Class Reference (HTML) (PDF)
Describes a deprecated class replaced by the NSMenu class.
2009-02-04
NSNumberFormatter Class Reference (HTML) (PDF)
Describes a number formatter.
2008-11-19
NSOpenGLView Class Reference (HTML) (PDF)
Describes a view for OpenGL drawing.
2007-01-26
NSOpenPanel Class Reference (HTML) (PDF)
Describes the panel that a user employs to locate and open a file.
2009-02-04
NSOutlineView Class Reference (HTML) (PDF)
Describes a row-and-column format view for displaying hierarchical data.
2009-02-04
NSOutlineViewDataSource Protocol Reference (HTML) (PDF)
Describes the interface used by an outline view to retrieve data and, optionally, to update data values.
2007-02-19
NSPanel Class Reference (HTML) (PDF)
Describes a window for performing auxiliary functions in an application.
2009-01-06
NSPasteboard Class Reference (HTML) (PDF)
Describes a pasteboard.
2008-10-15
NSPathCell Class Reference (HTML) (PDF)
Describes the user interface of a path control object.
2007-04-11
NSPathCellDelegate Protocol Reference (HTML) (PDF)
Describes the interface used to customize a pop-up-style control that represents a path.
2007-04-11
NSPathComponentCell Class Reference (HTML) (PDF)
Describes a component of a path control.
2007-04-11
NSPathControl Class Reference (HTML) (PDF)
Describes a control representing a file path or virtual path.
2007-04-11
NSPathControlDelegate Protocol Reference (HTML) (PDF)
Describes the interface used to support dragging and pop-up menu customization in path controls.
2007-04-11
NSPopUpButton Class Reference (HTML) (PDF)
Describes a control for displaying pull-down or pop-up lists of items.
2008-10-15
NSPopUpButtonCell Class Reference (HTML) (PDF)
Describes a cell used in the display of pull-down or pop-up menus.
2008-10-15
NSPredicateEditor Class Reference (HTML) (PDF)
Describes a graphical predicate editor.
2008-10-15
NSPredicateEditorRowTemplate Class Reference (HTML) (PDF)
Describes a row in a graphical predicate editor.
2007-01-12
NSPreferencePane Class Reference (HTML) (PDF)
Defines the interface for subclasses to provide preference panes to System Preferences or other applications.
2006-05-23
NSPrintPanelAccessorizing Protocol Reference (HTML) (PDF)
Describes the interface for configuring accessory panes for the print panel.
2007-03-09
NSProgressIndicator Class Reference (HTML) (PDF)
Describes a control that shows that a lengthy task is under way.
2008-03-11
NSRuleEditor Class Reference (HTML) (PDF)
Describes a graphical rule editor.
2008-02-08
NSSavePanel Class Reference (HTML) (PDF)
Describes the panel that a user employs to set a file-system location and save a file.
2009-02-04
NSScroller Class Reference (HTML) (PDF)
Describes a control for scrolling a document view within a scroll view.
2009-04-08
NSScrollView Class Reference (HTML) (PDF)
Describes a view for displaying content larger than its bounds.
2006-05-23
NSSearchField Class Reference (HTML) (PDF)
Describes a text field optimized for entering a search query.
2006-05-23
NSSearchFieldCell Class Reference (HTML) (PDF)
Describes a search field cell.
2008-03-11
NSSecureTextField Class Reference (HTML) (PDF)
Describes a text field that hides its text.
2006-05-23
NSSecureTextFieldCell Class Reference (HTML) (PDF)
Describes the user interface of a secure text field.
2007-10-31
NSSegmentedCell Class Reference (HTML) (PDF)
Describes an action cell that provides appearance and behavior for an NSSegmentedControl object.
2009-05-06
NSSegmentedControl Class Reference (HTML) (PDF)
Describes a horizontal button divided into multiple segments
2009-05-06
NSSlider Class Reference (HTML) (PDF)
Describes a control for selecting a value from a continuous range of values.
2006-05-23
NSSliderCell Class Reference (HTML) (PDF)
Describes an action cell that provides appearance and behavior for an NSSlider object.
2006-05-23
NSSpeechRecognizer Class Reference (HTML) (PDF)
Describes the Cocoa command-and-control voice recognition system.
2007-04-03
NSSpeechSynthesizer Class Reference (HTML) (PDF)
Describes the Cocoa parser that converts text to speech.
2009-01-06
NSSplitView Class Reference (HTML) (PDF)
Describes a container for subviews with a user-controlled portion of each visible.
2009-04-08
NSStatusBar Class Reference (HTML) (PDF)
Describes the collection of status items in the menu bar.
2007-03-05
NSStatusItem Class Reference (HTML) (PDF)
Describes a status item in the menu bar.
2007-03-05
NSStepper Class Reference (HTML) (PDF)
Describes a control that can increment and decrement a value.
2006-05-23
NSStepperCell Class Reference (HTML) (PDF)
Describes an action cell that provides appearance and behavior for an NSStepper object.
2006-05-23
NSTableColumn Class Reference (HTML) (PDF)
Describes the display characteristics and attribute identifiers for a column in a table view.
2007-10-31
NSTableDataSource Protocol Reference (HTML) (PDF)
Describes the interface for receiving table view data requests.
2007-04-10
NSTableHeaderCell Class Reference (HTML) (PDF)
Describes the user interface of a column header of a table view.
2006-05-23
NSTableHeaderView Class Reference (HTML) (PDF)
Describes a column header of a table view.
2006-05-23
NSTableView Class Reference (HTML) (PDF)
Describes a view that displays and manages tabular data.
NSTabView Class Reference (HTML) (PDF)
Describes a view that supports switching between subviews.
2006-05-23
NSTabViewItem Class Reference (HTML) (PDF)
Describes a single view in a tab view.
2006-05-23
NSTextField Class Reference (HTML) (PDF)
Describes a control that displays editable text.
2009-01-06
NSTextFieldCell Class Reference (HTML) (PDF)
Describes the user interface of a text field.
2009-01-06
NSTokenField Class Reference (HTML) (PDF)
Describes a text field that provides tokenized editing.
2008-10-15
NSTokenFieldCell Class Reference (HTML) (PDF)
Describes a cell used in the conversion of entered text into tokens representing objects.
2007-03-05
NSToolbar Class Reference (HTML) (PDF)
Describes a toolbar in a window's title bar.
2008-10-15
NSToolbarItem Class Reference (HTML) (PDF)
Describes a single item in a window's toolbar.
2006-06-28
NSToolbarItemGroup Class Reference (HTML) (PDF)
Describes a group of items in a window's toolbar.
2007-04-11
NSToolbarItemValidation Protocol Reference (HTML) (PDF)
Describes the interface for providing customized enabling and disabling of a toolbar item.
2006-05-23
NSToolTipOwner Protocol Reference (HTML) (PDF)
Describes the interface for receiving requests for tooltip text.
2006-05-23
NSUserDefaults Class Reference (HTML) (PDF)
Describes an object for managing preference information.
2009-04-08
NSUserInterfaceValidations Protocol Reference (HTML) (PDF)
Describes the interface for participating in automatic enabling and disabling of controls.
2006-05-23
NSViewAnimation Class Reference (HTML) (PDF)
Describes an animation in a view or window.
2006-05-23
NSViewController Class Reference (HTML) (PDF)
Describes the manager of a view, usually a view stored in a nib file.
2007-05-02
NSWindow Class Reference (HTML) (PDF)
Describes a window.
2009-03-04
NSWindowScripting Protocol Reference (HTML) (PDF)
Describes the category on NSWindow for scripting basic properties and commands of windows in scriptable applications.
2006-05-23
Preference Panes Framework Reference (HTML) (PDF)
Describes the Objective-C API for supporting and working with preference panes.
2006-05-23
QLPreviewRequest Reference (HTML) (PDF)
Describes an opaque type for handling requests for Quick Look document previews.
2007-04-20
QLThumbnailRequest Reference (HTML) (PDF)
Describes an opaque type for handling requests for Quick Look thumbnail images.
2007-10-31
Quick Look Framework Reference (HTML) (PDF)
Describes the interface for creating plug-ins that generate Quick Look previews and thumbnails.
2007-04-13
Screen Saver Framework Reference (HTML) (PDF)
Describes the Objective-C API for supporting and working with screen effects.
2006-05-23
Screen Saver Functions Reference (HTML) (PDF)
Describes functions and function-like macros available in the Screen Saver framework.
2006-05-23
ScreenSaverDefaults Class Reference (HTML) (PDF)
Describes the class that defines a set of methods for saving and restoring user defaults for screen savers.
2006-05-23
ScreenSaverView Class Reference (HTML) (PDF)
Describes the class that defines the interface for subclassers to interact with the screen saver infrastructure.
2006-05-23
Search Kit Reference (HTML) (PDF)
Describes the interface for supporting user searches of textual content.
2009-05-06
WebArchive Class Reference (HTML) (PDF)
Describes the class for archiving a web page and all of its related resources.
2009-04-08
WebBackForwardList Class Reference (HTML) (PDF)
Describes the class for tracking a list of visited pages with relation to the most recent page.
2009-02-04
WebDataSource Class Reference (HTML) (PDF)
Describes the class for encapsulating web content for display in a web frame view.
2008-10-15
WebDocumentRepresentation Protocol Reference (HTML) (PDF)
Describes the protocol adopted by document representation classes that handle specific MIME types.
2006-05-23
WebDocumentSearching Protocol Reference (HTML) (PDF)
Describes the protocol adopted by document view objects to support searching.
2006-05-23
WebDocumentText Protocol Reference (HTML) (PDF)
Describes the protocol adopted by document view objects to support working with text.
2009-03-04
WebDocumentView Protocol Reference (HTML) (PDF)
Describes the protocol adopted by document view objects to display data of different MIME types.
2008-10-15
WebDownload Class Reference (HTML) (PDF)
Describes the class for providing an authentication sheet before a download begins.
2008-10-15
WebEditingDelegate Protocol Reference (HTML) (PDF)
Describes the protocol adopted by WebView objects to change the view's default editing behavior.
2009-04-08
WebFrame Class Reference (HTML) (PDF)
Describes the class for encapsulating the data displayed within a WebFrameView object.
2009-04-08
WebFrameLoadDelegate Protocol Reference (HTML) (PDF)
Describes the protocol adopted by WebView frame load delegates to be notified while frame loads are in progress.
2009-04-08
WebFrameView Class Reference (HTML) (PDF)
Describes the class for displaying the actual web content contained in a frame.
2009-03-04
WebHistory Class Reference (HTML) (PDF)
Describes the class for maintaining a set of pages visited by users.
2009-03-04
WebHistoryItem Class Reference (HTML) (PDF)
Describes the class for encapsulating information about a visited page.
2008-10-15
WebJavaPlugIn Protocol Reference (HTML) (PDF)
Describes the protocol for running Java applets from within a WebView.
2009-04-08
WebKit Constants Reference (HTML) (PDF)
Describes the types and constants found in the WebKit framework.
2008-10-15
WebKit Objective-C Framework Reference (HTML) (PDF)
Describes the Objective-C API used to display web content in windows.
2008-10-15
WebOpenPanelResultListener Protocol Reference (HTML) (PDF)
Describes the protocol adopted by WebView delegates to communicate with an Open dialog.
2009-04-08
WebPlugIn Protocol Reference (HTML) (PDF)
Describes the protocol adopted by an application using the Web Kit and any Web Kit-based plug-ins.
2009-04-08
WebPlugInContainer Protocol Reference (HTML) (PDF)
Describes the protocol that enables a plug-in to send messages to an application.
2009-04-08
WebPlugInViewFactory Protocol Reference (HTML) (PDF)
Describes the protocol used to create an NSView object for a plug-in.
2009-04-08
WebPolicyDecisionListener Protocol Reference (HTML) (PDF)
Describes the protocol for handling download decisions asynchronously.
2009-03-04
WebPolicyDelegate Protocol Reference (HTML) (PDF)
Describes the protocol used to modify the policy decisions that are made when handling URLs or the data they represent.
2009-04-08
WebPreferences Class Reference (HTML) (PDF)
Describes the class for the preferences you can change per WebView object, such as font, text encoding, and image settings.
2008-10-15
WebResource Class Reference (HTML) (PDF)
Describes the class for downloaded data and its related properties, such as its URL and MIME type.
2009-04-08
WebResourceLoadDelegate Protocol Reference (HTML) (PDF)
Describes the protocol used to be notified on the progress of loading individual resources.
2008-06-19
WebScripting Protocol Reference (HTML) (PDF)
Describes the protocol that defines methods that classes can implement to expose their interfaces to a WebScript environment.
2009-04-08
WebScriptObject Class Reference (HTML) (PDF)
Describes the class for bridging a web view's scripting environment and the Objective-C runtime.
2009-04-08
WebUIDelegate Protocol Reference (HTML) (PDF)
Describes the protocol used to control user interface-related aspects, such as opening windows and augmenting default menus.
2009-03-04
WebUndefined Class Reference (HTML) (PDF)
Describes the class used to represent the JavaScript "undefined" value.
2006-05-23
WebView Class Reference (HTML) (PDF)
Describes the class for embedding web content in a window.
2009-04-08