UIViewController initWithNibName results in nil view

Question

I'm trying to make a view controller that will always load the same nib. My initialization code looks like this:

-(id)init
{
    NSString* nibName;

    if(UI_USER_INTERFACE_IDIOM() == UIUserInterfaceIdiomPad)
        nibName = @"XIB_iPad";
    else
        nibName = @"XIB_iPhone";

    self = [super initWithNibName:nibName bundle:nil];
    if (self)
    {
        ...
    }
    return self;
}

- (id)initWithNibName:(NSString *)nibNameOrNil bundle:(NSBundle *)nibBundleOrNil
{
    return [self init];
}

The problem is that this code results in the view controller having a nil view. Is there something I'm doing wrong here? Is there a better way to do this?

Thanks.

obvious question first: have you hooked up your `view` property in your xib file? — Sean, May 27 '12 at 00:36
Just checking.... Each of the .xib files exists, has this view controller subclass as its "File's Owner", and has the view outlet connected to an existing view? — Phillip Mills, May 27 '12 at 00:37
Yup ... I'm a moron. :) Forgot to connect the view in interface builder. Thanks Sean. — Seth, May 27 '12 at 03:09

score 7 · Accepted Answer · answered May 27 '12 at 02:45

Check the following:

Both XIB_iPad.xib and XIB_iPhone.xib exist in your project.
Each xib file's "File owner" is of the correct class (YourViewController).
Each File Owner view outlet (in the xib files) is linked correctly to a view.

If you keep having problems after you check these three steps, please provide with the code you use to instantiate and setup your custom view controller.

reinaldoluckman · Answer 2 · 2013-05-17T18:32:05.867

5

I had the same problem.

I checked all options as chosen answer says and didn't solve the problem for me.

My problem was that the auto layout for the view was enabled (but I don't know why, because of this feature, the view always came as nil; if someone knows, please comment).

To disable auto layout, go to "File Inspector" and uncheck option "Use Autolayout" (see figure).

Hope help someone.

enter image description here

edited May 17 '13 at 18:32

answered Feb 25 '13 at 17:29

reinaldoluckman

6,317
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Thanks, sometimes I think Apple is just not very professional. – Marius Soutier May 10 '13 at 12:58

score 3 · Answer 3 · answered May 14 '14 at 16:20

One bit of caution is that if you pass nil for nibName, according to the documentation, do a search in this order (emphasis added):

If the view controller class name ends with the word “Controller”, as in MyViewController, it looks for a nib file whose name matches the class name without the word “Controller”, as in MyView.nib.

It looks for a nib file whose name matches the name of the view controller class. For example, if the class name is MyViewController, it looks for a MyViewController.nib file.

I had a plain vanilla view that had basically the same name without "Controller" suffixed at the end. It was loading this instead of the intended nib.

score 1 · Answer 4 · answered May 27 '12 at 00:37

1

Your code looks right to me. Is it possible that your XIB files are named differently (case matters on the device), and that they're members of the correct target?

answered May 27 '12 at 00:37

Josh Hudnall

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I want to emphasise the correct target. There is no error or warning regarding this. – Vladimír Slavík Jul 29 '15 at 16:57

UIViewController initWithNibName results in nil view

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