Really close lines with NSAttributedString?

Question

I want to have two lines of text appear really close together (small line spacing) for a button. I have the following code:

NSMutableAttributedString *string = [[NSMutableAttributedString alloc] initWithString:@"50 WPM"];

NSMutableParagraphStyle *paragrapStyle = [[NSMutableParagraphStyle alloc] init];
paragrapStyle.alignment = NSTextAlignmentCenter;
paragrapStyle.lineSpacing = -10;

[string addAttribute:NSParagraphStyleAttributeName value:paragrapStyle range:NSMakeRange(0, string.length)];

UIFont *font1 = [UIFont systemFontOfSize:22.0];
[string addAttribute:NSFontAttributeName value:font1 range:NSMakeRange(0, string.length - 4)];

UIFont *font = [UIFont systemFontOfSize:15.0];
[string addAttribute:NSFontAttributeName value:font range:NSMakeRange(string.length - 3, 3)];

[string addAttribute:NSForegroundColorAttributeName value:[UIColor greenColor] range:NSMakeRange(0, string.length)];

[self.button setAttributedTitle:string forState:UIControlStateNormal];

But as linespacing can't be negative, it doesn't get nearly as close as I'd like it to be. It looks like this:

enter image description here

Is there any way to get them closer?

Have you tried adjusting the paragraph style's `paragraphSpacing` and `paragraphSpacingBefore` properties? — Joshua, Oct 26 '13 at 12:43
I tried under `paragraphStyle.lineSpacing = -10;` to set those attributes on `paragrapStyle` to 0 (as well as -10 afterword) and neither had any noticeable effect. — Doug Smith, Oct 27 '13 at 19:01
@DougSmith you use negative value for line spacing as per apple doc. Try something like (0.0000001). — Exploring, Oct 31 '13 at 15:08

nscoding · Answer 1 · 2013-10-31T16:36:16.230

57

Well if you have an attribute string then everything should be possible. :) You just have to look more.

- (void)setMinimumLineHeight:(CGFloat)aFloat
- (void)setMaximumLineHeight:(CGFloat)aFloat

Try

[paragraphStyle setLineSpacing:0.0f];
[paragraphStyle setMaximumLineHeight:7.0f];

You will realise that maximumLineHeight is not maximumLineSpacing. ^^

This for example is with setMaximumLineHeight:12];

enter image description here

edited Oct 31 '13 at 16:36

answered Oct 31 '13 at 16:20

nscoding

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My issue there is that text gets cut off. – Doug Smith Oct 31 '13 at 17:51
1

What if you turn off `masksToBounds` or add a baseline adjustment or translation transform? – nielsbot Nov 01 '13 at 20:55

score 3 · Answer 2 · answered Oct 27 '17 at 13:01

Here a little extension in Swift3 which supports negative lineSpacing

extension UILabel {
    func set(lineSpacing: CGFloat, textAlignment: NSTextAlignment = NSTextAlignment.center) {
        if let text = self.text {
            let paragraphStyle = NSMutableParagraphStyle()
            if lineSpacing < 0 {
                paragraphStyle.lineSpacing = 0
                paragraphStyle.maximumLineHeight = self.font.pointSize + lineSpacing
            } else {
                paragraphStyle.lineSpacing = lineSpacing
            }
            let attrString = NSMutableAttributedString(string: text)
            attrString.addAttribute(NSParagraphStyleAttributeName, value:paragraphStyle, range:NSMakeRange(0, attrString.length))
            self.attributedText = attrString
            self.textAlignment = textAlignment
        }
    }
}

Daniel Larsson · Answer 3 · 2013-10-24T01:09:09.187

0

I would suggest reading up on TextKit that was introduced in iOS7. I do not have much experience from it, but I do know that it gives you a lot of possibilities when it comes to attributing your texts.

edited Oct 24 '13 at 01:09

answered Oct 24 '13 at 01:03

Daniel Larsson

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There's a real lack of TextKit tutorials for something simple like this unfortunately. I feel lost in a sea of complexity. – Doug Smith Oct 24 '13 at 01:30
This is unfortunately true. Ray Wenderlich does awesome tutorials, perhaps you could try out his! http://www.raywenderlich.com/50151/text-kit-tutorial – Daniel Larsson Oct 24 '13 at 01:41

score 0 · Answer 4 · answered Aug 22 '17 at 15:16

0

In Swift 3, you can achieve this by :

let paragraph = NSMutableParagraphStyle()
paragraph.lineSpacing = 0
paragraph.maximumLineHeight = 20.

Keep the lineSpacing = 0. You can adjust the maximumLineHeight to make it closer or to increase the spacing.

answered Aug 22 '17 at 15:16

Joshua Cleetus

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score -2 · Answer 5 · answered Oct 31 '13 at 14:58

How about subclassing UIButton, and add 2 UILabels to the buttons view that are close together. Create properties for the labels and set approrpietly:

CustomButton *btn = [CustomButton new];

btn.textLine1 = @"Top";
btn.textLine2 = @"Bottom";

The only problem doing it this way is you will need to handle the text color when the state changes yourself.

Really close lines with NSAttributedString?

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