[Geobunny]

Is it just me or does anyone else feel that the new Interface Builder with 10.5 is absolutely awful?

Previously it used to be SO easy to work with. Example:
1) Create new project in Xcode
2) Double click MainMenu.nib to open in Interface Builder
3) If you don't already have one, drag a new window from the palette to create one. Drag some UI widgets onto it.
4) Go to "Classes" tab of main NIB window, click for example NSObject, create subclass from the Classes menu and give it a name.
5) Classes menu -> Instantiate "MyObject"
6) Double click your newly instantiated object and the inspector palette opens up already at the Outlets/Actions tab, ready for you to create them as necessary.
7) Classes menu -> Create files for "MyObject" and it saves the skeleton of your object along with a header file and even adds it to the Xcode project. Now all that's left to do is beef out the code within Xcode itself.

Now with the new Interface Builder I can't figure any of that out, granted I'm really tired right now but it definitely doesn't work the same way as before and it's certainly not obvious how to do it.

Also, I really dislike the new "library" window. The old panel/palette was so much more efficient - click on the "text fields" tab and all the text fields are shown at once to choose from. Now, we have to opt for either a silly drop down menu or a massive library window....and don't even get me started on the Inspector!

Does anyone else agree with me or do you all think it's an improvement?

[Thinine]

Originally Posted by Geobunny 

Now with the new Interface Builder I can't figure any of that out, granted I'm really tired right now but it definitely doesn't work the same way as before and it's certainly not obvious how to do it.

Here's your problem. They changed the way it works. It wasn't obvious before, and it's not now. Check Apple's updated docs for help.

[alex_kac]

IB 3/XCode 3 - they want you to use XCode for all classes. So IB 3 will auto-sync all changes from XCode. But create your classes in XCode, not IB.

[Chuckit]

1. Create a class in Xcode.
2. Drag out a generic object from Interface Builder's object library.
3. Set the object's class to the class you created in Xcode.

[black bear theory]

i never used interface builder to make classes. always did them in xcode and then imported them into interface builder as needed.

i am confused on some aspects of the new interface builder 3.0. for instance, how do i move an object once it's placed in a window. i get the hand cursor when i hover over it, but the intuitive thing to do (click and drag) doesn't work. i can resize the edges of the element but that is all ...

is this just my problem?

[alex_kac]

Also here is something from the Cocoa list (these sort of questions would be best would be in the XCode/Cocoa lists)

According to info during Leopard tech Talks, early 2007, Stockholm,
Sweden,
Interface Builder 3 won't have code generation. Create your class in
Xcode, and then tell interface builder
to parse the header file.

While this is the straightforward workflow, Interface Builder 3 does
still support generating classes and code -- more flexibly than
Interface Builder 2, too!

You can drag an object out of the Library window and into your IB
document or an IB editor window, and then Get Info on it and change
its class to anything you want. There, you have a subclass. You can
generate a file for this class by choosing "Write Class Files..." from
the File menu while in the Identity Inspector for that object.

Or you can simply select an outlet or action that you've added in the
Identity Inspector, use the Copy command, and then go to the class's
header file and choose Paste. That will put a declaration for that
outlet or action into the header.

Note that you can generate not just stub Objective-C code and headers,
but also Python and Ruby code for PyObjC and RubyCocoa, respectively!

-- Chris

[goMac]

Yeah, it seems like most the fuss with IB3 is just people getting familiar with where features moved.

[Thinine]

Yeah, once I figured out the "drag an Object object from the IB library" part of the tutorial, I understood it all. It's awesome, especially right-click dragging to link parts of the UI.

[sikosis2]

I'm completely lost as well ... I dragged an NSObject from the Library but there's nothing I can do with it. Can't rename it or Instantiate it ...

There is a Get Info button, but that does nothing when I have the "Object" selected. I can go to File | Write Class Files ... which then wants to create an NSObject file ... and wants to save it my Documents and not with the Project. Bringing up the Inspector as well says "Not Applicable"

Please add some screenshots ... because I'm totally lost and confused - can't even follow along with Aaron Hillegass's Cocoa Programming for Mac OS X 2nd edition book.

[Geobunny]

Originally Posted by sikosis2 

I'm completely lost as well ... I dragged an NSObject from the Library but there's nothing I can do with it. Can't rename it or Instantiate it ...

There is a Get Info button, but that does nothing when I have the "Object" selected. I can go to File | Write Class Files ... which then wants to create an NSObject file ... and wants to save it my Documents and not with the Project. Bringing up the Inspector as well says "Not Applicable"

Please add some screenshots ... because I'm totally lost and confused - can't even follow along with Aaron Hillegass's Cocoa Programming for Mac OS X 2nd edition book.

OK, it takes some getting used to (and quite often b*ggers up old style IB2 nib files but I'll ignore that for the time being) but you have to start everything from Xcode now. IB doesn't do code generation at all any more, so as a very simple example, I'll guide you through connecting a button up with an action:

1) Start a new project in Xcode
2) Add a new cocoa class to your project (note the distinction between cocoa-java and cocoa-obj-C has gone now; Java is deprecated sadly)
3) Write the code for your new class file (or at the very least provide function prototypes in the .h file); save the file.
4) From Xcode's side bar, double click MainMenu.nib to open it in IB.
5) Only then can you drag the NSObject icon from IB's Library into your nib file. This creates an instantiated NSObject to which you must assign your newly created class by using the "Identity" section of the Inspector pallet.
6) Control-click and drag from a button in your interface to the object and connect up the action as required.
7) Save and go back to Xcode. Hit cmd-R (build & run) to see it work.

[Thinine]

Like the email posted above, you can have IB generate code for you, but it's better to do it from Xcode, as IB monitors those files and will update automatically.

[TheoCryst]

I'm starting to get the hang of where everything has been moved, and I must say that I like it quite a lot better. Granted, its liberal use of real estate makes my 13" screen feel very cramped, but that's an unrelated issue.