Swift default AlertViewController breaking constraints
I am trying to use a default AlertViewController with style .actionSheet. For some reason, the alert causes a constraint error. As long as the alertController is not triggered (displayed) through a button, there are no constraint errors on the whole view. Could it be that this is a bug of Xcode?
The exact error I get looks like this:
2019-04-12 15:33:29.584076+0200 Appname[4688:39368] [LayoutConstraints] Unable to simultaneously satisfy constraints.
Probably at least one of the constraints in the following list is one you don't want.
Try this:
(1) look at each constraint and try to figure out which you don't expect;
(2) find the code that added the unwanted constraint or constraints and fix it.
(
"<NSLayoutConstraint:0x6000025a1e50 UIView:0x7f88fcf6ce60.width == - 16 (active)>"
)
Will attempt to recover by breaking constraint
<NSLayoutConstraint:0x6000025a1e50 UIView:0x7f88fcf6ce60.width == - 16 (active)>
This is the code I use:
@objc func changeProfileImageTapped(){
print("ChangeProfileImageButton tapped!")
let alert = UIAlertController(title: "Change your profile image", message: nil, preferredStyle: .actionSheet)
alert.addAction(UIAlertAction(title: "Photo Library", style: .default, handler: nil))
alert.addAction(UIAlertAction(title: "Online Stock Library", style: .default, handler: nil))
alert.addAction(UIAlertAction(title: "Cancel", style: .cancel, handler: nil))
alert.view.tintColor = ColorCodes.logoPrimaryColor
self.present(alert, animated: true)
}
As you can see, it is very basic. That's why I am very confused about the strange behavior I get as this default implementation should not cause any errors, right?
Although, through breaking the constraints, the alert displays properly on all screen sizes I would be really thankful for any help I get.
The following removes the warning without needing to disable animation. And assuming Apple eventually fixes the root cause of the warning, it shouldn't break anything else.
extension UIAlertController {
func pruneNegativeWidthConstraints() {
for subView in self.view.subviews {
for constraint in subView.constraints where constraint.debugDescription.contains("width == - 16") {
subView.removeConstraint(constraint)
}
}
}
}
This can then be used like this:
// After all addActions(...), just before calling present(...)
alertController.pruneNegativeWidthConstraints()
This error is not critical, seems to be unfixed bug form Apple. This constraint appears in animation style just after presenting. I tried to catch and change it (change values, relations, priority) before presenting – no success because of this dynamically added constraints.
When you turn off animation in self.present(alert, animated: false)
and using alert.view.addSubview(UIView())
– the error disappears. I can't explain it, but it works!
let alert = UIAlertController(title: "Change your profile image", message: nil, preferredStyle: .actionSheet)
alert.addAction(UIAlertAction(title: "Photo Library", style: .default, handler: nil))
alert.addAction(UIAlertAction(title: "Online Stock Library", style: .default, handler: nil))
let cancel = UIAlertAction(title: "Cancel", style: .destructive, handler: nil)
alert.addAction(cancel)
alert.view.addSubview(UIView()) // I can't explain it, but it works!
self.present(alert, animated: false)
It's a new bug in iOS versions:
- 12.2
- 12.3
- 12.4
- 13.0
- 13.1
- 13.2
- 13.2.3
- 13.3
- 13.4
- 13.4.1
- 13.5
- 13.6
- 14.0
- 14.2
- 14.4
The only thing we can do is to file a bug report to Apple (I just did that and you should too).
I'll try to update answer for a new version(s) of iOS when it come out.
Adding to this answer...This seems to remove the issue for me and doesn't require any changes to existing code.
extension UIAlertController {
override open func viewDidLoad() {
super.viewDidLoad()
pruneNegativeWidthConstraints()
}
func pruneNegativeWidthConstraints() {
for subView in self.view.subviews {
for constraint in subView.constraints where constraint.debugDescription.contains("width == - 16") {
subView.removeConstraint(constraint)
}
}
}
}
Safe Solution
You should not remove the constraint because it is used in the future with a correct value.
As an alternative, you can change its constant to a positive value:
class PXAlertController: UIAlertController {
override func viewDidLoad() {
super.viewDidLoad()
for subview in self.view.subviews {
for constraint in subview.constraints {
if constraint.firstAttribute == .width && constraint.constant == -16 {
constraint.constant = 10 // Any positive value
}
}
}
}
}
And then to initialize your controller use:
let controller = PXAlertController(title: "Title", message: "Message", preferredStyle: .actionSheet)