Take your iPad apps to the next level

Description: Make even better iPad apps: Learn how you can adopt prominent scenes for uninterrupted, focused interactions. Help people stay engaged and fast with keyboard shortcuts and the keyboard shortcut interface. Explore how the latest in pointer enhancements can help your app boost productivity.

Scene Overview

Configuration

The structure of a scene's components is defined by a scene configuration.

  • defines scene role and delegate class
  • optional attributes:
    • name
    • storyboard
    • UIScene subclass
    • Can be declared either in the Info.plist or can be created at runtime

Content

  • represented by an NSUserActivity
  • These activities are used for requesting scenes as well as for state restoration

Scene management

  • managed by a scene delegate
  • the delegate is responsible for:
    • setting up the UI
    • responding to lifecycle events
    • saving and restoring state.

Scene tracking

  • tracked by UISceneSession
  • scenes can be disconnected and reconnected by the system when it's in the background
  • the scene session tracks the scene regardless of its connection state and persists between (scene) launches

A scene session can be thought of as the representation in the system app switcher:
Each item in the switcher corresponds to a scene session.

Scene request options

When requesting a scene from the system, you can provide an options object for customizing the request.

Prominent presentation

  • new style
  • presented modally in the current workspace with the scenes behind it dimmed.
  • this presentation should provide Cancel, Close, or Done buttons
  • can be re-positioned like any other scene
  • this presentation should be dedicated to specific content within your app like a document or file.
  • this dedicated content scope must be defined in the scene's activation conditions (UISceneActivationConditions)

Window scene activation action

let newSceneAction = UIWindowScene.ActivationAction({ _ in

  // Create the user activity that represents the new scene content.
  let userActivity = NSUserActivity(activityType: "com.myapp.detailscene")

  // Return the activation configuration.
  return UIWindowScene.ActivationConfiguration(userActivity: userActivity)
})

// Add the action to the menu.
let menu = UIMenu(children: [
  newSceneAction,
  flagAction,
  shareAction
])
  • on iPhone this action is automatically hidden
  • an alternate action can be provided on the ActivationAction initialization

Open scenes via gesture

  • requires prominent style

Two ways:

  1. new UICollectionViewDelegate method
func collectionView(
  _ collectionView: UICollectionView,
  sceneActivationConfigurationForItemAt indexPath: IndexPath,
  point: CGPoint
) -> UIWindowScene.ActivationConfiguration? {

  // Get the item's user activity.
  guard let itemActivity = <#User Activity#> else {
    // Return nil if item can’t be opened in a dedicated scene.
    return nil
  }

  // Return the activation configuration.
  return UIWindowScene.ActivationConfiguration(userActivity: itemActivity)
}
  1. UIWindowScene.ActivationInteraction
// Create an activation interaction.
let newSceneInteraction = UIWindowScene.ActivationInteraction { interaction, point in
  // Get the activity for specific point in view.
  guard let userActivity = <#User Activity#> else { return nil }

  // Return an activation configuration.
  return UIWindowScene.ActivationConfiguration(userActivity: userActivity)

} errorHandler: { error in
  // Present the content in another manner.
  <#Present Content#>
}

// Add interaction to the view.
<#View#>.addInteraction(newSceneInteraction)

QLPreviewSceneActivationConfiguration

Scene state restoration

  • can restore interaction states of textfields via new interactionState property
  • New in iPadOS 15, there's a new callback dedicated to state restoration
  • scene(_:restoreInteractionState:)
  • called after the scene is connected and the storyboard has been loaded, but before the first transition to foreground

Extending state restoration

  • iPadOS 15 allows your app to request a short-term extension
  • During this extension, the launch image will remain visible while still allowing the main RunLoop to execute
  • app must signal when complete (app will be terminated otherwise)
func scene(_ scene: UIScene, restoreInteractionState stateRestorationActivity: NSUserActivity) {
  guard let viewController = window?.rootViewController as? <#Expected View Controller Class#> else { return }

  // Request an extension.
  scene.extendStateRestoration()

  // Fetch content asynchronously.
  <#self.someAsyncFunction#> { result in
    <#Restore Content#>

    // Signal that state has been restored.
    scene.completeStateRestoration()
  }
}

Keyboard shortcuts

  • On iPadOS 15, the Mac Catalyst menu system will show as the new shortcut interface
  • hold down the Command key (in an external keyboard) to display this menu
  • disabled commands are hidden in iPadsOS
  • includes all system commands (undo/redo included)
  • to customize this, override the buildMenu(with:) app delegate function

Pointer enhancements

Multiple items selection

// Support multi-selection using UIBandSelectionInteraction.

let selectionInteraction = UIBandSelectionInteraction { [weak self] interaction in
  guard let strongSelf = self else { return }
          
  // Handle selection by responding to interaction state.
  if interaction.state == .selecting {
    strongSelf.selectItemsInRect(interaction.selectionRect)
  } 
  else if interaction.state == .ended {
    strongSelf.finalizeSelection()
  }
}

view.addInteraction(selectionInteraction)
  • can further select and deselect items by looking at the initialModifierFlags UIBandSelectionInteraction property

Pointer accessories

  • ability to attach accessories to system pointers
  • provide contextual hints by combining secondary shapes with the primary pointer
  • accessories are visually separate and secondary to the main pointer
  • rendered differently than the main pointer, have separate animation
  • can be combined with any pointer style

Pointer latching

  • iPadOS 15 introduces the concept of latchingAxes on UIPointerRegion
  • e.g. a horizontally latching region lets you drag freely along the x-axis while still rubberbanding along the y-axis

Missing anything? Corrections? Contributions are welcome 😃

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Written by

Federico Zanetello

Federico Zanetello

Software engineer with a strong passion for well-written code, thought-out composable architectures, automation, tests, and more.