On iOS, can you use UICollectionViewFlowLayout to get a vertical column layout?

Question

UICollectionViewFlowLayout goes left-to-right in a row, then wraps to the next row. I want a layout that goes top-to-bottom, then wraps back up to the next column. Think of it as a UITableView that wraps into multiple columns, which scrolls horizontally.

UICollectionViewFlowLayout is close to what I want – can I subclass it or must I subclass UICollectionViewLayout and start from scratch? (This answer leads me to believe I can't use flow layout.)

    Visible Screen
    [ 1   6   11 ] 16
    [ 2   7   12 ] 17
    [ 3   8   13 ] 18
    [ 4   9   14 ]
    [ 5   10  15 ]

possible duplicate of [UICollectionView horizontal paging - can I use Flow Layout?](http://stackoverflow.com/questions/16678474/uicollectionview-horizontal-paging-can-i-use-flow-layout) — BB9z, Dec 31 '14 at 09:37

Avi Tsadok · Accepted Answer · 2013-06-25T13:52:59.970

2

You can achieve it using UICollectionViewFlowLayout - just set the property 'scrollDirection' to 'UICollectionViewScrollDirectionHorizontal' and you get what you want.

About UICollectionViewLayout:

UICollectionViewLayout is meant to be subclassing. You need to override some methods over there in order to get a specific layout. Take a look at the documentation, or WWDC 2012 video tutorial.

edited Jun 25 '13 at 13:52

answered Jun 25 '13 at 13:23

Avi Tsadok

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I think the `scrollDirection` property only controls where the left-to-right rows wrap, it won't make them layout as top-to-bottom columns. – zekel Jun 25 '13 at 13:32
Just tested it - it works! Just set scrollDirection to 'UICollectionViewScrollDirectionHorizontal' and it does what he needs... (i'm editing my answer) – Avi Tsadok Jun 25 '13 at 13:51
Geez, you're absolutely right. That's what I get for posting early in the morning. Thanks very much. – zekel Jun 25 '13 at 13:57

score 2 · Answer 2 · answered Jun 25 '13 at 13:28

This might point you in the right direction: https://github.com/chiahsien/UICollectionViewWaterfallLayout

You might want to create your own layout subclass, which is not as hard as it might sound. See this tutorial: http://skeuo.com/uicollectionview-custom-layout-tutorial

On iOS, can you use UICollectionViewFlowLayout to get a vertical column layout?

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