Custom UITableViewCell doesn't show anything

Question

I have done my homework, I thought I had everything under control. When I run my project all goes fine, but the UITextView in the custom UITableViewCells are empty.

Here is the code that matters:

[self.tableView registerClass:[NewsCell class]forCellReuseIdentifier:@"NewsCell"];

And then:

NewsCell *cell = [tableView dequeueReusableCellWithIdentifier:@"NewsCell" forIndexPath:indexPath];

NSDictionary *newsObject = [_newsArray objectAtIndex:indexPath.row];
NSString *title = [newsObject objectForKey:@"newsTitle"];

NSLog(@"title: %@", title); // This puts out the correct stuff

[cell.newsTeaser setText:title];

But the newTeaser UITextView shows up empty. Why is this and what error have I made? I should add that this my first time making custom cells in iOS 7...

If it doesn't show nothing, what *does* it show? Also, make sure that your cell's `newsTeaser` outlet is connected to something like a label. — Caleb, Jul 15 '14 at 14:36
Doesn't show nothing? So it does show something ? #doublenegative — CW0007007, Jul 15 '14 at 14:37
Check if newTeaser is not nil, or its frame is on screen/different than CGRectZero — Neru, Jul 15 '14 at 14:39
@Caleb I have an UITextView and an UIIMageView in the custom cell, both shows up as blank. I have a connection from IB to the custom cell class. — swe_mattias, Jul 15 '14 at 15:00
@Neru It sure is nil, why didn't I think of that? What do I do now? Have I missed a connection or something? — swe_mattias, Jul 15 '14 at 15:03
Yes, you've missed a connection. As I said, make sure that your cell's `newTeaser` outlet is connected to the text view -- that will ensure that it won't be `nil` once the cell is created. — Caleb, Jul 15 '14 at 15:07
@Caleb I hope this is enough? http://i57.tinypic.com/2wc0eih.png — swe_mattias, Jul 15 '14 at 15:10
UITextView can have a blank top margin at times. Make sure you have disabled this: http://stackoverflow.com/questions/18931934/blank-space-at-top-of-uitextview-in-ios-7 — Jeremy H, Jul 15 '14 at 15:26

Michael Ochs · Accepted Answer · 2014-07-15T15:29:13.033

In my experience this often happens because you are implementing the wrong init method. Keep in mind that the designated initialiser for a UITableViewCell is initWithStyle:reuseIdentifier:. If you are adding a custom view hierarchy and you don't do this lazily or inside this initialiser, your views will not be created.

In the case your cells should also be compatible with interface builder, you should also implement awakeFromNib.

//EDIT: However if you are using interface builder as stated in the comments, you are using the wrong register method.registerClass:forCellReuseIdentifier: is only for creation of classes through code. If there is a xib file with your custom cell layout, you need to register that xib file with registerNib:forCellReuseIdentifier:. And if you are using a storyboard, you don't have to register the cell at all. You only need to specify the cell's reuseIdentifier in the storyboard file.

That's possible, but it hardly seems "most likely" in light of the fact that the OP said in comments that `cell.newsTeaser` is nil. Seems far more likely that the outlet simply isn't connected. — Caleb, Jul 15 '14 at 15:26
if 'the outlet isn't connected' `[self.tableView registerClass:[NewsCell class]forCellReuseIdentifier:@"NewsCell"];` would be the wrong way to register. Anyway, I'll update my post. — Michael Ochs, Jul 15 '14 at 15:28

score 0 · Answer 2 · answered May 17 '16 at 21:44

If you are fetching data from an API endpoint, it's possible that your call block is happening on the main/UI thread, so your UI is blocked while waiting for the call block to finish fetching the data.

If that's the case, you need to use dispatch_async inside your block method like this:

    dispatch_async(dispatch_get_main_queue(), ^{
        [self.tableView reloadData];
    });

Custom UITableViewCell doesn't show anything

2 Answers2