Can't apply line spacing with UITextView?

Question

Do you have any ideas about line spacing with UITextView? I cannot apply it. Below it is my code.

import UIKit

class DetailViewController: UIViewController {
    @IBOutlet weak var itemTextView: UITextView!
    var txtString: String?
    var txtTitleBar:String?

    override func viewDidLoad() {
        super.viewDidLoad()
        //navigationController?.navigationItem.title = "Love"
        self.title = txtTitleBar

        //self.tabBarController?.navigationItem.title = "My Title"
        itemTextView.text = txtString
        itemTextView.font = UIFont(name: "Arial-Regular", size:20)
        itemTextView.font = .systemFont(ofSize: 25)
        (itemTextView.font?.lineHeight)! * 5
    }
}

enter image description here

What is `(itemTextView.font?.lineHeight)! * 5` supposed to do? — rmaddy, Mar 23 '17 at 03:02
No, that does not apply line spacing. You read the line spacing value and multiply that value by 5. But you do nothing with the result. — rmaddy, Mar 23 '17 at 03:12
Now it is working with this: let style = NSMutableParagraphStyle() style.lineSpacing = 20 let attributes = [NSParagraphStyleAttributeName : style] textView.attributedText = NSAttributedString(string: txtString, attributes: attributes) — Ravy Chheng, Mar 23 '17 at 03:15
You should accept the appropriate answer instead of posting "thank you". — rmaddy, Mar 23 '17 at 03:16
Click the checkmark to the left of the answer that you feel best answered your question. — rmaddy, Mar 23 '17 at 03:20
When I click on it, it show the message : Thank for the feedback! Votes cast by those with less than 15 reputation.......... — Ravy Chheng, Mar 23 '17 at 03:22
the ONLY WAY now is this: https://stackoverflow.com/a/75997965/294884 — Fattie, Apr 12 '23 at 16:48

score 27 · Accepted Answer · edited Jul 29 '22 at 11:25

27

You need to use an attributed string and assign a paragraph style. For example:

let style = NSMutableParagraphStyle()
style.lineSpacing = 20
let attributes = [NSParagraphStyleAttributeName : style]
textView.attributedText = NSAttributedString(string: txtString, attributes: attributes)

See this SO answer for more details on attributed string usage: How do I make an attributed string using Swift?

Note, as of 2022 you do not need to use an attributed string. You can use .typingAttributes if preferred.

edited Jul 29 '22 at 11:25

Fattie

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answered Mar 23 '17 at 03:02

garrettmurray

3,338
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23

1

Okay, but how do I keep the text the user is entering in the same paragraph style? Do I have to perform your code on every textFieldDidChange: event? – linus_hologram Nov 05 '19 at 19:41
@linus_hologram Having the same problem did you have any luck with this? – Tom Wicks Jan 05 '20 at 13:11
@TomWicks I ended up using this code with every textFieldDidChange: event. As far as I know, this is the only option – linus_hologram Jan 05 '20 at 14:39
2

Use `textView.typingTextAttributes`. This will allow you to set the default attributes. – Jake A. Jul 15 '20 at 17:11
doesn't work at all. the ONLY way now, 2023, is this stackoverflow.com/a/75997965/294884 – Fattie Apr 12 '23 at 16:48

score 5 · Answer 2 · answered Jan 12 '18 at 11:26

5

Xcode 9.2 Swift 4

let style = NSMutableParagraphStyle()
style.lineSpacing = 0
let attributes = [NSAttributedStringKey.paragraphStyle : style]
txtViewAbout.attributedText = NSAttributedString(string: txtViewAbout.text, attributes: attributes)

answered Jan 12 '18 at 11:26

Khawar Islam

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score 4 · Answer 3 · edited Dec 18 '19 at 08:28

4

Xcode 10.1 Swift 4.2

let style = NSMutableParagraphStyle()
style.lineSpacing = 19
let attributes = [NSAttributedString.Key.paragraphStyle: style]
textView.attributedText = NSAttributedString(string: model.text, attributes: attributes)

edited Dec 18 '19 at 08:28

LionHere

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answered Nov 14 '18 at 19:10

Alex

61
7

score 2 · Answer 4 · edited Jul 10 '22 at 21:59

2

Using typingAttributes will make sure that the attributes apply to new text that the user enters.

let style = NSMutableParagraphStyle()
style.lineSpacing = 10
let attributes = [NSAttributedString.Key.paragraphStyle : style]
textView.typingAttributes = attributes

edited Jul 10 '22 at 21:59

McKinley

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answered Mar 13 '21 at 21:19

Ahmad

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score 0 · Answer 5 · answered Jul 10 '22 at 03:58

let contentTextView: UITextView = {
    let textView = UITextView()

    textView.backgroundColor = .clear

    // Custom style
    let style = NSMutableParagraphStyle()
    style.lineSpacing = 10
    let attributes = [
        NSAttributedString.Key.paragraphStyle: style,
        NSAttributedString.Key.foregroundColor: UIColor.white,
        NSAttributedString.Key.font: UIFont.systemFont(ofSize: 16)
    ]
    textView.typingAttributes = attributes

    return textView
}()

This dictionary contains the attribute keys (and corresponding values) to apply to newly typed text. When the text view’s selection changes, the contents of the dictionary are cleared automatically.

https://developer.apple.com/documentation/uikit/uitextview/1618629-typingattributes

score 0 · Answer 6 · answered Feb 20 '23 at 23:08

Swift 5.7, iOS 16.0

Here's an extension to provide a textView.lineSpacing getter & setter:

extension UITextView {
    
    /// Gets & Sets line spacing via `typingAttributes`.
    /// Preserves defined `style` and `textColor`.
    var lineSpacing: CGFloat {
        get {
            if let style = typingAttributes[NSAttributedString.Key.paragraphStyle] {
                return (style as! NSMutableParagraphStyle).lineSpacing
            }
            return 0
        }
        set {
            let style = NSMutableParagraphStyle()
            style.lineSpacing = newValue
            let attributes = [
                NSAttributedString.Key.paragraphStyle: style,
                NSAttributedString.Key.foregroundColor: textColor,
                NSAttributedString.Key.font: font
            ]
            typingAttributes = attributes as [NSAttributedString.Key : Any]
        }
    }
}

It can be used when initialising the UITextView like so:

textView.font = UIFont.systemFont(ofSize: 18)
textView.textColor = UIColor.purple
textView.lineSpacing = 3.4

doesn't work at all. the ONLY way now, 2023, is this https://stackoverflow.com/a/75997965/294884 — Fattie, Apr 12 '23 at 16:48

Can't apply line spacing with UITextView?

6 Answers6

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