I've created a new project using Xcode 11. I'm used to creating my UIWindow
's root view controller programmatically and I first noticed this new SceneDelegate file. After some research I found an article describing how to create root view controller using this new UIScene
API and it seems to work properly. However, I couldn't find a way to do the same thing for lower iOS versions because AppDelegate class now does not have a window
property anymore. So my question is how do I create a root view controller programmatically for other iOS versions?
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Alexandr Chekel
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`UIScene` is iOS13+ only, so if you want to support older OS-es, you'll need to manually add the `UIWindow` code. – Cristik Oct 05 '19 at 09:59
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See https://github.com/rmaddy/XcodeTemplates for an updated Single View App template that creates either a code or storyboard based app project that supports iOS 12 and 13. It supports both Swift and Objective-C. – rmaddy Oct 05 '19 at 16:21
1 Answers
1
Here's the code if someone faces the same thing.
iOS 13 workflow
Code taken from this article.
In your SceneDelegate file:
func scene(_ scene: UIScene, willConnectTo session: UISceneSession, options connectionOptions: UIScene.ConnectionOptions) {
// Use this method to optionally configure and attach the UIWindow `window` to the provided UIWindowScene `scene`.
// If using a storyboard, the `window` property will automatically be initialized and attached to the scene.
// This delegate does not imply the connecting scene or session are new (see `application:configurationForConnectingSceneSession` instead).
guard let windowScene = (scene as? UIWindowScene) else { return }
self.window = UIWindow(frame: windowScene.coordinateSpace.bounds)
self.window?.windowScene = windowScene
let controller = UIViewController()
let navigationController = UINavigationController(rootViewController: controller)
self.window?.rootViewController = navigationController
self.window?.makeKeyAndVisible()
}
iOS 12 and lower
In your AppDelegate file:
var window: UIWindow?
func application(_ application: UIApplication, didFinishLaunchingWithOptions launchOptions: [UIApplication.LaunchOptionsKey: Any]?) -> Bool {
if #available(iOS 13.0, *) { return true }
self.window = UIWindow(frame: UIScreen.main.bounds)
let controller = UIViewController()
let navigationController = UINavigationController(rootViewController: controller)
self.window?.rootViewController = navigationController
self.window?.makeKeyAndVisible()
return true
}
It is important to hold UIWindow
in a variable in order for it to show up.

Alexandr Chekel
- 382
- 2
- 15
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1This answer is only a start. It is not complete. `didFinishLaunchingWithOptions` will be called under both iOS 12 and 13. But you do not want to create the window or root view controller there under iOS 13. – rmaddy Oct 05 '19 at 16:19
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