NSAttributedString Class

Reference

Definition

Namespace:: Foundation

Assembly:: Xamarin.iOS.dll

Assembly:: Xamarin.Mac.dll

Important

Some information relates to prerelease product that may be substantially modified before it’s released. Microsoft makes no warranties, express or implied, with respect to the information provided here.

Strings that can be annotated with a set of attributes.

[Foundation.Register("NSAttributedString", true)]
public class NSAttributedString : Foundation.NSObject, AppKit.INSPasteboardReading, AppKit.INSPasteboardWriting, Foundation.INSMutableCopying, Foundation.INSSecureCoding, IDisposable

type NSAttributedString = class
    inherit NSObject
    interface INSCoding
    interface INativeObject
    interface IDisposable
    interface INSCopying
    interface INSMutableCopying
    interface INSSecureCoding
    interface INSPasteboardReading
    interface INSPasteboardWriting

Inheritance: Object

NSObject
NSAttributedString

Derived: Foundation.NSMutableAttributedString

Attributes: RegisterAttribute

Implements: INSPasteboardReading INSPasteboardWriting INSCoding INSCopying INSMutableCopying INSSecureCoding INativeObject IDisposable

Remarks

The NSAttributedString type represents a string that has a series of attributes applied uniformly.

The companion NSMutableAttributedString type can be used to create attributed strings that have overlapping attributes and whose contents can be modified after creation.

These types typically are used to attach information to elements of the string that dictate the font and colors to use as well as rendering attributes like kerning or how to render ligatures on a specific run of code.

These classes do not dictate the meaning or behavior of the attributes on a string, they merely keep track of the attributes. The actual meaning of these attributes is interpreted by the consumer of these objects.

NSAttributedStrings are created with a string and a set of attributes. The default constructor takes a string and an NSDictionary object where the keys represent the attributes and the values on each element represent the value of that attribute.

To simplify many common scenarios, MonoTouch provides constructors with strong-types to easily create attributed strings for use with CoreText or UIKit. These constructors provide type-safety and eliminate programming errors caused by accidentally creating attributes that are not recognized by a backend.

To create NSAttributedStrings that you can use with CoreText's rendering, you create an instance of the CTStringAttributes class, set its properties to the attributes that you desire, and then invoke the NSAttributedString constructor with it.

To create NSAttributedStrings that you can use with UIKit's rendering, you create an instance of the UIStringAttributes class, set its properties to the attributes that you desire, and then invoke the NSAttributedString constructor with it.

The examples below show how to use the C# object initializer syntax to initialize the CTStringAttributes and the UIStringAttributes to setup your attributes. You can later use these attributes multiple times with different attributed strings:

// 
// Using NSAttributedString with CoreText
//
var attributedString = new NSAttributedString ("Hello, world",
       new CTStringAttributes () {
              ForegroundColorFromContext =  true,
              Font = new CTFont ("Arial", 24)
       });

// Pass the NSAttributedString to a CTLine and draw the CTLine.
using (var textLine = new CTLine (attributedString)) {
       textLine.Draw (gctx);
}

// 
// Using NSAttributedString with UIKit
//
var myText = new NSAttributedString ("Hello, world",
       new UIStringAttributes () {
              ForegroundColor =  UIColor.Red,
	      KerningAdjustment = 3
       });
label.AttributedText = myText;

While both CTStringAttributes and UIStringAttributes are useful to create attributes that can later be used with attributed strings, it is also possible to use the C:Foundation.NSAttributedString(string,UIKit.UIFont,UIKit.UIColor,UIKit.UIColor,UIKit.UIColor,UIKit.NSParagraphStyle,Foundation.NSLigatureType,float,Foundation.NSUnderlineStyle,UIKit.NSShadow,float,Foundation.NSUnderlineStyle constructor with C# named parameters for quickly creating attributed strings inline.

//
// This example shows how to create an NSAttributedString for
// use with UIKit without creating the attributes separately
//
var text = new NSAttributedString (
    "Hello, World",
    font: UIFont.FromName ("HoeflerText-Regular", 24.0f),
    foregroundColor: UIColor.Red,
    strokeWidth: 4
);

It is also possible to create NSAttributedStrings with the NSDictionary API, although that does not offer any type safety nor prevents common errors. To use it, you typically use the various NSString properties that end in "AttributedName" that are part of this class.

//
// This example shows how to create an NSAttributedString for
// use with UIKit using NSDictionaries
//
var dict = new NSMutableDictionary () {
    { NSAttributedString.FontAttributeName, UIFont.FromName ("HoeflerText-Regular", 24.0f), },
    { NSAttributedString.ForegroundColorAttributeName, UIColor.Black }
};

var text = new NSAttributedString (
	"Hello, World", dict);

Constructors

NSAttributedString()	Default constructor that initializes a new instance of this class with no parameters.
NSAttributedString(IntPtr)	A constructor used when creating managed representations of unmanaged objects; Called by the runtime.
NSAttributedString(NSAttributedString)
NSAttributedString(NSCoder)	A constructor that initializes the object from the data stored in the unarchiver object.
NSAttributedString(NSData, NSAttributedStringDocumentAttributes, NSDictionary)
NSAttributedString(NSData, NSAttributedStringDocumentAttributes, NSDictionary, NSError)
NSAttributedString(NSData, NSAttributedStringDocumentAttributes, NSError)
NSAttributedString(NSData, NSDictionary)
NSAttributedString(NSData, NSDictionary, NSDictionary)
NSAttributedString(NSData, NSDictionary, NSDictionary, NSError)
NSAttributedString(NSData, NSError)
NSAttributedString(NSData, NSUrl, NSDictionary)
NSAttributedString(NSFileWrapper, NSDictionary)
NSAttributedString(NSObjectFlag)	Constructor to call on derived classes to skip initialization and merely allocate the object.
NSAttributedString(NSUrl, NSAttributedStringDocumentAttributes, NSDictionary, NSError)
NSAttributedString(NSUrl, NSAttributedStringDocumentAttributes, NSError)
NSAttributedString(NSUrl, NSDictionary)
NSAttributedString(NSUrl, NSDictionary, NSDictionary, NSError)
NSAttributedString(NSUrl, NSError)
NSAttributedString(String)
NSAttributedString(String, CTStringAttributes)	Creates an NSAttributedString for use with CoreText rendering functions.
NSAttributedString(String, NSDictionary)
NSAttributedString(String, NSDictionary)	Creates an NSAttributedString with user defined attributes specified in a dictionary.
NSAttributedString(String, NSFont, NSColor, NSColor, NSColor, NSColor, NSColor, NSUnderlineStyle, NSUnderlineStyle, NSParagraphStyle, Single, NSShadow, NSUrl, Boolean, NSTextAttachment, NSLigatureType, Single, Single, Single, Single, NSCursor, String, Int32, NSGlyphInfo, NSArray, Boolean, NSTextLayoutOrientation, NSTextAlternatives, NSSpellingState)
NSAttributedString(String, NSStringAttributes)
NSAttributedString(String, UIFont, UIColor, UIColor, UIColor, NSParagraphStyle, NSLigatureType, Single, NSUnderlineStyle, NSShadow, Single, NSUnderlineStyle)	Creates a UIKit attributed string with the specified attributes in the parameters.
NSAttributedString(String, UIStringAttributes)

Properties

Class	(Inherited from NSObject)
ClassHandle	The handle for this class.
ContainsAttachments
DebugDescription	A developer-meaningful description of this object. (Inherited from NSObject)
Description	Description of the object, the Objective-C version of ToString. (Inherited from NSObject)
Handle	Handle (pointer) to the unmanaged object representation. (Inherited from NSObject)
IsDirectBinding	(Inherited from NSObject)
IsProxy	(Inherited from NSObject)
Length	The number of characters in this string.
LowLevelValue	Low-level version of the Value property, returns a handle to the underlying Objective-C NSString.
ReadableTypeIdentifiers
RetainCount	Returns the current Objective-C retain count for the object. (Inherited from NSObject)
Self	(Inherited from NSObject)
Size
Superclass	(Inherited from NSObject)
SuperHandle	Handle used to represent the methods in the base class for this NSObject. (Inherited from NSObject)
TextLayoutSectionOrientation
TextLayoutSectionRange
TextLayoutSectionsAttribute
UnderlineByWordMaskAttributeName
Value	Contents of the object as a string.
WritableTypeIdentifiers
WritableTypeIdentifiersForItemProvider
Zone	(Inherited from NSObject)

Methods

AddObserver(NSObject, NSString, NSKeyValueObservingOptions, IntPtr)	Registers an object for being observed externally (using NSString keyPath). Observed changes are dispatched to the observer’s object ObserveValue(NSString, NSObject, NSDictionary, IntPtr) method. (Inherited from NSObject)
AddObserver(NSObject, String, NSKeyValueObservingOptions, IntPtr)	Registers an object for being observed externally (using string keyPath). Observed changes are dispatched to the observer’s object ObserveValue(NSString, NSObject, NSDictionary, IntPtr) method. (Inherited from NSObject)
AddObserver(NSString, NSKeyValueObservingOptions, Action<NSObservedChange>)	Registers an object for being observed externally using an arbitrary method. (Inherited from NSObject)
AddObserver(String, NSKeyValueObservingOptions, Action<NSObservedChange>)	Registers an object for being observed externally using an arbitrary method. (Inherited from NSObject)
AwakeFromNib()	Called after the object has been loaded from the nib file. Overriders must call base.AwakeFromNib(). (Inherited from NSObject)
BeginInvokeOnMainThread(Action)	(Inherited from NSObject)
BeginInvokeOnMainThread(Selector, NSObject)	Invokes asynchrously the specified code on the main UI thread. (Inherited from NSObject)
Bind(NSString, NSObject, String, NSDictionary)	(Inherited from NSObject)
Bind(String, NSObject, String, NSDictionary)	Obsolete. (Inherited from NSObject)
BindingInfo(String)	Obsolete. (Inherited from NSObject)
BindingOptionDescriptions(String)	Obsolete. (Inherited from NSObject)
BindingValueClass(String)	Obsolete. (Inherited from NSObject)
BoundingRectWithSize(CGSize, NSStringDrawingOptions)
CommitEditing()	(Inherited from NSObject)
CommitEditing(NSObject, Selector, IntPtr)	(Inherited from NSObject)
ConformsToProtocol(IntPtr)	Invoked to determine if this object implements the specified protocol. (Inherited from NSObject)
ContainsAttachmentsInRange(NSRange)
Copy()	Performs a copy of the underlying Objective-C object. (Inherited from NSObject)
Copy(NSZone)	Performs a copy of the underlying Objective-C object.
CreateFrom(NSTextAttachment)
CreateWithDocFormat(NSData, NSDictionary)
CreateWithHTML(NSData, NSDictionary)
CreateWithRTF(NSData, NSDictionary)
CreateWithRTFD(NSData, NSDictionary)
DangerousAutorelease()	(Inherited from NSObject)
DangerousRelease()	(Inherited from NSObject)
DangerousRetain()	(Inherited from NSObject)
DidChange(NSKeyValueChange, NSIndexSet, NSString)	Indicates a change occurred to the indexes for a to-many relationship. (Inherited from NSObject)
DidChange(NSString, NSKeyValueSetMutationKind, NSSet)	(Inherited from NSObject)
DidChangeValue(String)	Indicates that a change occurred on the specified key. (Inherited from NSObject)
Dispose()	Releases the resources used by the NSObject object. (Inherited from NSObject)
Dispose(Boolean)	Releases the resources used by the NSObject object. (Inherited from NSObject)
DoesNotRecognizeSelector(Selector)	Indicates that this object does not recognize the specified selector. (Inherited from NSObject)
DoubleClick(nuint)
DrawString(CGPoint)	Draws the string at the specified point.
DrawString(CGRect)
DrawString(CGRect, NSStringDrawingOptions)
DrawString(CGRect, NSStringDrawingOptions, NSStringDrawingContext)
EncodeTo(NSCoder)	Encodes the state of the object on the provided encoder
EnumerateAttribute(NSString, NSRange, NSAttributedStringEnumeration, NSAttributedStringCallback)	Applies the callback to the specified attribute in the specified range.
EnumerateAttributes(NSRange, NSAttributedStringEnumeration, NSAttributedRangeCallback)	Applies the callback to all the attributes in the specified range.
Equals(NSObject)	(Inherited from NSObject)
Equals(Object)	(Inherited from NSObject)
ExposedBindings()	(Inherited from NSObject)
FromAttachment(NSTextAttachment)
FromAttachment(NSTextAttachment)
GetAppKitAttributes(nint, NSRange)
GetAppKitAttributes(nint, NSRange, NSRange)
GetAttribute(String, nint, NSRange)
GetAttribute(String, nint, NSRange, NSRange)
GetAttributes(nint, NSRange)
GetAttributes(nint, NSRange, NSRange)
GetBindingInfo(NSString)	(Inherited from NSObject)
GetBindingOptionDescriptions(NSString)	(Inherited from NSObject)
GetBindingValueClass(NSString)	(Inherited from NSObject)
GetBoundingRect(CGSize, NSStringDrawingOptions, NSStringDrawingContext)
GetCoreTextAttributes(nint, NSRange)
GetCoreTextAttributes(nint, NSRange, NSRange)
GetData(NSRange, NSAttributedStringDocumentAttributes, NSError)
GetData(NSRange, NSDictionary, NSError)
GetDataFromRange(NSRange, NSAttributedStringDocumentAttributes, NSError)
GetDataFromRange(NSRange, NSDictionary, NSError)	d\|To be added.
GetDictionaryOfValuesFromKeys(NSString[])	Retrieves the values of the specified keys. (Inherited from NSObject)
GetDocFormat(NSRange, NSAttributedStringDocumentAttributes)
GetDocFormat(NSRange, NSDictionary)
GetFileWrapper(NSRange, NSAttributedStringDocumentAttributes, NSError)
GetFileWrapper(NSRange, NSDictionary, NSError)
GetFileWrapperFromRange(NSRange, NSAttributedStringDocumentAttributes, NSError)
GetFileWrapperFromRange(NSRange, NSDictionary, NSError)
GetFontAttributes(NSRange)
GetHashCode()	Generates a hash code for the current instance. (Inherited from NSObject)
GetItemNumber(NSTextList, nuint)
GetItemProviderVisibilityForTypeIdentifier(String)
GetLineBreak(nuint, NSRange)
GetLineBreakByHyphenating(nuint, NSRange)
GetMethodForSelector(Selector)	(Inherited from NSObject)
GetNativeField(String)	Obsolete. (Inherited from NSObject)
GetNativeHash()	(Inherited from NSObject)
GetNextWord(nuint, Boolean)
GetObject(NSData, String, NSError)
GetPasteboardPropertyListForType(String)
GetRange(NSTextBlock, nuint)
GetRange(NSTextList, nuint)
GetRange(NSTextTable, nuint)
GetReadableTypesForPasteboard(NSPasteboard)
GetReadingOptionsForType(String, NSPasteboard)
GetRtf(NSRange, NSAttributedStringDocumentAttributes)
GetRtf(NSRange, NSDictionary)
GetRtfd(NSRange, NSAttributedStringDocumentAttributes)
GetRtfd(NSRange, NSDictionary)
GetRtfdFileWrapper(NSRange, NSAttributedStringDocumentAttributes)
GetRtfdFileWrapper(NSRange, NSDictionary)
GetRulerAttributes(NSRange)
GetUIKitAttributes(nint, NSRange)
GetUIKitAttributes(nint, NSRange, NSRange)
GetUrl(nuint, NSRange)
GetWritableTypesForPasteboard(NSPasteboard)
GetWritingOptionsForType(String, NSPasteboard)
Init()	(Inherited from NSObject)
InitializeHandle(IntPtr)	(Inherited from NSObject)
InitializeHandle(IntPtr, String)	(Inherited from NSObject)
InitWithPasteboardPropertyList(NSObject, String)
Invoke(Action, Double)	(Inherited from NSObject)
Invoke(Action, TimeSpan)	(Inherited from NSObject)
InvokeOnMainThread(Action)	(Inherited from NSObject)
InvokeOnMainThread(Selector, NSObject)	Invokes synchrously the specified code on the main UI thread. (Inherited from NSObject)
IsEqual(NSAttributedString)	Whether this is equal to the other string.
IsEqual(NSObject)	(Inherited from NSObject)
IsKindOfClass(Class)	(Inherited from NSObject)
IsMemberOfClass(Class)	(Inherited from NSObject)
LoadData(String, Action<NSData,NSError>)	Implement this method to customize the loading of data by an NSItemProvider.
LoadDataAsync(String)
LoadDataAsync(String, NSProgress)
LowLevelGetAttributes(nint, NSRange)	Low-level version that provides an NSDictionary for the attributes in the specified range.
MarkDirty()	Promotes a regular peer object (IsDirectBinding is true) into a toggleref object. (Inherited from NSObject)
MutableCopy()	Creates a mutable copy of the specified NSObject. (Inherited from NSObject)
MutableCopy(NSZone)	Performs a copy of the underlying Objective-C object.
ObjectDidEndEditing(NSObject)	(Inherited from NSObject)
ObserveValue(NSString, NSObject, NSDictionary, IntPtr)	Indicates that the value at the specified keyPath relative to this object has changed. (Inherited from NSObject)
PerformSelector(Selector)	(Inherited from NSObject)
PerformSelector(Selector, NSObject)	(Inherited from NSObject)
PerformSelector(Selector, NSObject, Double)	Invokes the selector on the current instance and if the `obj` is not null, it passes this as its single parameter. (Inherited from NSObject)
PerformSelector(Selector, NSObject, Double, NSString[])	(Inherited from NSObject)
PerformSelector(Selector, NSObject, NSObject)	(Inherited from NSObject)
PerformSelector(Selector, NSThread, NSObject, Boolean)	(Inherited from NSObject)
PerformSelector(Selector, NSThread, NSObject, Boolean, NSString[])	(Inherited from NSObject)
PrepareForInterfaceBuilder()	(Inherited from NSObject)
RemoveObserver(NSObject, NSString)	Stops the specified observer from receiving further notifications of changed values for the specified keyPath. (Inherited from NSObject)
RemoveObserver(NSObject, NSString, IntPtr)	Stops the specified observer from receiving further notifications of changed values for the specified keyPath and context. (Inherited from NSObject)
RemoveObserver(NSObject, String)	Stops the specified observer from receiving further notifications of changed values for the specified keyPath. (Inherited from NSObject)
RemoveObserver(NSObject, String, IntPtr)	Stops the specified observer from receiving further notifications of changed values for the specified keyPath and context. (Inherited from NSObject)
RespondsToSelector(Selector)	Whether this object recognizes the specified selector. (Inherited from NSObject)
SetNativeField(String, NSObject)	Obsolete. (Inherited from NSObject)
SetNilValueForKey(NSString)	Sets the value of the specified key to null. (Inherited from NSObject)
SetValueForKey(NSObject, NSString)	Sets the value of the property specified by the key to the specified value. (Inherited from NSObject)
SetValueForKeyPath(IntPtr, NSString)	A constructor used when creating managed representations of unmanaged objects; Called by the runtime. (Inherited from NSObject)
SetValueForKeyPath(NSObject, NSString)	Sets the value of a property that can be reached using a keypath. (Inherited from NSObject)
SetValueForUndefinedKey(NSObject, NSString)	Indicates an attempt to write a value to an undefined key. If not overridden, raises an NSUndefinedKeyException. (Inherited from NSObject)
SetValuesForKeysWithDictionary(NSDictionary)	Sets the values of this NSObject to those in the specified dictionary. (Inherited from NSObject)
Substring(nint, nint)
ToString()	Returns a string representation of the value of the current instance. (Inherited from NSObject)
Unbind(NSString)	(Inherited from NSObject)
Unbind(String)	Obsolete. (Inherited from NSObject)
ValueForKey(NSString)	Returns the value of the property associated with the specified key. (Inherited from NSObject)
ValueForKeyPath(NSString)	Returns the value of a property that can be reached using a keypath. (Inherited from NSObject)
ValueForUndefinedKey(NSString)	Indicates an attempt to read a value of an undefined key. If not overridden, raises an NSUndefinedKeyException. (Inherited from NSObject)
WillChange(NSKeyValueChange, NSIndexSet, NSString)	Indicates that the values of the specified indices in the specified key are about to change. (Inherited from NSObject)
WillChange(NSString, NSKeyValueSetMutationKind, NSSet)	(Inherited from NSObject)
WillChangeValue(String)	Indicates that the value of the specified key is about to change. (Inherited from NSObject)

Extension Methods

BoundingRectWithSize(NSAttributedString, CGSize, NSStringDrawingOptions, NSStringDrawingContext)
DrawWithRect(NSAttributedString, CGRect, NSStringDrawingOptions, NSStringDrawingContext)
ObjectDidBeginEditing(NSObject, INSEditor)
ObjectDidEndEditing(NSObject, INSEditor)
GetValidModes(NSObject, NSFontPanel)
ValidateToolbarItem(NSObject, NSToolbarItem)
GetPasteboardPropertyListForType(INSPasteboardWriting, String)
GetWritableTypesForPasteboard(INSPasteboardWriting, NSPasteboard)
GetWritingOptionsForType(INSPasteboardWriting, String, NSPasteboard)
DrawAtPoint(NSAttributedString, CGPoint)
DrawInRect(NSAttributedString, CGRect)
GetSize(NSAttributedString)
GetDebugDescription(INSObjectProtocol)
AcceptsPreviewPanelControl(NSObject, QLPreviewPanel)
BeginPreviewPanelControl(NSObject, QLPreviewPanel)
EndPreviewPanelControl(NSObject, QLPreviewPanel)
ContainsAttachments(NSAttributedString, NSRange)	Returns `true` if the current NSAttributedString contains attachments in the specified `range`.
GetAccessibilityCustomRotors(NSObject)	Gets the array of UIAccessibilityCustomRotor objects appropriate for `this` object.
SetAccessibilityCustomRotors(NSObject, UIAccessibilityCustomRotor[])	Sets the array of UIAccessibilityCustomRotor objects appropriate for `this` object.

Applies to