Apple docs incorrect? - IB & Navigation

[bgrupczy]

First the question:
As far as I understand, the xib File's Owner needs to be set to the class of the view controller. All the I/O needs to go through the File's Owner object, correct?

Here's the background to my confusion.

Document:
"Interface Builder User Guide"
Section:
"Configuring the Views for Additional Navigation Levels"

This section describes how to add subviews.

1. Create a new nib file using the Cocoa Touch View template.
2. Add a view controller object to the top level of the nib file.
3. Set the class of the view controller to your custom class, as described in “Setting the Class of an Object” (page 117).

Then they go on about adding a View Controller and embedding items into it.

[PhoneyDeveloper]

I don't normally do it the way they describe in that section. I think it might not work.

Not sure why they don't show the usual way that it's done.

[meowmix23F]

Yes, the files owner class needs to be set to your custom class otherwise it will just be a generic NSObject and you wont have access to the IBoutlets and other methods in the custom class.

[bgrupczy]

I can't wrap my head around why they would leave the documentation wrong for so long. The method they're describing just will not work. I even searched around for some kind of addendum. Nope.

Thanks for the quick replies.

[smasher]

Originally Posted by bgrupczy

First the question:
As far as I understand, the xib File's Owner needs to be set to the class of the view controller. All the I/O needs to go through the File's Owner object, correct?

Not always - "File's Owner" should be set to the type of the object that "initWithNib" is being called on. That object should be "outside" of the nib.

For most of Apple's sample templates, MainWindow.xib points to a UIApplication for its owner. You never see the code that calls initWithNib here- it's hidden inside the default behavior.

If you're calling initWithNib yourself, you should make sure the nib file has the correct type set for the owner, or the connections will not be made. If you're using the code

[[MainViewController alloc] initWithNibName:@"MainView" bundle:nil];

then File's Owner should be a "MainViewController."