Change left navigation button from text to image

[peejavery]

When pushing a new view controller, the "back" button uses the title of the previous view. Is there a way to make it so that it is UIBarButtonSystemItemBookmarks instead?

I've tried the following but it doesn't work.

UIBarButtonSystemItem btnItem = UIBarButtonSystemItemBookmarks;
UIBarButtonItem *btnSearch = [[UIBarButtonItem alloc] initWithBarButtonSystemItem:btnItem target:self action:self.navigationItem.leftBarButtonItem.action];
self.navigationItem.leftBarButtonItem = btnSearch;

[peejavery]

Anyone got ideas?

[rames44]

When you say "didn't work" do you mean that it didn't display as you wanted? Or that it didn't give you the result you expected? It looks like you've installed it correctly (so I would expect it to display) but you haven't configured it properly, so I would not expect it to work when pressed.

The one thing I noticed odd was the "action" you supplied when creating the BarButtonItem. Normally, the init code should look like:

[[UIBarButtonItem alloc] initWithBarButtonSystemItem:btnItem target:self action:@selector(myMethod)];

where "myMethod" is a member function on the view controller that's setting this ("self") up.

What you've done is said that the target object (the object that will be called when the button is pressed) is "self", but that the action (the actual method that will be called) is whatever method (heaven only knows what) that was on the original left button item. Your view controller ("self") almost certainly doesn't implement a method by that name (whatever it is), so when the button is pressed, the system's not going to be able to call anything rational - it won't find the method, so probably nothing will happen.

[peejavery]

I think you're missing my point. I have no problem creating navigation buttons. I need to customize the "Back" button so that it isn't a text button, but an image. See attached image.

[peejavery]

Anyone else have ideas?

[rames44]

OK, I misunderstood what you were getting at.

Instead of using the "backButtonItem", have you tried using "leftBarButtonItem"? Possibly in combination with "hidesBackButton"?

[peejavery]

Thanks for you replies.

I re-created my GUI about a day after that problem. In doing so, I no longer need this solution.