IQTextView

Independent package providing UITextView with placeholder support

Overview

As of version 8.0, IQTextView is now an independent package, separated from the main IQKeyboardManager library. It provides a drop-in replacement for UITextView with built-in placeholder support, similar to UITextField.

IQTextView was previously part of IQKeyboardManager but has been extracted into its own package for better modularity.

GitHub Repository

hackiftekhar/IQTextView

Key Features

• Placeholder Support - Native placeholder text like UITextField
• Customizable Appearance - Control placeholder color, font, and alignment
• Drop-in Replacement - Use exactly like UITextView
• Auto-resizing - Works with Auto Layout and manual frames
• UITextViewDelegate Compatible - Fully compatible with standard delegates
• IBDesignable - Configure placeholder in Interface Builder

Installation

CocoaPods

# Install IQTextView independently
pod 'IQTextView'

# Or as a subspec of IQKeyboardManager for easier migration
pod 'IQKeyboardManagerSwift/IQTextView'

Swift Package Manager

dependencies: [
    .package(url: "https://github.com/hackiftekhar/IQTextView.git", from: "2.0.0")
]

Carthage

github "hackiftekhar/IQTextView"

Basic Usage

Programmatic Setup

import IQTextView

class MyViewController: UIViewController {
    
    private let textView: IQTextView = {
        let tv = IQTextView()
        tv.placeholder = "Enter your message here..."
        tv.placeholderTextColor = .lightGray
        tv.font = .systemFont(ofSize: 16)
        return tv
    }()
    
    override func viewDidLoad() {
        super.viewDidLoad()
        
        view.addSubview(textView)
        // Add constraints...
    }
}

Interface Builder

1. Add a UITextView to your storyboard or XIB
2. Set the class to IQTextView in Identity Inspector
3. Configure the placeholder in Attributes Inspector

class FormViewController: UIViewController {
    
    @IBOutlet var commentTextView: IQTextView!
    
    override func viewDidLoad() {
        super.viewDidLoad()
        
        // Placeholder is already set in Interface Builder
        commentTextView.placeholderTextColor = .systemGray3
    }
}

Customization

Placeholder Appearance

let textView = IQTextView()

// Set placeholder text
textView.placeholder = "Type something..."

// Customize placeholder color
textView.placeholderTextColor = .systemGray

// Use attributed placeholder for advanced styling
let attributes: [NSAttributedString.Key: Any] = [
    .font: UIFont.italicSystemFont(ofSize: 14),
    .foregroundColor: UIColor.systemGray2
]
textView.attributedPlaceholder = NSAttributedString(
    string: "Enter description...",
    attributes: attributes
)

Placeholder Label Access

For advanced customization, access the internal placeholder label:

// Access the placeholder label directly
if let placeholderLabel = textView.placeholderLabel {
    placeholderLabel.numberOfLines = 0
    placeholderLabel.textAlignment = .center
}

Integration with IQKeyboardManager

IQTextView works seamlessly with IQKeyboardManager:

// In AppDelegate
import IQKeyboardManagerSwift

func application(_ application: UIApplication,
                 didFinishLaunchingWithOptions launchOptions: [UIApplication.LaunchOptionsKey: Any]?) -> Bool {
    
    IQKeyboardManager.shared.isEnabled = true
    return true
}

// In ViewController
import IQTextView

class NoteViewController: UIViewController {
    
    private let textView: IQTextView = {
        let tv = IQTextView()
        tv.placeholder = "Write your note..."
        return tv
    }()
    
    // IQKeyboardManager will automatically handle keyboard avoidance
}

Properties

Core Properties

Property	Type	Description
placeholder	String?	Plain text placeholder
attributedPlaceholder	NSAttributedString?	Styled placeholder text
placeholderTextColor	UIColor	Color of placeholder text
placeholderLabel	UILabel?	Direct access to placeholder label

Inherited from UITextView

All standard UITextView properties are available:

textView.text = "Initial text"
textView.font = .systemFont(ofSize: 16)
textView.textColor = .label
textView.textAlignment = .left
textView.isEditable = true
textView.delegate = self

Examples

Multi-line Form Field

import IQTextView

class FeedbackViewController: UIViewController {
    
    private let feedbackTextView: IQTextView = {
        let tv = IQTextView()
        tv.placeholder = "Please share your feedback with us. We'd love to hear your thoughts!"
        tv.placeholderTextColor = .systemGray3
        tv.font = .systemFont(ofSize: 16)
        tv.layer.borderWidth = 1
        tv.layer.borderColor = UIColor.systemGray4.cgColor
        tv.layer.cornerRadius = 8
        tv.textContainerInset = UIEdgeInsets(top: 12, left: 8, bottom: 12, right: 8)
        return tv
    }()
    
    override func viewDidLoad() {
        super.viewDidLoad()
        setupUI()
    }
}

Comment Section

import IQTextView

class CommentViewController: UIViewController, UITextViewDelegate {
    
    @IBOutlet var commentTextView: IQTextView!
    @IBOutlet var submitButton: UIButton!
    
    override func viewDidLoad() {
        super.viewDidLoad()
        
        commentTextView.placeholder = "Add a comment..."
        commentTextView.placeholderTextColor = .secondaryLabel
        commentTextView.delegate = self
        
        updateSubmitButton()
    }
    
    func textViewDidChange(_ textView: UITextView) {
        updateSubmitButton()
    }
    
    private func updateSubmitButton() {
        // Enable submit only when there's text
        submitButton.isEnabled = !commentTextView.text.isEmpty
    }
}

Dynamic Height Text View

import IQTextView

class MessageViewController: UIViewController {
    
    private let messageTextView: IQTextView = {
        let tv = IQTextView()
        tv.placeholder = "Type a message..."
        tv.font = .systemFont(ofSize: 15)
        tv.isScrollEnabled = false // Allow dynamic height
        tv.translatesAutoresizingMaskIntoConstraints = false
        return tv
    }()
    
    override func viewDidLoad() {
        super.viewDidLoad()
        
        view.addSubview(messageTextView)
        
        NSLayoutConstraint.activate([
            messageTextView.leadingAnchor.constraint(equalTo: view.leadingAnchor, constant: 16),
            messageTextView.trailingAnchor.constraint(equalTo: view.trailingAnchor, constant: -16),
            messageTextView.bottomAnchor.constraint(equalTo: view.safeAreaLayoutGuide.bottomAnchor, constant: -16),
            // Height will adjust automatically based on content
        ])
    }
}

Attributed Placeholder

import IQTextView

class BioViewController: UIViewController {
    
    private let bioTextView: IQTextView = {
        let tv = IQTextView()
        
        // Create styled placeholder
        let placeholder = NSMutableAttributedString()
        
        // Title part
        let titleAttributes: [NSAttributedString.Key: Any] = [
            .font: UIFont.boldSystemFont(ofSize: 16),
            .foregroundColor: UIColor.systemGray
        ]
        placeholder.append(NSAttributedString(string: "About You\n", attributes: titleAttributes))
        
        // Description part
        let descAttributes: [NSAttributedString.Key: Any] = [
            .font: UIFont.systemFont(ofSize: 14),
            .foregroundColor: UIColor.systemGray3
        ]
        placeholder.append(NSAttributedString(string: "Share a brief bio about yourself...", attributes: descAttributes))
        
        tv.attributedPlaceholder = placeholder
        return tv
    }()
}

Migration from v7

See the Migration Guide for detailed migration instructions from IQKeyboardManager v7 to v8.

Key Changes

1. Separate Package - IQTextView is now an independent library
2. Import Statement - Import IQTextView instead of IQKeyboardManagerSwift
3. No API Changes - The IQTextView API remains the same

Before (v7)

import IQKeyboardManagerSwift

let textView = IQTextView()
textView.placeholder = "Enter text..."

After (v8)

import IQTextView

let textView = IQTextView()
textView.placeholder = "Enter text..." // Same API

Best Practices

Use Appropriate Placeholder Length

Keep placeholders concise and descriptive:

// ✅ Good - clear and concise
textView.placeholder = "Enter your message"

// ❌ Too long
textView.placeholder = "Please enter your message here and make sure to include all relevant details"

Match Placeholder Style to Content

Ensure placeholder styling matches your text styling:

textView.font = .systemFont(ofSize: 16)
textView.placeholder = "Message"
// Placeholder will use the same font automatically

Accessibility Considerations

Placeholders alone may not be sufficient for accessibility:

textView.placeholder = "Email address"
textView.accessibilityLabel = "Email address input field"
textView.accessibilityHint = "Enter your email address"

Troubleshooting

Placeholder Not Showing

If the placeholder isn’t visible:

// Ensure text is empty
textView.text = ""

// Verify placeholder is set
print(textView.placeholder ?? "No placeholder set")

// Check placeholder color isn't too light
textView.placeholderTextColor = .red // Test with visible color

Placeholder Color Too Light

// Use semantic colors for better visibility
textView.placeholderTextColor = .secondaryLabel // Adapts to light/dark mode

// Or use custom color with appropriate contrast
textView.placeholderTextColor = UIColor(red: 0.6, green: 0.6, blue: 0.6, alpha: 1.0)

Related Resources

IQKeyboardToolbarManager

Add toolbar with Previous/Next/Done buttons

IQKeyboardReturnManager

Handle return key navigation

See Also

• Getting Started
• Configuration Guide
• GitHub Repository