What is SwiftUI Form

What is SwiftUI Form

Form is one of a container view in SwiftUI that is designed for grouping controls used for modifying data entry.

One example that fits this use case is a settings view.

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How to use SwiftUI Form

Form behaves similar to List view.

• It applies platform-appropriate style to views and controls that sit inside a form.
• You can group controls under Section, just like a list view.

You can construct a form like you create a List view. The only difference is you use a Form instead of a List view.

I will show you how to create a form from basic views and controls.

Form with TextField

We start by creating a simple form with one text field.

struct ContentView: View {
    // 1
    @AppStorage("deviceName") private var deviceName: String = ""
    
    var body: some View {
        NavigationStack {
            // 2
            Form {
                // 3
                TextField("Name", text: $deviceName)
            }
            .navigationBarTitle("Settings")
        }
    }
}

1 Since Form is meant to manipulate a group of data entries. Most controls are probably backed by data. In this case, we use @AppStorage to make it persist across the app launch.
2 Form is a container view that wraps all of our controls.
3 We create a text field that binds to the deviceName variable.

Form with LabeledContent

Form also supports static content. In this case, I use LabeledContent to show the current iOS version.

struct ContentView: View {
    @AppStorage("deviceName") private var deviceName: String = ""
    
    var body: some View {
        NavigationStack {
            Form {
                TextField("Name", text: $deviceName)
                LabeledContent("iOS Version", value: "16.2")
            }
            .navigationBarTitle("Settings")
        }
    }
}

Form with Toggle

You can keep adding controls to a form. I add a new Toggle that controls Wi-Fi here.

struct ContentView: View {
    @AppStorage("deviceName") private var deviceName: String = ""
    @AppStorage("wifi") private var isWifiEnabled: Bool = false
    
    var body: some View {
        NavigationStack {
            Form {
                TextField("Name", text: $deviceName)
                LabeledContent("iOS Version", value: "16.2")
                Toggle("Wi-Fi", isOn: $isWifiEnabled)
            }
            .navigationBarTitle("Settings")
        }
    }
}

Add Section to a Form

If you have a lot of controls, you can use Section to group related items together.

In the following example, we create two groups.

1. About
2. Internet

struct ContentView: View {
    @AppStorage("deviceName") private var deviceName: String = ""
    @AppStorage("wifi") private var isWifiEnabled: Bool = false
    
    var body: some View {
        NavigationStack {
            Form {
                Section {
                    TextField("Name", text: $deviceName)
                    LabeledContent("iOS Version", value: "16.2")
                } header: {
                    Text("About")
                }

                Section {
                    Toggle("Wi-Fi", isOn: $isWifiEnabled)
                } header: {
                    Text("Internet")
                }
            }
            .navigationBarTitle("Settings")
        }
    }
}

Add Picker to a Form

Settings usually include an option for users to choose from.

So, enum and Picker are common choices. Form also supports a picker view.

I create a new enum for an option, AutoJoinHotspotOption.

enum AutoJoinHotspotOption: String, CaseIterable, Identifiable {
    var id: Self {
        return self
    }
    
    case never
    case askToJoin
    case automatic
}

Then, I present these options with a Picker view.

struct ContentView: View {
    @AppStorage("deviceName") private var deviceName: String = ""
    @AppStorage("wifi") private var isWifiEnabled: Bool = false
    @AppStorage("autoJoin") private var autoJoinOption: AutoJoinHotspotOption = .never
    
    var body: some View {
        NavigationStack {
            Form {
                Section {
                    TextField("Name", text: $deviceName)
                    LabeledContent("iOS Version", value: "16.2")
                } header: {
                    Text("About")
                }

                Section {
                    Toggle("Wi-Fi", isOn: $isWifiEnabled)
                    Picker("Auto-Join Hotspot", selection: $autoJoinOption) {
                        ForEach(AutoJoinHotspotOption.allCases) { option in
                            Text(option.rawValue)
                        }
                    }

                } header: {
                    Text("Internet")
                }
            }
            .navigationBarTitle("Settings")
        }
    }
}

A picker renders with a menu style in iOS 16.

Add Button to a Form

The last control that I will add to the form is a button.

We add a button to reset all content and settings and put it in the new section at the bottom of the form.

struct ContentView: View {
    @AppStorage("deviceName") private var deviceName: String = ""
    @AppStorage("wifi") private var isWifiEnabled: Bool = false
    @AppStorage("autoJoin") private var autoJoinOption: AutoJoinHotspotOption = .never
    
    var body: some View {
        NavigationStack {
            Form {
                Section {
                    TextField("Name", text: $deviceName)
                    LabeledContent("iOS Version", value: "16.2")
                } header: {
                    Text("About")
                }

                Section {
                    Toggle("Wi-Fi", isOn: $isWifiEnabled)
                    Picker("Auto-Join Hotspot", selection: $autoJoinOption) {
                        ForEach(AutoJoinHotspotOption.allCases) { option in
                            Text(option.rawValue)
                        }
                    }

                } header: {
                    Text("Internet")
                }
                
                Section {
                    Button("Reset All Content and Settings") {
                        // Reset logic
                    }
                }
            }
            .navigationBarTitle("Settings")
        }
    }
}

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What is the difference between Form and List

With the example you see so far, you might wonder what the difference is between List and Form.

It is a reasonable question since Form in iOS uses the same appearance and style as an inset grouped list. So, there is no difference there.

But as mentioned earlier, Form applies a platform-appropriate style to its child views. So, the similarity between Form and List isn't guaranteed.

You will see a difference when you use Form on a platform where settings use a different design language from a List.

Here is an example of Form in macOS.

Compare it to List here.