Xcode Previews with UIKit and AppKit in Xcode 15
Table of Contents
In the past (before Xcode 15), there was no easy way to use Xcode Previews for non-SwiftUI components.
If you want to preview your UIView or UIViewController, you need to wrap it as SwiftUI view with UIViewRepresentable or UIViewControllerRepresentable.
In Xcode 15, we can easily create previews with new and more concise syntax using the #Preview
macro.
This new syntax support previewing for a wide range of view:
- SwiftUI
- UIKit (UIView and UIViewController)
- AppKit (NSView and NSViewController)
- Widget timeline providers
- Timeline entries
- Live activities
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How to preview UIKit and AppKit in Xcode 15
To preview any view with the new #Preview
macro, we just put the view you want to preview inside the macro.
#Preview {
Button("SwiftUI") {}
}
#Preview {
let button = UIButton(type: .system)
button.setTitle("UIKit", for: .normal)
return button
}
#Preview {
let button = NSButton(title: "AppKit", target: nil, action: nil)
return button
}
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If you use UIKit, you can preview your view using Interface Builder. But you can also preview a custom view that is created programmatically using Xcode Previews.
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