NSShadow Class Reference

Inherits from
NSObject
Conforms to
NSCoding
NSCopying
NSObject (NSObject)
Framework
/System/Library/Frameworks/AppKit.framework
Availability
Available in OS X v10.3 and later.
Companion guide
Cocoa Drawing Guide
Declared in
NSShadow.h
Related sample code

Overview

An NSShadow object encapsulates the attributes used to create a drop shadow during drawing operations.

Shadows are always drawn in the default user coordinate space, regardless of any transformations applied to that space. This means that rotations, translations and other transformations of the current transformation matrix (the CTM) do not affect the resulting shadow. Another way to think about this is that changes to the CTM do not move or change the apparent position of the shadow’s light source.

There are two positional parameters for a shadow: an x-offset and a y-offset. These values are expressed using a single size data type (CGSize on iOS, NSSize on OS X) and using the units of the default user coordinate space. Positive values for these offsets extend up and to the right.

In addition to its positional parameters, a shadow also contains a blur radius, which specifies how much a drawn object's image mask is blurred before it is composited onto the destination. A value of 0 means there is no blur. Larger values give correspondingly larger amounts of blurring.

An NSShadow object may be used in one of two ways. First, it may be set, like a color or a font, in which case its attributes are applied to all content drawn thereafter—or at least until another shadow is applied or a previous graphics state is restored. Second, it may be used as the value for the NSShadowAttributeName text attribute, in which case it is applied to the glyphs corresponding to the characters bearing this attribute.

Adopted Protocols

NSCoding
NSCopying

Tasks

Creating a Shadow

Managing a Shadow

Setting the Shadow

Instance Methods

init

Returns an NSShadow object initialized with default values.

- (id)init
Return Value

An NSShadow object initialized with 0 as its offset, 0 as its blur radius, and the default color as its color. The returned object may be different from the original receiver.

Availability
  • Available in OS X v10.3 and later.
Declared In
NSShadow.h

set

Sets the shadow of subsequent drawing operations to the shadow represented by the receiver.

- (void)set
Discussion

The shadow attributes of the receiver are used until another shadow is set or until the graphics state is restored.

Availability
  • Available in OS X v10.3 and later.
Related Sample Code
Declared In
NSShadow.h

setShadowBlurRadius:

Sets the blur radius of the receiver.

- (void)setShadowBlurRadius:(CGFloat)val
Parameters
val

The blur radius, as measured in the default user coordinate space. A value of 0 indicates no blur, while larger values produce correspondingly larger blurring. This value must not be negative.

Availability
  • Available in OS X v10.3 and later.
See Also
Related Sample Code
Declared In
NSShadow.h

setShadowColor:

Sets the shadow color for the receiver.

- (void)setShadowColor:(NSColor *)color
Parameters
color

The shadow color, which must be convertible to an RGBA color. Specify nil if you do not want the shadow to be drawn. Your color may contain alpha information.

Availability
  • Available in OS X v10.3 and later.
See Also
Related Sample Code
Declared In
NSShadow.h

setShadowOffset:

Sets the offset values for the receiver.

- (void)setShadowOffset:(NSSize)offset
Parameters
offset

The horizontal and vertical offset values, specified using the width and height fields of the NSSize data type. These offsets are measured using the default user coordinate space and are not affected by custom transformations. This means that positive values always extend up and to the right from the user's perspective.

Availability
  • Available in OS X v10.3 and later.
See Also
Related Sample Code
Declared In
NSShadow.h

shadowBlurRadius

Returns the blur radius of the receiver.

- (CGFloat)shadowBlurRadius
Return Value

The blur radius, as measured in the default user coordinate space. A value of 0 indicates no blur, while larger values produce correspondingly larger blurring. The default value is 0.

Availability
  • Available in OS X v10.3 and later.
See Also
Declared In
NSShadow.h

shadowColor

Returns the color for the receiver.

- (NSColor *)shadowColor
Return Value

The current shadow color. A nil shadow color indicates the shadow is not to be drawn. The default shadow color is black with an alpha of 1/3.

Availability
  • Available in OS X v10.3 and later.
See Also
Declared In
NSShadow.h

shadowOffset

Returns the offset values for the receiver.

- (NSSize)shadowOffset
Return Value

The horizontal and vertical offset values, specified using the width and height fields of the NSSize data type. These offsets are measured using the default user coordinate space and are not affected by custom transformations. This means that positive values always extend up and to the right from the user's perspective.

Availability
  • Available in OS X v10.3 and later.
See Also
Declared In
NSShadow.h


© 2012 Apple Inc. All Rights Reserved. (Last updated: 2012-09-19)

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