NSViewAnimation Class Reference

Inherits from
NSAnimation : NSObject
Conforms to
NSCoding (NSAnimation)
NSCopying (NSAnimation)
NSObject (NSObject)
Framework
/System/Library/Frameworks/AppKit.framework
Availability
Available in OS X v10.4 and later.
Companion guide
Cocoa Drawing Guide
Declared in
NSAnimation.h
Related sample code

Overview

The NSViewAnimation class, a public subclass of NSAnimation, offers a convenient way to animate multiple views and windows. The animation effects you can achieve are limited to changes in frame location and size, and to fade-in and fade-out effects.

An NSViewAnimation object takes an array of dictionaries from which it determines the objects to animate and the effects to apply to them. Each dictionary must have a target object and, optionally, properties that specify beginning and ending frame and whether to fade in or fade out. (See “View Animation Dictionary Keys” for further information.) Animations with NSViewAnimation are, by default, in non-blocking mode over a duration of 0.5 seconds using the ease in-out animation curve. But you can configure the animation to have any duration, curve, frame rate, and blocking mode. You may also set progress marks, assign a delegate, and implement delegation methods in order to animate view and windows concurrent with the ones specified as targets in the view-animation dictionary.

Invoking the NSAnimation stopAnimation method on a running NSViewAnimation object moves the animation to the end frame.

Tasks

Initializing an NSViewAnimation Object

Getting and Setting View-animation Dictionaries

Instance Methods

initWithViewAnimations:

Returns an NSViewAnimation object initialized with the supplied information.

- (id)initWithViewAnimations:(NSArray *)viewAnimations
Parameters
viewAnimations

An array of NSDictionary objects. Each dictionary specifies a view or window to animate and the effect to apply. viewAnimations can be nil, but you must later set the required array of dictionaries with setViewAnimations: if you want to use the capabilities of the NSViewAnimation class. See“View Animation Dictionary Keys” for a description of valid keys and values for dictionaries in viewAnimations.

Return Value

The created NSViewAnimation object or nil if there was a problem initializing the object.

Availability
  • Available in OS X v10.4 and later.
Related Sample Code
Declared In
NSAnimation.h

setViewAnimations:

Sets the dictionaries defining the objects to animate.

- (void)setViewAnimations:(NSArray *)viewAnimations
Parameters
viewAnimations

An array of NSDictionary objects. Each dictionary specifies a view or window to animate and the effect to apply. Pass in nil to remove the current list of dictionaries. See “View Animation Dictionary Keys” for a description of valid keys and values for dictionaries in viewAnimations.

Availability
  • Available in OS X v10.4 and later.
See Also
Related Sample Code
Declared In
NSAnimation.h

viewAnimations

Returns the array of dictionaries defining the objects to animate.

- (NSArray *)viewAnimations
Discussion

Each dictionary in the returned array specifies a view or window to animate and the effect to apply.

Availability
  • Available in OS X v10.4 and later.
See Also
Declared In
NSAnimation.h

Constants

View Animation Dictionary Keys

The following string constants are keys for the dictionaries in the array passed into initWithViewAnimations: and setViewAnimations:.

NSString *NSViewAnimationTargetKey;
NSString *NSViewAnimationStartFrameKey;
NSString *NSViewAnimationEndFrameKey;
NSString *NSViewAnimationEffectKey;
Constants
NSViewAnimationTargetKey

The target of the animation.

The target can be either an NSView object or an NSWindow object. This property is required.

Available in OS X v10.4 and later.

Declared in NSAnimation.h.

NSViewAnimationStartFrameKey

The size and location of the window or view at the start of the animation.

The size and location are specified by an NSRect structure encoded in an NSValue object. This property is optional. If it is not specified, NSViewAnimation uses the frame of the window or view at the start of the animation.

Available in OS X v10.4 and later.

Declared in NSAnimation.h.

NSViewAnimationEndFrameKey

The size and location of the window or view at the end of the animation.

The size and location are specified by an NSRect structure encoded in an NSValue object. This property is optional. If it is not specified, NSViewAnimation uses the frame of the window or view at the start of the animation. If the target is a view and the end frame is empty, the view is hidden at the end.

Available in OS X v10.4 and later.

Declared in NSAnimation.h.

NSViewAnimationEffectKey

An effect to apply to the animation.

Takes a string constant specifying fade-in or fade-out effects for the target: NSViewAnimationFadeInEffect and NSViewAnimationFadeOutEffect. If the target is a view and the effect is to fade out, the view is hidden at the end. If the effect is to fade in an initially hidden view and the end frame is non-empty, the view is unhidden at the end. If the target is a window, the window is ordered in or out as appropriate to the effect. This property is optional.

Available in OS X v10.4 and later.

Declared in NSAnimation.h.

Declared In
NSAnimation.h

Values for NSViewAnimationEffectKey

The following constants specify the animation effect to apply and are used as values for the animation effect property of the animation view. See the description of NSViewAnimationEffectKey for usage details.

NSString *NSViewAnimationFadeInEffect;
NSString *NSViewAnimationFadeOutEffect;
Constants
NSViewAnimationFadeInEffect

Specifies a fade-in type of effect.

Available in OS X v10.4 and later.

Declared in NSAnimation.h.

NSViewAnimationFadeOutEffect

Specifies a fade-out type of effect.

Available in OS X v10.4 and later.

Declared in NSAnimation.h.

Availability
  • Available in OS X v10.4 and later
Declared In
NSAnimation.h


© 2006 Apple Computer, Inc. All Rights Reserved. (Last updated: 2006-05-23)

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