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# preferredDisplayMode

The preferred arrangement of the split view interface.

```
var preferredDisplayMode: UISplitViewController.DisplayMode { get set }
```

## Discussion

Use this property to specify the display mode that you prefer to use. The split view controller makes every effort to adopt the interface you specify, but may use a different type of interface if there isn’t enough space to support your preferred choice. If changing the value of this property leads to an actual change in the current display mode, the split view controller updates [`displayMode`](/documentation/UIKit/UISplitViewController/displayMode-swift.property). The resulting change is animated if you made the change in an animation block.

Setting the value of this property to [`UISplitViewController.DisplayMode.automatic`](/documentation/UIKit/UISplitViewController/DisplayMode-swift.enum/automatic) causes the split view controller to choose the most appropriate display mode for the currently available space. The default value of this property is [`UISplitViewController.DisplayMode.automatic`](/documentation/UIKit/UISplitViewController/DisplayMode-swift.enum/automatic).

A split view controller’s split behavior affects its possible display mode. The preferred display mode is interpreted to match the current [`splitBehavior`](/documentation/UIKit/UISplitViewController/splitBehavior-swift.property). For example, if you set the preferred display mode to [`UISplitViewController.DisplayMode.twoBesideSecondary`](/documentation/UIKit/UISplitViewController/DisplayMode-swift.enum/twoBesideSecondary), the actual [`displayMode`](/documentation/UIKit/UISplitViewController/displayMode-swift.property) is interpreted as [`UISplitViewController.DisplayMode.twoOverSecondary`](/documentation/UIKit/UISplitViewController/DisplayMode-swift.enum/twoOverSecondary) for [`UISplitViewController.SplitBehavior.overlay`](/documentation/UIKit/UISplitViewController/SplitBehavior-swift.enum/overlay), and as [`UISplitViewController.DisplayMode.twoDisplaceSecondary`](/documentation/UIKit/UISplitViewController/DisplayMode-swift.enum/twoDisplaceSecondary) for [`UISplitViewController.SplitBehavior.displace`](/documentation/UIKit/UISplitViewController/SplitBehavior-swift.enum/displace).

If [`presentsWithGesture`](/documentation/UIKit/UISplitViewController/presentsWithGesture) is <doc://com.apple.documentation/documentation/Swift/false>, the value of this property is strictly respected.

---

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