# UITextInteraction An interaction that provides text selection gestures and UI to custom text views. ``` @MainActor class UITextInteraction ``` ## Overview Use [`UITextInteraction`](/documentation/UIKit/UITextInteraction) to provide your custom text views the same text selection gestures and UI available in native text views like [`UITextView`](/documentation/UIKit/UITextView) and [`UITextField`](/documentation/UIKit/UITextField). When creating a text interaction, choose a mode that matches the state of the text, [`UITextInteractionMode.editable`](/documentation/UIKit/UITextInteractionMode/editable) or [`UITextInteractionMode.nonEditable`](/documentation/UIKit/UITextInteractionMode/nonEditable). Then set the [`textInput`](/documentation/UIKit/UITextInteraction/textInput) property to an object that conforms to [`UITextInput`](/documentation/UIKit/UITextInput), and add the interaction to a view. ```swift // Create a selection interaction for non-editable content. let selectionInteraction = UITextInteraction(for: .nonEditable) // Assign `textInput` to your view that implements the `UITextInput` protocol // to get more control over the selection behavior and the text input system. selectionInteraction.textInput = customTextView // Add the interaction to the view. customTextView.addInteraction(selectionInteraction) ``` If your custom text view supports editable and non-editable text, create two interactions — one for each mode — and add the interaction that matches the state of text to the view while removing the other interaction. ```swift override func becomeFirstResponder() -> Bool { let isFirstResponder = self.isFirstResponder let result = super.becomeFirstResponder() if isFirstResponder == false && self.isFirstResponder == true { customTextView.removeInteraction(nonEditableTextInteraction) customTextView.addInteraction(editableTextInteraction) } return result } override func resignFirstResponder() -> Bool { let isFirstResponder = self.isFirstResponder let result = super.resignFirstResponder() if isFirstResponder == true && self.isFirstResponder == false { customTextView.removeInteraction(editableTextInteraction) customTextView.addInteraction(nonEditableTextInteraction) } return result } ``` If your app provides other gestures in the same view hierarchy, you can use the [`require(toFail:)`](/documentation/UIKit/UIGestureRecognizer/require(toFail:)) method to set up failure requirements between your app’s gestures and the text interaction gestures listed in the [`gesturesForFailureRequirements`](/documentation/UIKit/UITextInteraction/gesturesForFailureRequirements) property. ## Topics ### Creating text interactions [`+ textInteractionForMode:`](/documentation/UIKit/UITextInteraction/init(for:)) Creates a text interaction with the specified mode. ### Handling text input and interaction events [`textInput`](/documentation/UIKit/UITextInteraction/textInput) The object that interacts with the text input system. [`delegate`](/documentation/UIKit/UITextInteraction/delegate) The object that receives events from the text interaction. [`UITextInteractionDelegate`](/documentation/UIKit/UITextInteractionDelegate) An interface that an object implements to receive information about text interaction events. ### Getting interaction information [`gesturesForFailureRequirements`](/documentation/UIKit/UITextInteraction/gesturesForFailureRequirements) The list of gestures that the text interaction adds to the view hierarchy. [`textInteractionMode`](/documentation/UIKit/UITextInteraction/textInteractionMode) The mode of the text interaction. [`UITextInteractionMode`](/documentation/UIKit/UITextInteractionMode) Modes that determine the selection behaviors that a text interaction provides. ## Relationships ### Inherits From [`NSObject-swift.class`](/documentation/ObjectiveC/NSObject-swift.class) ### Conforms To [`CustomStringConvertible`](/documentation/Swift/CustomStringConvertible) [`CustomDebugStringConvertible`](/documentation/Swift/CustomDebugStringConvertible) [`NSObjectProtocol`](/documentation/ObjectiveC/NSObjectProtocol) [`Sendable`](/documentation/Swift/Sendable) [`Equatable`](/documentation/Swift/Equatable) [`CVarArg`](/documentation/Swift/CVarArg) [`UIInteraction`](/documentation/UIKit/UIInteraction) [`Hashable`](/documentation/Swift/Hashable) --- Copyright © 2026 Apple Inc. All rights reserved. | [Terms of Use](https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/terms/site.html) | [Privacy Policy](https://www.apple.com/privacy/privacy-policy)