Table Views

Display data in a single column of customizable rows.

Overview

A table view displays a single column of vertically scrolling content, divided into rows and sections. Each row of a table displays a single piece of information related to your app. Sections let you group related rows together. For example, the Contacts app uses a table to display the names of the user's contacts.

Illustration showing three table view examples. The first contains only rows, the second contains rows grouped into sections, and the third contains custom cells.

Table views are a collaboration between many different objects, including:

Cells. A cell provides the visual representation for your content. You can use the default cells provided by UIKit or define custom cells to suit the needs of your app.
Table view controller. You typically use a UITableViewController object to manage a table view. You can use other view controllers too, but a table view controller is required for some table-related features to work.
Your data source object. This object adopts the UITableViewDataSource protocol and provides the data for the table.
Your delegate object. This object adopts the UITableViewDelegate protocol and manages user interactions with the table's contents.

Topics

Essentials

class UITableView

A view that presents data using rows arranged in a single column.

Data

Filling a Table with Data

Create and configure cells for your table dynamically using a data source object, or provide them statically from your storyboard.

protocol UITableViewDataSource

The methods adopted by the object you use to manage data and provide cells for a table view.

protocol UITableViewDataSourcePrefetching

A protocol that provides advance warning of the data requirements for a table view, allowing you to start potentially long-running data operations early.

class UILocalizedIndexedCollation

An object that organizes, sorts, and localizes the data for a table view that has a section index.

protocol UIDataSourceTranslating

An advanced interface for managing a data source object.

class UIRefreshControl

A standard control that can initiate the refreshing of a scroll view’s contents.

Table Management

Estimating the Height of a Table's Scrolling Area

Provide height estimates for your table view’s headers, footers, and rows to ensure that scrolling accurately reflects the size of your content.

class UITableViewController

A view controller that specializes in managing a table view.

protocol UITableViewDelegate

Methods for managing selections, configuring section headers and footers, deleting and reordering cells, and performing other actions in a table view.

class UITableViewFocusUpdateContext

A context object that provides information relevant to a specific focus update from one view to another.