An MFMessageComposeViewController object provides a standard interface for composing and sending SMS or MMS messages. Use this view controller to display the standard message composition interface inside your app. Before presenting the interface, populate the fields with the set of initial recipients and the message you want to send. After presenting the interface, the user can edit your initial values before sending the message.
Language
- Swift
- Objective-C
SDK
- iOS 4.0+
Overview
The composition interface does not guarantee the delivery of your message; it only lets you construct the initial message and present it for user approval. The user may opt to cancel the composition interface, in which case the message and its contents are discarded. If the user opts to send the message, the Messages app takes on the responsibility of sending the message.
The message composition interface
An alternate way to compose SMS messages is to create and open a URL that uses the sms scheme. URLs of that type are directed to the Messages app, which uses your URL to configure the message. For information about the structure of sms URLs, see Apple URL Scheme Reference.
Checking the Availability of the Composition Interface
Before presenting the message compose view controller, always call the the canSendText() method to see if the current device is configured to send messages. If the user’s device is not set up for the delivery of messages, you can notify the user or simply disable the messaging features in your application. You should not attempt to use this interface if the canSendText() method returns false. If messaging is available, you can also use the canSendAttachments() and canSendSubject() methods to determine if those specific messaging features are available.
Checking the availability of message services
if !MFMessageComposeViewController.canSendText() {
print("SMS services are not available")
}
Configuring and Displaying the Composition Interface
After verifying that message services are available, you can create and configure the message composition view controller and then present it like you would any other view controller. Use the methods of this class to specify the message’s recipients and the contents of the message. If attachments or a subject line are supported, you can set values for them as well. Listing 2 shows how to configure the composition interface and present it modally. Always assign a delegate to the messageComposeDelegate property. The delegate is responsible for dismissing the composition interface later. The delegate object must conform to the MFMessageComposeViewControllerDelegate protocol.
Configuring and presenting the composition interface
let composeVC = MFMessageComposeViewController()
composeVC.messageComposeDelegate = self
// Configure the fields of the interface.
composeVC.recipients = ["4085551212"]
composeVC.body = "Hello from California!"
// Present the view controller modally.
self.presentViewController(composeVC, animated: true, completion: nil)
The mail compose view controller is not dismissed automatically. When the user taps the buttons to send the email or cancel the interface, the mail compose view controller calls the mailComposeController(_:didFinishWith:error:) method of its delegate. Your implementation of that method must dismiss the view controller explicitly, as shown in Listing 3. You can also use this method to check the result of the operation.
Dismissing the mail compose view controller
func messageComposeViewController(controller: MFMessageComposeViewController,
didFinishWithResult result: MessageComposeResult) {
// Check the result or perform other tasks.
// Dismiss the mail compose view controller.
controller.dismissViewControllerAnimated(true, completion: nil)
}
For more information on how to present and dismiss view controllers, see View Controller Programming Guide for iOS.
Detecting Changes to the Availability of Messaging
To be notified of changes to the messaging capabilities of the current device, add an observer to the MFMessageComposeViewControllerTextMessageAvailabilityDidChange notification. The system delivers that notification to your observer when the status of messaging changes.