How to customize a view controller’s back button on a navigation bar: backBarButtonItem
Swift version: 5.10
When you move between view controllers using UINavigationController, it automatically configures a Back button show either “Back” or the title of the previous view controller. That usually works well enough, but if your previous controller has a long title you’ll probably want something custom.
This is where the backBarButtonItem property comes in: set this to an instance of UIBarButtonItem to have UIKit create a back button title of your choosing. You don’t need to provide anything for the target or action parameters of your button, because even with a custom title it’s still just a back button.
Here’s some example code:
navigationItem.backBarButtonItem = UIBarButtonItem(title: "Cancel", style: .plain, target: nil, action: nil)
SAVE 50% All our books and bundles are half price for Black Friday, so you can take your Swift knowledge further without spending big! Get the Swift Power Pack to build your iOS career faster, get the Swift Platform Pack to builds apps for macOS, watchOS, and beyond, or get the Swift Plus Pack to learn advanced design patterns, testing skills, and more.
Available from iOS 2.0
Similar solutions…
- How to detect when the Back button is tapped
- How to add a bar button to a navigation bar
- SwiftUI tips and tricks
- How to add a button to a navigation bar using storyboards
- How to customize the submit button for TextField, SecureField, and TextEditor
About the Swift Knowledge Base
This is part of the Swift Knowledge Base, a free, searchable collection of solutions for common iOS questions.
