How to detect when the Back button is tapped
Swift version: 5.6
You probably already know that viewWillDisappear() is called when a view controller is about to go away, and that's also called when the user taps the Back button in a navigation controller. Problem is, the same method is called when the user moves forward, i.e. when you push another view controller onto the stack.
The solution is simple: create a Boolean property called goingForwards in your view controller, and set it to true before pushing any view controller onto the navigation stack, then set it back to false when the view controller is shown again. This way, when viewWillDisappear() is called you can check goingForwards: if it's false, the user tapped Back.
BUILD THE ULTIMATE PORTFOLIO APP Most Swift tutorials help you solve one specific problem, but in my Ultimate Portfolio App series I show you how to get all the best practices into a single app: architecture, testing, performance, accessibility, localization, project organization, and so much more, all while building a SwiftUI app that works on iOS, macOS and watchOS.
Sponsor Hacking with Swift and reach the world's largest Swift community!
Available from iOS 2.0
Similar solutions…
- How to make a button glow when tapped with showsTouchWhenHighlighted
- How to customize a view controller’s back button on a navigation bar: backBarButtonItem
- How to push a new view when a list row is tapped
- How do you show a modal view controller when a UITabBarController tab is tapped?
- How to enable back and forward swiping gestures in WKWebView
About the Swift Knowledge Base
This is part of the Swift Knowledge Base, a free, searchable collection of solutions for common iOS questions.
