How to used a named UIColor in code and Interface Builder
Swift version: 5.6
Since Xcode 9.0 we’ve been able to create named colors directly inside asset catalogs, which means it’s possible to select a precise color once then use it uniformly across all code and storyboards.
To try this out, open your asset catalog, click the + button, then choose New Color Set from the menu that appears. Select the new color that got created – it will be a large white square – then press Alt+Cmd+4 to activate the attributes inspector so that you can customize it.
Named colors are comprised of two rather obvious parts: a name (e.g. “PayPal blue”) and a color, which you can specify as ranges from 0-1, ranges from 0-255, or hexadecimal.
Once a named color is in place you can use it code like this:
myView.backgroundColor = UIColor(named: "Chartreuse")You can also use it inside storyboards by selecting it from the color dropdown menu – all your named colors will automatically be shown in their own section of the menu.
SPONSORED In-app subscriptions are a pain to implement, hard to test, and full of edge cases. RevenueCat makes it straightforward and reliable so you can get back to building your app. Oh, and it's free if your app makes less than $10k/mo.
Sponsor Hacking with Swift and reach the world's largest Swift community!
Available from iOS 11.0
Similar solutions…
- SwiftUI tips and tricks
- How to create live playgrounds in Xcode
- All SwiftUI property wrappers explained and compared
- How to use Instruments to profile your SwiftUI code and identify slow layouts
- SwiftUI vs Interface Builder and storyboards
About the Swift Knowledge Base
This is part of the Swift Knowledge Base, a free, searchable collection of solutions for common iOS questions.
