Customize annotation toolbar in iOS viewer

The PTAnnotationToolbar class is a UIToolbar consisting of various annotation creation tools. With the annotation toolbar, users are able to conveniently create and switch between different tools.

The annotation toolbar control is part of the Tools library, so make sure you have added it to your project.

Due to space limitations, only a limited number of tools will show up in portrait mode on smaller devices. See the customization section of this guide for more details on how to customize this.

Scenario	Annotation Toolbar
Small devices in landscape mode + Tablet devices
Small devices in portrait mode

Show and hide the annotation toolbar

To create and set up an annotation toolbar, initialize an AnnotationToolbar instance and add it to your view hierarchy:

Swift

let annotationToolbar = PTAnnotationToolbar(toolManager: toolManager)

// Set the current view controller as the annotation toolbar's delegate.
annotationToolbar.delegate = self;

self.view.addSubview(annotationToolbar)

// Position annotation toolbar in superview.
annotationToolbar.translatesAutoresizingMaskIntoConstraints = false

NSLayoutConstraint.activateConstraints([
    annotationToolbar.leadingAnchor.constraint(equalTo: self.view.leadingAnchor),
    annotationToolbar.widthAnchor.constraint(equalTo: self.view.widthAnchor),
    annotationToolbar.topAnchor.constraint(equalTo: self.view.layoutMarginsGuide.topAnchor)
])

// Hide annotation toolbar by default.
annotationToolbar.isHidden = true

Obj-C

AnnotationToolbar *annotationToolbar = [[PTAnnotationToolbar alloc] initWithToolManager:toolManager];

// Set the current view controller as the annotation toolbar's delegate.
annotationToolbar.delegate = self;

[self.view addSubview:annotationToolbar];

// Position annotation toolbar in superview.
annotationToolbar.translatesAutoresizingMaskIntoConstraints = NO;

[NSLayoutConstraint activateConstraints:@[
   [annotationToolbar.leadingAnchor constraintEqualToAnchor:self.view.leadingAnchor],
   [annotationToolbar.widthAnchor constraintEqualToAnchor:self.view.widthAnchor],
   [annotationToolbar.topAnchor constraintEqualToAnchor:self.view.layoutMarginsGuide.topAnchor],
 ]];

// Hide annotation toolbar by default.
annotationToolbar.hidden = YES;

Then, you need to attach a ToolManager to the annotation toolbar so that the toolbar can change tools:

Swift

annotationToolbar.toolManager = self.toolManager
// Show the annotation toolbar.
annotationToolbar.isHidden = false

Obj-C

annotationToolbar.toolManager = self.toolManager;
// Show the annotation toolbar.
annotationToolbar.hidden = NO;

Customization

The PTAnnotationToolbar class provides an API for specifying which tools are displayed in the toolbar when there is insufficient space to show them all. This is controlled by the precedenceArrayproperty, which is an array of PTAnnotBarButton items.

Annotation toolbar delegate

The PTAnnotationToolbarDelegate protocol allows the adopting class (usually the containing view controller, as in this guide) to be notified of annotation toolbar events and control the behavior of the toolbar. Since this protocol also conforms to the UIToolbarDelegate protocol, the annotation toolbar's delegate can implement the positionForBar: method to indicate the toolbar position:

Swift

func annotationToolbarDidCancel(_ annotationToolbar: PTAnnotationToolbar) {
	// Hide annotation toolbar when cancelled.
    annotationToolbar.isHidden = true
}
func position(for bar: UIBarPositioning) -> UIBarPosition {
	// The annotation toolbar is usually positioned at the top of its superview.
    return .top;
}

Obj-C

- (void)annotationToolbarDidCancel:(PTAnnotationToolbar *)annotationToolbar {
	// Hide annotation toolbar when cancelled.
	annotationToolbar.hidden = YES;
}
- (UIBarPosition)positionForBar:(id<UIBarPositioning>)bar {
	// The annotation toolbar is usually positioned at the top of its superview.
	return UIBarPositionTop;
}

Edit annotations continuously

By default, the annotation toolbar returns to the pan tool after an annotation is created. If you prefer to stay in the same tool mode after an annotation is created, you should implement the toolShouldGoBackToPan method in your AnnotationToolbarDelegate adopting class:

Swift

func toolShouldGoBack(toPan annotationToolbar: PTAnnotationToolbar) -> Bool {
    return false
}

Obj-C

- (BOOL)toolShouldGoBackToPan:(PTAnnotationToolbar *)annotationToolbar
{
	return NO;
}

The annotation toolbar's behavior could also be handled within user settings by checking and returning the appropriate settings value in the method above.