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So, I started developing an app in an entirely view-based way in Xcode 3.2.5 and then upgraded to Xcode 4.4. I have one NIB file (well two, MainWindow.xib and my default view controller's .xib). I have a bunch of view controllers that up til now I've been presenting via presentModalViewController.

The problem is that now I want one of those views to be navigation based, which is to say, when the user enters it, they get the top navigation bar, and everything they get to from that point forward is done through a navigation controller. And when they're done and have backed out of it completely, they get back to the regular non-navigation-controller-using views.

It seems like this is a common question that no one has fully described the answer to. Either that or responses which seem helpful like How to add a navigation controller to a view-based application? are way too vague for me. I'm basically looking for a step-by-step explanation of how you add a UINavigationController to your project for presenting only a few of the views in it.

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If you already have your view working as you intended it, adding a nav controller to modal view is pretty simple.

NewViewController *newView = [[NewViewController alloc] initWithNibName:@"NewViewController" bundle:nil];
UINavigationController *navView = [[UINavigationController alloc] initWithrootViewController:newView];
[self presentModalViewController:navView animated:YES];

Your modal view will inherit the navigation bar and all the attributes for presenting more views inside that modal. When you are done with the modal, just dismiss it.

To load more views on top of the nav controller is pretty easy.

AnotherViewController *anotherView = [[AnotherViewController alloc] initWithNibName:@"AnotherViewController" bundle:nil];
[self.navigationController pushViewController:anotherView animated:YES];

To manually pop the view controller from the stack:

// note, you won't need to call this for the auto created back button, that is handled for you
// this would only be if you wanted manual control over going back outside the back button
[self.navigationController popViewControllerAnimated:YES];

Once you are all done with the modal view, you can call this from anywhere to drop it out of sight, returning you to your original view. Handy for multiple detail screens, signup process, etc.

[self.navigationController dismissModalViewControllerAnimated:YES];
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5 Comments

Hi Bill, so, say I have a button that, upon pressing, brings up the view I want to use a navigation controller inside of. Would this code go in the method that gets triggered when someone presses that button? Also, does this imply that the view I want to use a navigation controller has its own entire .xib file, apart from my app's default view controller's pre-existing default .xib file?
Yes, this code would go into the button press method. You wouldn't need a seperate .xib for the nav controller. Your view that you would be loading would go into the nav controller, so your view would get shifted down to make room for the nav bar. This method should work exactly how you need it. Load it up based on my code and see what it looks like. I'll update my answer to show you how to push other views onto the stack.
Thanks for your edits! I've got it working. This is great. I'm doing it slightly different in that instead of calling something like AnotherViewController *anotherView = [[AnotherViewController alloc] initWithNibName:@"AnotherViewController" bundle:nil];, I declare AnotherView as an IBOutlet and hook it up through Interface Builder. But beyond that the code works great, the views I push onto the navigation stack get the inherit the top bar like you said. The only question I have left is how do you get the back button to say "Back" instead of being the title of the previous view?
That is how it works around here. If you like my answer, feel free to accept it. Glad I could help.
You can set the title of your view as well as the back button title on the navigation controller. Should be an answer on here somewhere for that.

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