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Overview

As of version 8.0, IQTextView is now an independent package, separated from the main IQKeyboardManager library. It provides a drop-in replacement for UITextView with built-in placeholder support, similar to UITextField.
IQTextView was previously part of IQKeyboardManager but has been extracted into its own package for better modularity.

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GitHub Repository

hackiftekhar/IQTextView

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Key Features

  • Placeholder Support - Native placeholder text like UITextField
  • Customizable Appearance - Control placeholder color, font, and alignment
  • Drop-in Replacement - Use exactly like UITextView
  • Auto-resizing - Works with Auto Layout and manual frames
  • UITextViewDelegate Compatible - Fully compatible with standard delegates
  • IBDesignable - Configure placeholder in Interface Builder

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Installation

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CocoaPods

# Install IQTextView independently
pod 'IQTextView'

# Or as a subspec of IQKeyboardManager for easier migration
pod 'IQKeyboardManagerSwift/IQTextView'

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Swift Package Manager

dependencies: [
    .package(url: "https://github.com/hackiftekhar/IQTextView.git", from: "2.0.0")
]

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Carthage

github "hackiftekhar/IQTextView"

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Basic Usage

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Programmatic Setup

import IQTextView

class MyViewController: UIViewController {
    
    private let textView: IQTextView = {
        let tv = IQTextView()
        tv.placeholder = "Enter your message here..."
        tv.placeholderTextColor = .lightGray
        tv.font = .systemFont(ofSize: 16)
        return tv
    }()
    
    override func viewDidLoad() {
        super.viewDidLoad()
        
        view.addSubview(textView)
        // Add constraints...
    }
}

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Interface Builder

  1. Add a UITextView to your storyboard or XIB
  2. Set the class to IQTextView in Identity Inspector
  3. Configure the placeholder in Attributes Inspector
class FormViewController: UIViewController {
    
    @IBOutlet var commentTextView: IQTextView!
    
    override func viewDidLoad() {
        super.viewDidLoad()
        
        // Placeholder is already set in Interface Builder
        commentTextView.placeholderTextColor = .systemGray3
    }
}

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Customization

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Placeholder Appearance

let textView = IQTextView()

// Set placeholder text
textView.placeholder = "Type something..."

// Customize placeholder color
textView.placeholderTextColor = .systemGray

// Use attributed placeholder for advanced styling
let attributes: [NSAttributedString.Key: Any] = [
    .font: UIFont.italicSystemFont(ofSize: 14),
    .foregroundColor: UIColor.systemGray2
]
textView.attributedPlaceholder = NSAttributedString(
    string: "Enter description...",
    attributes: attributes
)

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Placeholder Label Access

For advanced customization, access the internal placeholder label: 
// Access the placeholder label directly
if let placeholderLabel = textView.placeholderLabel {
    placeholderLabel.numberOfLines = 0
    placeholderLabel.textAlignment = .center
}

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Integration with IQKeyboardManager

IQTextView works seamlessly with IQKeyboardManager: 
// In AppDelegate
import IQKeyboardManagerSwift

func application(_ application: UIApplication,
                 didFinishLaunchingWithOptions launchOptions: [UIApplication.LaunchOptionsKey: Any]?) -> Bool {
    
    IQKeyboardManager.shared.isEnabled = true
    return true
}

// In ViewController
import IQTextView

class NoteViewController: UIViewController {
    
    private let textView: IQTextView = {
        let tv = IQTextView()
        tv.placeholder = "Write your note..."
        return tv
    }()
    
    // IQKeyboardManager will automatically handle keyboard avoidance
}

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Properties

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Core Properties

PropertyTypeDescription
placeholderString?Plain text placeholder
attributedPlaceholderNSAttributedString?Styled placeholder text
placeholderTextColorUIColorColor of placeholder text
placeholderLabelUILabel?Direct access to placeholder label

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Inherited from UITextView

All standard UITextView properties are available: 
textView.text = "Initial text"
textView.font = .systemFont(ofSize: 16)
textView.textColor = .label
textView.textAlignment = .left
textView.isEditable = true
textView.delegate = self

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Examples

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Multi-line Form Field

import IQTextView

class FeedbackViewController: UIViewController {
    
    private let feedbackTextView: IQTextView = {
        let tv = IQTextView()
        tv.placeholder = "Please share your feedback with us. We'd love to hear your thoughts!"
        tv.placeholderTextColor = .systemGray3
        tv.font = .systemFont(ofSize: 16)
        tv.layer.borderWidth = 1
        tv.layer.borderColor = UIColor.systemGray4.cgColor
        tv.layer.cornerRadius = 8
        tv.textContainerInset = UIEdgeInsets(top: 12, left: 8, bottom: 12, right: 8)
        return tv
    }()
    
    override func viewDidLoad() {
        super.viewDidLoad()
        setupUI()
    }
}

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Comment Section

import IQTextView

class CommentViewController: UIViewController, UITextViewDelegate {
    
    @IBOutlet var commentTextView: IQTextView!
    @IBOutlet var submitButton: UIButton!
    
    override func viewDidLoad() {
        super.viewDidLoad()
        
        commentTextView.placeholder = "Add a comment..."
        commentTextView.placeholderTextColor = .secondaryLabel
        commentTextView.delegate = self
        
        updateSubmitButton()
    }
    
    func textViewDidChange(_ textView: UITextView) {
        updateSubmitButton()
    }
    
    private func updateSubmitButton() {
        // Enable submit only when there's text
        submitButton.isEnabled = !commentTextView.text.isEmpty
    }
}

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Dynamic Height Text View

import IQTextView

class MessageViewController: UIViewController {
    
    private let messageTextView: IQTextView = {
        let tv = IQTextView()
        tv.placeholder = "Type a message..."
        tv.font = .systemFont(ofSize: 15)
        tv.isScrollEnabled = false // Allow dynamic height
        tv.translatesAutoresizingMaskIntoConstraints = false
        return tv
    }()
    
    override func viewDidLoad() {
        super.viewDidLoad()
        
        view.addSubview(messageTextView)
        
        NSLayoutConstraint.activate([
            messageTextView.leadingAnchor.constraint(equalTo: view.leadingAnchor, constant: 16),
            messageTextView.trailingAnchor.constraint(equalTo: view.trailingAnchor, constant: -16),
            messageTextView.bottomAnchor.constraint(equalTo: view.safeAreaLayoutGuide.bottomAnchor, constant: -16),
            // Height will adjust automatically based on content
        ])
    }
}

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Attributed Placeholder

import IQTextView

class BioViewController: UIViewController {
    
    private let bioTextView: IQTextView = {
        let tv = IQTextView()
        
        // Create styled placeholder
        let placeholder = NSMutableAttributedString()
        
        // Title part
        let titleAttributes: [NSAttributedString.Key: Any] = [
            .font: UIFont.boldSystemFont(ofSize: 16),
            .foregroundColor: UIColor.systemGray
        ]
        placeholder.append(NSAttributedString(string: "About You\n", attributes: titleAttributes))
        
        // Description part
        let descAttributes: [NSAttributedString.Key: Any] = [
            .font: UIFont.systemFont(ofSize: 14),
            .foregroundColor: UIColor.systemGray3
        ]
        placeholder.append(NSAttributedString(string: "Share a brief bio about yourself...", attributes: descAttributes))
        
        tv.attributedPlaceholder = placeholder
        return tv
    }()
}

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Migration from v7

See the Migration Guide for detailed migration instructions from IQKeyboardManager v7 to v8.

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Key Changes

  1. Separate Package - IQTextView is now an independent library
  2. Import Statement - Import IQTextView instead of IQKeyboardManagerSwift
  3. No API Changes - The IQTextView API remains the same

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Before (v7)

import IQKeyboardManagerSwift

let textView = IQTextView()
textView.placeholder = "Enter text..."

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After (v8)

import IQTextView

let textView = IQTextView()
textView.placeholder = "Enter text..." // Same API

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Best Practices

Keep placeholders concise and descriptive:
// ✅ Good - clear and concise
textView.placeholder = "Enter your message"

// ❌ Too long
textView.placeholder = "Please enter your message here and make sure to include all relevant details"
Ensure placeholder styling matches your text styling:
textView.font = .systemFont(ofSize: 16)
textView.placeholder = "Message"
// Placeholder will use the same font automatically
Placeholders alone may not be sufficient for accessibility:
textView.placeholder = "Email address"
textView.accessibilityLabel = "Email address input field"
textView.accessibilityHint = "Enter your email address"

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Troubleshooting

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Placeholder Not Showing

If the placeholder isn’t visible: 
// Ensure text is empty
textView.text = ""

// Verify placeholder is set
print(textView.placeholder ?? "No placeholder set")

// Check placeholder color isn't too light
textView.placeholderTextColor = .red // Test with visible color

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Placeholder Color Too Light

// Use semantic colors for better visibility
textView.placeholderTextColor = .secondaryLabel // Adapts to light/dark mode

// Or use custom color with appropriate contrast
textView.placeholderTextColor = UIColor(red: 0.6, green: 0.6, blue: 0.6, alpha: 1.0)

IQKeyboardToolbarManager

Add toolbar with Previous/Next/Done buttons

IQKeyboardReturnManager

Handle return key navigation

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See Also

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