Question

In Xcode 4, I can press Ctrl-6 to get a list of all the methods in the current file.

The problem is, if I have private methods declared at the top of my implementation file, say:

@interface Foo ()

-(void)tap:(id)sender;

@end

@implementation Foo

...

-(void)tap:(id)sender
{
  ...
}

then starting to type “tap” while the method list is visible will just take me to the declaration, since it comes first in the file, when what I really want is the implementation.

Is there any way to exclude these declarations from the method list or do I need to resort to separate Foo.h and Foo+Private.h headers?

Thanks!

Answer 1

I don’t think there’s a way to exclude the method declarations from the Document Items popup.

If you get in the habit of using code folding, however, you might not rely so much on that popup to navigate your source code. There are commands for folding both methods and comment blocks, and you can fold all methods with one quick shortcut (command-option-shift-left arrow to fold, -right arrow to unfold by default, though you can of course customize the keys). See the Editor->Code Folding submenu for a complete list of related commands.

When you fold all comments and methods in a .m file, almost all you’re left with is a list of methods that’s makes it easy to find what you’re looking for. You can then unfold just that method or all methods with another keystroke. It’s a little strange to see all your code disappear when you first start using folding, but it’s a very handy feature.