UIGestureRecognizer

UITapGestureRecognizer

Initialize the UITapGestureRecognizer with a target, self in this case, and an action which is a method that has a single parameter: a UITapGestureRecognizer.

After initialization, add it to the view that it should recognize taps in.

Swift

override func viewDidLoad() {
    super.viewDidLoad()
    let recognizer = UITapGestureRecognizer(target: self,
                                            action: #selector(handleTap(_:)))
    view.addGestureRecognizer(recognizer)
}

func handleTap(recognizer: UITapGestureRecognizer) {

}

Objective-C

- (void)viewDidLoad {
    [super viewDidLoad];
    UITapGestureRecognizer *recognizer =
        [[UITapGestureRecognizer alloc] initWithTarget:self
                                                action:@selector(handleTap:)];
    [self.view addGestureRecognizer:recognizer];
}

- (void)handleTap:(UITapGestureRecognizer *)recognizer {

}

Example of keyboard dismissal through UITapGestureRecognizer:

First, you create the function for dismissing the keyboard:

func dismissKeyboard() {
        view.endEditing(true)
    }

Then, you add a tap gesture recognizer in your view controller, calling the method we just made

let tap: UITapGestureRecognizer = UITapGestureRecognizer(target: self, action: "dismissKeyboard")
        view.addGestureRecognizer(tap)

Example of getting gesture location UITapGestureRecognizer (Swift 3):

func handleTap(gestureRecognizer: UITapGestureRecognizer) {
print("tap working")
if gestureRecognizer.state == UIGestureRecognizerState.recognized
   {
     print(gestureRecognizer.location(in: gestureRecognizer.view))
   }
}

UIPanGestureRecognizer

Pan gesture recognizers detect dragging gestures. The following example adds an image to a view controller and lets the user drag it around on screen.

Objective-C

- (void)viewDidLoad {
    [super viewDidLoad];
    
    UIImageView *imageView = [[UIImageView alloc] initWithImage:[UIImage imageNamed:@"imageToDrag"]];
    [imageView sizeToFit];
    imageView.userInteractionEnabled = YES;
    [self.view addSubview:imageView];
    
    UIPanGestureRecognizer *pan = [[UIPanGestureRecognizer alloc] initWithTarget:self action:@selector(handlePan:)];
    [imageView addGestureRecognizer:pan];
}

- (void)handlePan:(UIPanGestureRecognizer *)recognizer {
    CGPoint translation = [recognizer translationInView:self.view];
    recognizer.view.center = CGPointMake(recognizer.view.center.x + translation.x,
                                         recognizer.view.center.y + translation.y);
    [recognizer setTranslation:CGPointZero inView:self.view];
}

Swift

override func viewDidLoad() {
    super.viewDidLoad()
    
    let imageView = UIImageView.init(image: UIImage.init(named: "imageToDrag"))
    imageView.sizeToFit()
    imageView.isUserInteractionEnabled = true
    self.view.addSubview(imageView)
    
    let pan = UIPanGestureRecognizer.init(target: self, action: #selector(handlePan(recognizer:)))
    imageView.addGestureRecognizer(pan)
}

func handlePan(recognizer: UIPanGestureRecognizer) {
    let translation = recognizer.translation(in: self.view)
    if let view = recognizer.view {
        view.center = CGPoint(x: view.center.x + translation.x, y: view.center.y + translation.y)
    }
    recognizer.setTranslation(CGPoint.zero, in: self.view)
}

Note: Although UIPanGestureRecognizer is useful for detecting any dragging gestures, if you just want to detect a basic gesture such as user dragging their finger left/right or up/down, use UISwipeGestureRecognizer. UIPanGestureRecognizer is a better choice if you need access to methods such as translationInView: or velocityInView:.

UITapGestureRecognizer (Double Tap)

The double tap, like a single tap, also uses the UITapGestureRecognizer. You simply set the numberOfTapsRequired to 2.

Swift

override func viewDidLoad() {
    super.viewDidLoad()

    // Double Tap
    let doubleTapGesture = UITapGestureRecognizer(target: self, action: #selector(handleDoubleTap))
    doubleTapGesture.numberOfTapsRequired = 2
    doubleTapView.addGestureRecognizer(doubleTapGesture)
}

// Double tap action
func handleDoubleTap() {
    label.text = "Double tap recognized"
}

Notes

A sample project can be found here.
You could recognize a triple tap by setting the numberOfTapsRequired to 3.

UILongPressGestureRecognizer

The UILongPressGestureRecognizer lets you listen for a long press on a view. You can set the length of delay before the action method is called.

Swift

override func viewDidLoad() {
    super.viewDidLoad()

    // Long Press
    let longPressGesture = UILongPressGestureRecognizer(target: self, action: #selector(handleLongPress(_:)))
    longPressView.addGestureRecognizer(longPressGesture)
}

// Long press action
func handleLongPress(gesture: UILongPressGestureRecognizer) {
    if gesture.state == UIGestureRecognizerState.Began {
        label.text = "Long press recognized"
    }
}

Notes

A fuller sample project can be found here.
Change the minimumPressDuration to set the length of long press.

UISwipeGestureRecognizer

Swipe gestures allow you to listen for the user moving their finger across the screen quickly in a certain direction.

Swift

override func viewDidLoad() {
    super.viewDidLoad()

    // Swipe (right and left)
    let swipeRightGesture = UISwipeGestureRecognizer(target: self, action: #selector(handleSwipe(_:)))
    let swipeLeftGesture = UISwipeGestureRecognizer(target: self, action: #selector(handleSwipe(_:)))
    swipeRightGesture.direction = UISwipeGestureRecognizerDirection.Right
    swipeLeftGesture.direction = UISwipeGestureRecognizerDirection.Left
    swipeView.addGestureRecognizer(swipeRightGesture)
    swipeView.addGestureRecognizer(swipeLeftGesture)
}

// Swipe action
func handleSwipe(gesture: UISwipeGestureRecognizer) {
    label.text = "Swipe recognized"

    // example task: animate view off screen
    let originalLocation = swipeView.center
    if gesture.direction == UISwipeGestureRecognizerDirection.Right {
        label.text = "Swipe right"
    } else if gesture.direction == UISwipeGestureRecognizerDirection.Left {
        label.text = "Swipe left"
    }
}

Objective-C

- (void)viewDidLoad
{
[super viewDidLoad];
UISwipeGestureRecognizer *swipeLeft = [[UISwipeGestureRecognizer alloc] initWithTarget:self action:@selector(handleSwipe:)];
UISwipeGestureRecognizer *swipeRight = [[UISwipeGestureRecognizer alloc] initWithTarget:self action:@selector(handleSwipe:)];

// Setting the swipe direction.
[swipeLeft setDirection:UISwipeGestureRecognizerDirectionLeft];
[swipeRight setDirection:UISwipeGestureRecognizerDirectionRight];

// Adding the swipe gesture on image view
[self.view addGestureRecognizer:swipeLeft];
[self.view addGestureRecognizer:swipeRight];

}
//Handling Swipe Gesture Events

- (void)handleSwipe:(UISwipeGestureRecognizer *)swipe {

    if (swipe.direction == UISwipeGestureRecognizerDirectionLeft) {
        NSLog(@"Left Swipe");
    }

    if (swipe.direction == UISwipeGestureRecognizerDirectionRight) {
        NSLog(@"Right Swipe");   
    } 

}

Notes

A fuller project example can be found here.

UIPinchGestureRecognizer

Pinches are a two fingered gesture where the fingers move closer or farther from each other. This gesture is generally used for resizing a view.

Swift

override func viewDidLoad() {
    super.viewDidLoad()

    // Pinch
    let pinchGesture = UIPinchGestureRecognizer(target: self, action: #selector(handlePinch(_:)))
    pinchView.addGestureRecognizer(pinchGesture)
}

// Pinch action
func handlePinch(gesture: UIPinchGestureRecognizer) {
    label.text = "Pinch recognized"

    if gesture.state == UIGestureRecognizerState.Changed {
        let transform = CGAffineTransformMakeScale(gesture.scale, gesture.scale)
        pinchView.transform = transform
    }
}

Notes

A fuller project example can be found here.

UIRotationGestureRecognizer

Two fingers rotating around a center can be listened for with the UIRotationGestureRecognizer. This is generally used for rotating a view.

Swift

override func viewDidLoad() {
    super.viewDidLoad()

    // Rotate
    let rotateGesture = UIRotationGestureRecognizer(target: self, action: #selector(handleRotate(_:)))
    rotateView.addGestureRecognizer(rotateGesture)
}

// Rotate action
func handleRotate(gesture: UIRotationGestureRecognizer) {
    label.text = "Rotate recognized"

    if gesture.state == UIGestureRecognizerState.Changed {
        let transform = CGAffineTransformMakeRotation(gesture.rotation)
        rotateView.transform = transform
    }
}

Notes

A sample project can be found here.

Adding a Gesture recognizer in the Interface Builder

Drag a gesture recognizer from the object library onto your view.

Control drag from the gesture in the Document Outline to your View Controller code in order to make an Outlet and an Action.

Notes

This example comes from this fuller sample project demonstrating gesture recognizers.