How to change the UINavigationController back button name?

Question

I have a UIViewController and I'm navigating from my first view controller to second view controller and I want to change the name of the button shown on the navigationcontroller for going back ....

SecondViewController *secondController = [[SecondViewController alloc]
                                              initWithNibName:nil
                                              bundle:NULL]; 
[self.navigationController pushViewController:secondController  animated:YES];

now in the second viewcontroller I want change the name of the button in the navigationController.

Sherburn

Answer 1

In viewWillAppear write this

self.navigationItem.title = @"List View";

And in ViewWilldisapper write this

self.navigationItem.title = @"Back";

It works without story boards.

Interdisciplinary

Done this way you will see the title actually change before the new view (especially if you have animation). If you do it with viewDidDisappear, then you will see the button actually change. NSPostWhenIdle's solution is better. Originally sourced from: blog.evandavey.com/2008/12/… – Drastic

This should not be the accepted answer. 0x7fffffff's answer is the supported method for doing this. – Chumley

This does not work anymore. It's also very hacky. The answer of user716216 [https://mcmap.net/q/119357/-how-to-change-the-uinavigationcontroller-back-button-name] should be the right one. – Shipworm

I have tried all the solutions but the only one works flawlessly everywhere is adding a bar button to navigation bar in designer or through code and set the custom selector manually believe me this is just three four lines of task but saves a lot of frustration – Alegre

This is a not a great answer because it is effectively working around – not with – the provided UIKit facilities for view controller bar buttons. see answer from @0x7ffffffff below – Truly

i dont know why everyone is hating against this answer... it may not be best practise but it's working just fine... – Karlow

Answer 2

If you wish to do this programmatically, it can be done like this:

Objective-C

UIBarButtonItem *backItem = [[UIBarButtonItem alloc] initWithTitle:@"Custom"
                                                             style:UIBarButtonItemStyleBordered
                                                            target:nil
                                                            action:nil];

[self.navigationItem setBackBarButtonItem:backItem];

Swift

let backItem = UIBarButtonItem(title: "Custom", style: .Bordered, target: nil, action: nil)
navigationItem.backBarButtonItem = backItem

However, if you prefer using Interface Builder, just select the UINavigationItem that you wish to set the back button for, and navigate to the attributes inspector to change the back button's title.

NOTE: It is important to remember that you must configure this on the view controller that you would be returning to upon tapping the back button, not the currently visible view controller.

Belamy

@Shady It's still there. Just select your UINavigationItem and you will see it in the "Attributes Inspector" tab in Interface Builder. – Belamy

Thanks for this. Especially for the note in the end. – Shipworm

You can combine the two approaches, programmatic and with storyboards. Add a dummy backButton title (as in the image shown) to the previous viewController in the hierarchy (so a backButton exists) and write self.navigationItem.backBarButtonItem.title = @"..."; to set the back title for the next viewController – Ngo

Also, in addition to the last note of putting it on the view controller that you are returning to, you need to also not have set the "Title" attribute, otherwise it will override the "Back Button" attribute. – Yolandoyolane

The note is very important, should be with a higher font size and at the beginning of the answer – Paillasse

since iOS8 UIBarButtonItemStyleBordered was deprecated and now UIBarButtonItemStylePlain should be used instead – Fin

The note is very important! – Bodine

thanks for this, accepted answer seems bit hacky, this actually should be the accepted answer – Mariannamarianne

Answer 3

There is an easy way of doing that in Interface Builder or Storyboarding. In the parent View Controller, just set the attribute "Back Button" of the navigation item to whatever title you want. Here is an example:

Villian's Tavern View will have "Back" as Back Button Title, like we just set in the attributes inspector of the parent's navigation controller (Best Bars).

Glochidiate

You may have to add a navigation item to your view controller on the storyboard if it's not already there. To do that, select UINavigationItem from the object library and drag it onto your view controller on the story board. – Micropaleontology

Answer 4

In my case it only worked running the code on the Main Thread, like so:

dispatch_async(dispatch_get_main_queue(), ^(void) {

    self.navigationController.navigationBar.backItem.title = @"Custom Title";
});

Berner

This will change to all view controllers in hierarchy, so if you press back button, then, previous view controller title will also get affected. So, that case needs to be handled. – Mg

Thanks for the comment. – Berner

Answer 5

Swift 3:

override func prepare(for segue: UIStoryboardSegue, sender: Any?) {
    let backItem = UIBarButtonItem()
    backItem.title = "Back"
    navigationItem.backBarButtonItem = backItem // This will show in the next view controller being pushed
}

Note:The back button belongs to the previous view controller, not the one currently presented on screen. To modify the back button you should update it before pushing, on the view controller that initiated the segue:

Waistcloth

Answer 6

In Swift I found solution very simple,

Suppose I'm on ViewControllerA and going to ViewControllerB, If I wants to change name of back button showing on ViewControllerB, I will do this in ViewControllerA,

self.title = "BackButtonTitle"

That's it.

Note:- This will change title of ViewControllerA

Dur

This changes the title of ViewControllerA instead of chaning the back button on VCB. – Bankroll

Answer 7

I'm on ViewController1 and going to ViewController2, If I wants to change name of back button showing on ViewController2, I will do this in ViewController2.

Swift 5

self.navigationController?.navigationBar.topItem?.title = "BackButtonTitle"

Objective-C

self.navigationController.navigationBar.topItem.title = @"BackButtonTitle";

Protectionism

Answer 8

It is very important that in view controller "Simulated Metrics" option is not selected as "Inferred".

I tried with "None" and all it's right!

Cowley

Answer 9

Try like this:-

NSArray *viewControllerArr = [self.navigationController viewControllers];
// get index of the previous ViewContoller
long previousViewControllerIndex = [viewControllerArr indexOfObject:self] - 1;
UIViewController *previous;
if (previousViewControllerIndex >= 0) {
    previous = [viewControllerArr objectAtIndex:previousViewControllerIndex];
    previous.navigationItem.backBarButtonItem = [[UIBarButtonItem alloc]
                                                 initWithTitle:@"Back"
                                                 style:UIBarButtonItemStylePlain
                                                 target:self
                                                 action:nil];
}

Arthralgia

Answer 10

Actually, you can change title of back button:

self.navigationItem.backBarButtonItem.title = @"NewName";

Immanent

Answer 11

If you use Storyboard references, the View Controller might not display the Navigation Item on Interface Builder.

Manually dragging a Navigation Bar will not work, you need to drag a Navigation Item

You'll then be able to set its back button's title. This is also where you'll set the view's title.

Quoting Mick MacCallum:

NOTE: It is important to remember that you must configure this on the view controller that you would be returning to upon tapping the back button, not the currently visible view controller.

Bettis

Answer 12

You can achieve this by using titleView of navigationItem

Swift 3 Answer

• Create one extension for UINavigationItem as Below

extension UINavigationItem {
    func customTitle(title: String) {
        let titleLabel = UILabel()
        titleLabel.text = title
        titleLabel.textColor = UIColor.white
        titleLabel.textAlignment = .center
        titleLabel.sizeToFit()
        titleView = titleLabel
    }
}

• In your controllers viewDidLoad do the following

override func viewDidLoad() {
        super.viewDidLoad()
        // Do any additional setup after loading the view.
        title = "Text For Back Button"
        navigationItem.customTitle(title: "Title for your view controller")
}

Anibalanica

Answer 13

Try Below Code :

[self.navigationItem setValue:@[@"customTitle",@""] forKey:@"abbreviatedBackButtonTitles"];

Haematosis

This does not provide an answer to the question. Once you have sufficient reputation you will be able to comment on any post; instead, provide answers that don't require clarification from the asker. - From Review – Sainthood

Thanks for your advice, this is my second time to answer one question， I will learn more about the rules, and I will correct it next time. – Haematosis

Answer 14

If you use Storyboard, there is a easy way to do this (it worked fine for me).

• Go to your storyboard
• Select which UIViewController you want to change the back button text.
• Click on the UINavigationItem on the top of your UIViewController. (the one with the title)
• On the Right panel, select the attribute inspector (the 4th icon).
• Now you can set the Title, Prompt and Back Button texts.

Source: http://pinkstone.co.uk/how-to-change-the-back-button-text-on-a-uinavigationcontroller-in-your-storyboard/

Ilk

Answer 15

There are two ways to do this.

First way is by program code:

Yakimenko Aleksey's answer is the simplest way, This really works ( tested on Xcode 8 + iOS 10)

Swift3:

self.navigationItem.backBarButtonItem?.title = "Your customized back title"

Note: you should call above code in source view controller, not the destination view controller.

Second way is use storyboard localization via Main.strings file,

"nnnnnnn.title" = "localized string";

The nnnnnnn means the object id of the BackBarButtonItem in the source view controller(not the destination view controller!)

You need set the "back" property of the navigation bar item, it will auto create a BarButtonItem, you find its object id.

Sorry, i failed to upload screenshots.

Denisdenise

Answer 16

I had a rather complex storyboard with many navigation controllers, and my customer wanted all of the back buttons to say "Back"

I went through in Interface Builder and put "Back" into the Back button field of every UINavigationItem.

I was not working for every scene change!

The problem was that not every view controller in the storyboard had a UINavigationItem.

I fixed this by dragging out a new UINavigationItem onto every UIViewController that did not have one, and setting all of the Back button fields to "Back"

Watch out for the controllers that are not given their own UINavigationItem automatically.

Swellhead

Answer 17

Swift 4

In your UIViewController, set this:

let backButton = UIBarButtonItem()
backButton.title = "[Your title here]"
self.navigationItem.backBarButtonItem = backButton

Lightly

Answer 18

In Xcode 12 UINavigationItem has the backButtonTitle property

var backButtonTitle: String? { get set }

Lamee