Setting Text Attributes

NSTextView allows you to change the attributes of its text programmatically through various methods, most inherited from the superclass, NSText. NSTextView adds its own methods for setting the attributes of text that the user types, for setting the baseline offset of text as an absolute value, and for adjusting kerning and use of ligatures. Most of the methods for changing attributes are defined as action methods and apply to the selected text or typing attributes for a rich text view, or to all of the text in a plain text view.

An NSTextView maintains a set of typing attributes (font, size, color, and so on) that it applies to newly entered text, whether typed by the user or pasted as plain text. It automatically sets the typing attributes to the attributes of the first character immediately preceding the insertion point, of the first character of a paragraph if the insertion point is at the beginning of a paragraph, or of the first character of a selection. The user can change the typing attributes by choosing menu commands and using utilities such as the Font panel (Fonts window). You can also set the typing attributes programmatically using setTypingAttributes:, though you should rarely find need to do so unless creating a subclass.

NSText defines the action methods superscript:, subscript:, and unscript:, which raise and lower the baseline of text by predefined increments. NSTextView gives you much finer control over the baseline offset of text by defining the raiseBaseline: and lowerBaseline: action methods, which raise or lower text by one point each time they’re invoked.