Removing viewcontrollers from navigation stack

IphoneIosUiviewcontrollerUinavigationcontroller

Iphone Problem Overview

I have a navigation stack, with say 5 UIViewControllers. I want to remove the 3rd and 4th viewcontrollers in the stack on the click of a button in the 5th viewcontroller. Is it possible to do this? If so how?

Iphone Solutions

Solution 1 - Iphone

Use this code and enjoy:

NSMutableArray *navigationArray = [[NSMutableArray alloc] initWithArray: self.navigationController.viewControllers];

// [navigationArray removeAllObjects];    // This is just for remove all view controller from navigation stack.
[navigationArray removeObjectAtIndex: 2];  // You can pass your index here
self.navigationController.viewControllers = navigationArray;
[navigationArray release];

Hope this will help you.

Edit: Swift Code

guard let navigationController = self.navigationController else { return }
var navigationArray = navigationController.viewControllers // To get all UIViewController stack as Array
navigationArray.remove(at: navigationArray.count - 2) // To remove previous UIViewController
self.navigationController?.viewControllers = navigationArray

Edit: To remove all ViewController except last one -> no Back Button in the upper left corner

guard let navigationController = self.navigationController else { return }
var navigationArray = navigationController.viewControllers // To get all UIViewController stack as Array
let temp = navigationArray.last
navigationArray.removeAll()
navigationArray.append(temp!) //To remove all previous UIViewController except the last one
self.navigationController?.viewControllers = navigationArray

Solution 2 - Iphone

You can first get all the view controllers in the array and then after checking with the corresponding view controller class, you can delete the one you want.

Here is small piece of code:

NSArray* tempVCA = [self.navigationController viewControllers];

for(UIViewController *tempVC in tempVCA)
{
    if([tempVC isKindOfClass:[urViewControllerClass class]])
    {
        [tempVC removeFromParentViewController];
    }
}

I think this will make your work easier.

Solution 3 - Iphone

Swift 3 & 4/5

self.navigationController!.viewControllers.removeAll()

self.navigationController?.viewControllers.remove(at: "insert here a number")

Swift 2.1

remove all:

self.navigationController!.viewControllers.removeAll()

remove at index

self.navigationController?.viewControllers.removeAtIndex("insert here a number")

There a bunch of more possible actions like removeFirst,range etc.

Solution 4 - Iphone

Swift 5:

navigationController?.viewControllers.removeAll(where: { (vc) -> Bool in
    if vc.isKind(of: MyViewController.self) || vc.isKind(of: MyViewController2.self) {
        return false
    } else {
        return true
    }
})

Solution 5 - Iphone

Swift 5, Xcode 13

I found this approach simple by specifying which view controller(s) you want to remove from the navigation stack.

extension UINavigationController {
    
    func removeViewController(_ controller: UIViewController.Type) {
        if let viewController = viewControllers.first(where: { $0.isKind(of: controller.self) }) {
            viewController.removeFromParent()
        }
    }
}

Example use:

navigationController.removeViewController(YourViewController.self)

Solution 6 - Iphone

Using setViewControllers function from UINavigationController is the best way. There is also animated parameter to enable animation.

func setViewControllers(_ viewControllers: [UIViewController], animated: Bool)

Example in swift for question 

func goToFifthVC() {
    
    var currentVCStack = self.navigationController?.viewControllers
    currentVCStack?.removeSubrange(2...3)
    
    let fifthVC = UIStoryboard(name: "Main", bundle: nil).instantiateViewController(withIdentifier: "fifthVC")
    currentVCStack?.append(fifthVC)
    
    self.navigationController?.setViewControllers(currentVCStack!, animated: true)
}

I tried other ways like [tempVC removeFromParentViewController];. It make weird behaviour, removed ViewController navigation still showing when pop back like reported by @robin-ellerkmann

Solution 7 - Iphone

Swift 2.0:

  var navArray:Array = (self.navigationController?.viewControllers)!
  navArray.removeAtIndex(navArray.count-2)
  self.navigationController?.viewControllers = navArray

Solution 8 - Iphone

Details

  • Swift 5.1, Xcode 11.3.1

Solution

extension UIViewController {
    func removeFromNavigationController() { navigationController?.removeController(.last) { self == $0 } }
}

extension UINavigationController {
    enum ViewControllerPosition { case first, last }
    enum ViewControllersGroupPosition { case first, last, all }
    
    func removeController(_ position: ViewControllerPosition, animated: Bool = true,
                          where closure: (UIViewController) -> Bool) {
        var index: Int?
        switch position {
            case .first: index = viewControllers.firstIndex(where: closure)
            case .last: index = viewControllers.lastIndex(where: closure)
        }
        if let index = index { removeControllers(animated: animated, in: Range(index...index)) }
    }
    
    func removeControllers(_ position: ViewControllersGroupPosition, animated: Bool = true,
                           where closure: (UIViewController) -> Bool) {
        var range: Range<Int>?
        switch position {
            case .first: range = viewControllers.firstRange(where: closure)
            case .last:
                guard let _range = viewControllers.reversed().firstRange(where: closure) else { return }
                let count = viewControllers.count - 1
                range = .init(uncheckedBounds: (lower: count - _range.min()!, upper: count - _range.max()!))
            case .all:
                let viewControllers = self.viewControllers.filter { !closure($0) }
                setViewControllers(viewControllers, animated: animated)
                return
        }
        if let range = range { removeControllers(animated: animated, in: range) }
    }

    func removeControllers(animated: Bool = true, in range: Range<Int>) {
        var viewControllers = self.viewControllers
        viewControllers.removeSubrange(range)
        setViewControllers(viewControllers, animated: animated)
    }
    
    func removeControllers(animated: Bool = true, in range: ClosedRange<Int>) {
        removeControllers(animated: animated, in: Range(range))
    }
}

private extension Array {
    func firstRange(where closure: (Element) -> Bool) -> Range<Int>? {
        guard var index = firstIndex(where: closure) else { return nil }
        var indexes = [Int]()
        while index < count && closure(self[index]) {
            indexes.append(index)
            index += 1
        }
        if indexes.isEmpty { return nil }
        return Range<Int>(indexes.min()!...indexes.max()!)
    }
}

Usage

removeFromParent()
        
navigationController?.removeControllers(in: 1...3)

navigationController?.removeController(.first) { $0 != self }

navigationController?.removeController(.last) { $0 != self }

navigationController?.removeControllers(.all) { $0.isKind(of: ViewController.self) }

navigationController?.removeControllers(.first) { !$0.isKind(of: ViewController.self) }

navigationController?.removeControllers(.last) { $0 != self }

Full Sample

> Do not forget to paste here the solution code

import UIKit

class ViewController2: ViewController {}

class ViewController: UIViewController {

    private var tag: Int = 0
    deinit { print("____ DEINITED: \(self), tag: \(tag)" ) }

    override func viewDidLoad() {
        super.viewDidLoad()
        print("____ INITED: \(self)")
        let stackView = UIStackView()
        stackView.axis = .vertical
        view.addSubview(stackView)
        stackView.translatesAutoresizingMaskIntoConstraints = false
        stackView.centerYAnchor.constraint(equalTo: view.centerYAnchor).isActive = true
        stackView.centerXAnchor.constraint(equalTo: view.centerXAnchor).isActive = true

        stackView.addArrangedSubview(createButton(text: "Push ViewController() white", selector: #selector(pushWhiteViewController)))
        stackView.addArrangedSubview(createButton(text: "Push ViewController() gray", selector: #selector(pushGrayViewController)))
        stackView.addArrangedSubview(createButton(text: "Push ViewController2() green", selector: #selector(pushController2)))
        stackView.addArrangedSubview(createButton(text: "Push & remove previous VC", selector: #selector(pushViewControllerAndRemovePrevious)))
        stackView.addArrangedSubview(createButton(text: "Remove first gray VC", selector: #selector(dropFirstGrayViewController)))
        stackView.addArrangedSubview(createButton(text: "Remove last gray VC", selector: #selector(dropLastGrayViewController)))
        stackView.addArrangedSubview(createButton(text: "Remove all gray VCs", selector: #selector(removeAllGrayViewControllers)))
        stackView.addArrangedSubview(createButton(text: "Remove all VCs exept Last", selector: #selector(removeAllViewControllersExeptLast)))
        stackView.addArrangedSubview(createButton(text: "Remove all exept first and last VCs", selector: #selector(removeAllViewControllersExeptFirstAndLast)))
        stackView.addArrangedSubview(createButton(text: "Remove all ViewController2()", selector: #selector(removeAllViewControllers2)))
        stackView.addArrangedSubview(createButton(text: "Remove first VCs where bg != .gray", selector: #selector(dropFirstViewControllers)))
        stackView.addArrangedSubview(createButton(text: "Remove last VCs where bg == .gray", selector: #selector(dropLastViewControllers)))
    }

    override func viewWillAppear(_ animated: Bool) {
        super.viewWillAppear(animated)
        if title?.isEmpty ?? true { title = "First" }
    }

    private func createButton(text: String, selector: Selector) -> UIButton {
        let button = UIButton()
        button.setTitle(text, for: .normal)
        button.setTitleColor(.blue, for: .normal)
        button.addTarget(self, action: selector, for: .touchUpInside)
        return button
    }
}

extension ViewController {

    private func createViewController<VC: ViewController>(backgroundColor: UIColor = .white) -> VC {
        let viewController = VC()
        let counter = (navigationController?.viewControllers.count ?? -1 ) + 1
        viewController.tag = counter
        viewController.title = "Controller \(counter)"
        viewController.view.backgroundColor = backgroundColor
        return viewController
    }

    @objc func pushWhiteViewController() {
        navigationController?.pushViewController(createViewController(), animated: true)
    }

    @objc func pushGrayViewController() {
        navigationController?.pushViewController(createViewController(backgroundColor: .lightGray), animated: true)
    }

    @objc func pushController2() {
        navigationController?.pushViewController(createViewController(backgroundColor: .green) as ViewController2, animated: true)
    }

    @objc func pushViewControllerAndRemovePrevious() {
        navigationController?.pushViewController(createViewController(), animated: true)
        removeFromNavigationController()
    }

    @objc func removeAllGrayViewControllers() {
        navigationController?.removeControllers(.all) { $0.view.backgroundColor == .lightGray }
    }

    @objc func removeAllViewControllersExeptLast() {
        navigationController?.removeControllers(.all) { $0 != self }
    }

    @objc func removeAllViewControllersExeptFirstAndLast() {
        guard let navigationController = navigationController, navigationController.viewControllers.count > 1 else { return }
        let lastIndex = navigationController.viewControllers.count - 1
        navigationController.removeControllers(in: 1..<lastIndex)
    }

    @objc func removeAllViewControllers2() {
        navigationController?.removeControllers(.all) { $0.isKind(of: ViewController2.self) }
    }

    @objc func dropFirstViewControllers() {
        navigationController?.removeControllers(.first) { $0.view.backgroundColor != .lightGray }
    }

    @objc func dropLastViewControllers() {
        navigationController?.removeControllers(.last) { $0.view.backgroundColor == .lightGray }
    }
    
    @objc func dropFirstGrayViewController() {
        navigationController?.removeController(.first) { $0.view.backgroundColor == .lightGray }
    }
    
    @objc func dropLastGrayViewController() {
        navigationController?.removeController(.last) { $0.view.backgroundColor == .lightGray }
    }
}

Result

enter image description here

Solution 9 - Iphone

If you are trying to move to 2nd view controller from 5th view controller (skipping 3rd and 4th), you would like to use [self.navigationController popToviewController:secondViewController].

You can obtain the secondViewController from the navigation controller stack.

secondViewController =  [self.navigationController.viewControllers objectAtIndex:yourViewControllerIndex];

Solution 10 - Iphone

Use this

if let navVCsCount = navigationController?.viewControllers.count {
    navigationController?.viewControllers.removeSubrange(Range(2..<navVCsCount - 1))
}

It will take care of ViewControllers of navigationController. viewControllers and also a navigationItems stacked in navigationBar.

Note: Be sure to call it at least after viewDidAppear

Solution 11 - Iphone

Swift 5.1, Xcode 11

extension UINavigationController{
public func removePreviousController(total: Int){
    let totalViewControllers = self.viewControllers.count
    self.viewControllers.removeSubrange(totalViewControllers-total..<totalViewControllers - 1)
}}

Make sure to call this utility function after viewDidDisappear() of previous controller or viewDidAppear() of new controller

Solution 12 - Iphone

This solution worked for me in swift 4:

let VCCount = self.navigationController!.viewControllers.count
self.navigationController?.viewControllers.removeSubrange(Range(VCCount-3..<VCCount - 1))

your current view controller index in stack is:

self.navigationController!.viewControllers.count - 1

Solution 13 - Iphone

I wrote an extension with method which removes all controllers between root and top, unless specified otherwise.

extension UINavigationController {
func removeControllers(between start: UIViewController?, end: UIViewController?) {
    guard viewControllers.count > 1 else { return }
    let startIndex: Int
    if let start = start {
        guard let index = viewControllers.index(of: start) else {
            return
        }
        startIndex = index
    } else {
        startIndex = 0
    }
    
    let endIndex: Int
    if let end = end {
        guard let index = viewControllers.index(of: end) else {
            return
        }
        endIndex = index
    } else {
        endIndex = viewControllers.count - 1
    }
    let range = startIndex + 1 ..< endIndex
    viewControllers.removeSubrange(range)
}

}

If you want to use range (for example: 2 to 5) you can just use

    let range = 2 ..< 5
    viewControllers.removeSubrange(range)

Tested on iOS 12.2, Swift 5

Solution 14 - Iphone

// removing the viewcontrollers by class names from stack and then dismissing the current view.

 self.navigationController?.viewControllers.removeAll(where: { (vc) -> Bool in
      if vc.isKind(of: ViewController.self) || vc.isKind(of: ViewController2.self) 
       {
        return true
        } 
     else 
        {
         return false
         }
        })
self.navigationController?.popViewController(animated: false)
self.dismiss(animated: true, completion: nil)

Solution 15 - Iphone

Swift 5.4

removing SpecificViewController

navigationController.viewControllers.removeAll { $0 is SpecificViewController }
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Attributions

All content for this solution is sourced from the original question on Stackoverflow.

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Content TypeOriginal AuthorOriginal Content on Stackoverflow
QuestionJean PaulView Question on Stackoverflow
Solution 1 - IphoneNitinView Answer on Stackoverflow
Solution 2 - IphoneSourabh BhardwajView Answer on Stackoverflow
Solution 3 - IphonekuzduView Answer on Stackoverflow
Solution 4 - IphoneNiklasView Answer on Stackoverflow
Solution 5 - IphoneMitchell CView Answer on Stackoverflow
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Solution 10 - IphoneNikola MarkovicView Answer on Stackoverflow
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