I have created a simple macOS-only SwiftUI app and added a Settings screen as per Apple's instructions:
import SwiftUI
@main
struct MyApp: App {
var body: some Scene {
WindowGroup {
RootView()
}
Settings {
SettingsView()
}
}
}
It works: the Preferences option shows up in the app menu. Now, I would also like to open this settings window programatically, e.g. when a button is clicked. Is there a way to achieve this?
I was hoping there would be a method in NSApplication
, similar to the About window, but there doesn't seem to be one.
By inspecting the app menu, I found this solution:
NSApp.sendAction(Selector(("showPreferencesWindow:")), to: nil, from: nil)
I assume that it may not pass App Review for using a private API, though, so less shady alternatives are still welcome.
Update: This has actually passed App Review, so I had marked it as the answer.
Update 2: For a macOS 13 solution, see Manny's answer.
Update 3: For macOS 14 with SwiftUI, you must use the new SettingsLink
view documented here or OpenSettingsAction
as documented here. NSApp.sendAction
no longer works.