What is it?

It is a subclass of UIImageView that allows you to customize the alignment of the displayed image inside the view's frame. This works even if the contentMode is set to AspectFit, AspectFill or ScaleToFill.

Why a subclass of UIImageView, and not a standard UIView?

Because there are many cool categories built on top of UIImageView. Subclassing a standard UIView would mean losing them.

For example, AFNetworking's async UIImageView category works perfectly using this container class, and you don't have to worry about a thing.

How does it work?

When initialized, UIImageViewAligned will create a inner UIImageView which will actually hold the image displayed. The main class then just repositions this inner UIImageView to achieve your desired alignment.

At runtime, you can change the image, contentMode or alignment and the image will reposition itself correctly.

The image property of UIImageViewAligned is overwritten to forward the calls to the inner UIImageView, so you can just drag-n-drop into your app.

Compatibility

From what I tested, it works on iOS 6.0+. Also, it supports autorotation and will reposition the image correctly.

Using Interface Builder

You can setup the alignment from Interface Builder using the Identity Inspector tab for the UIImageViewAligned. There, you can add custom boolean properties that will be set when the view is instantiated. The possible boolean names are: alignLeft alignRight alignTop alignBottom

Below is a screenshot of an example. You will not get an immediate feedback in IB regarding your alignment, but it will work at runtime.