How can I make this code so it does not uwrap a nil value?

Question

Getting this error:

“fatal error: unexpectedly found nil while unwrapping an Optional value”

The error is coming up on the first line of the if statement.

I checked all the variables to see which value is optional but nothing is working. Basically, I want the text field to turn red when it is clicked and nothing is in the field. I am getting this error when running this code:

@IBOutlet weak var textEvent: UITextField!

@IBAction func addButtonAction(_ sender: Any) {
    userData = true
    UserDefaults.standard.set(userData, forKey: "userData")

    if textEvent.text == "" {  
        textEvent.backgroundColor = UIColor.red
    } else {
        textEvent.backgroundColor = UIColor.white
        event.append(textEvent.text!)
       // UserDefaults.standard.set(event, forKey: "theEvent")
    }
}

@IBAction func doneButton(_ sender: Any) {
    dismiss(animated: true, completion: nil)
}

Answer 1

The problem seems to be with

@IBOutlet weak var textEvent: UITextField!

Ensure that the outlet is properly set from your nib.

Here is a guide to help you with connecting the offending outlet: https://developer.apple.com/library/content/referencelibrary/GettingStarted/DevelopiOSAppsSwift/ConnectTheUIToCode.html

Answer 2

Try

if textEvent != nil {  
       ...(do whatever you need to do)
    }

However if you really want to get fancy you can also do option binding,

if let myTextEvent = textEvent {  
           ...(do whatever you need to do, but use myTextEven instead of textEvent inside this if statement)
        }