Preserving state between tab view pages - flutter

issue
I have two ListViews rendering inside of a TabBarView using a TabController.
How do I preserve state (for lack of a better word) between each ListView so that: 1.) the Widgets don't rebuild and 2.) the ListView position is remembered between tabs.
relevant code
class AppState extends State<App> with SingleTickerProviderStateMixin {
TabController _tabController;
#override
void initState() {
super.initState();
_tabController = new TabController(
vsync: this,
length: _allPages.length,
);
}
#override
void dispose() {
_tabController.dispose();
super.dispose();
}
Widget _buildScaffold(BuildContext context) {
return new Scaffold(
appBar: new AppBar(
title: new Text('headlines'),
bottom: new TabBar(
controller: _tabController,
isScrollable: true,
tabs: _allPages
.map((_Page page) => new Tab(text: page.country))
.toList()),
),
body: new TabBarView(
controller: _tabController,
children: _allPages.map((_Page page) {
return new SafeArea(
top: false,
bottom: false,
child: new Container(
key: new ObjectKey(page.country),
child: new Newsfeed(country: page.country),
),
);
}).toList()),
);
}
#override
Widget build(BuildContext context) {
return new MaterialApp(
title: 'news app',
home: _buildScaffold(context),
);
}
}
illustrating gif
https://media.giphy.com/media/2ysWhzqHVqL1xcBlBE/giphy.gif

In case you want to keep the state of your screen in your TabBarView, you can use the mixin class called AutomaticKeepAliveClientMixin in your State class.
After that you have to override the wantKeepAlive method and return true. It will looks like something that :
class _SearchScreenState extends State<SearchScreen> with AutomaticKeepAliveClientMixin<SearchScreen>{
...
#override
Widget build(BuildContext context) {
// call this method
super.build(context);
/// your widget here
}
#override
bool get wantKeepAlive => true;
}
I wrote a post about that here: https://medium.com/#diegoveloper/flutter-persistent-tab-bars-a26220d322bc

Long story short, use a PageStorageKey() for your ListView or one of it's ancestors, the Container widget in your case:
child: Container(
key: PageStorageKey(page.country),
child: Newsfeed(country: page.country),
),
See details here:
https://api.flutter.dev/flutter/widgets/PageStorageKey-class.html
https://api.flutter.dev/flutter/widgets/PageStorage-class.html
https://api.flutter.dev/flutter/widgets/ScrollView/controller.html

Try containing your children views in a stack with an offset. It helped me save the state of my bottom bar navigation.

Related

Idiomatic way to change aspects of the active scaffold from within Flutter TabView child

Essentially, I'm trying to devise a way for a child of a TabView to customise aspects of the active Scaffold instance, such as the floating action button, application bar and so on.
Using the code snippet below, the idea is for_ATabState to set the floatingActionButton of the Scaffold instance to a custom widget that it controls.
class MasterWidget extends StatefulWidget {
#override
_MasterWidgetState createState() => _MasterWidgetState();
Widget? setFloatingActionButton() {
// how to access state and invoke `setState`?
}
}
class _MasterWidgetState extends State<MasterWidget> {
#override
Widget build(BuildContext context) {
final tabs = [ATab()];
return Scaffold(
appBar: AppBar(),
floatingActionButton: activeTab.buildFloatingActionButton(),
body: DefaultTabController(
length: tabs.length,
child: TabBarView(
children: tabs,
controller: tabController,
),
),
);
}
}
class ATab extends StatefulWidget {
#override
_ATabState createState() => _ATabState();
}
class _ATabState extends State<ATab> {
#override
Widget build(BuildContext context) {
// Doesn't work:
// context.findAncestorWidgetOfExactType<Scaffold>()?.floatingActionButton = AFloatingActionButton();
// context.findAncestorWidgetOfExactType<MasterWidget>()?.setFloatingActionButton(AFloatingActionButton());
return SomeWidget();
}
}
Here's what I tried:
Try to context.findAncestorWidgetOfExactType<Scaffold>() in _ATabState and somehow set Scaffold's floatingActionButton attribute; unfortunately there does not seem to be a setter available.
Try to context.findAncestorWidgetOfExactType<MasterWidget>() in _ATabState but then I'm not able to access the state where the rendering takes place.
What's the approach applicable here?

How to set state between tabbar tabs in flutter?

I have tackeled without any success with problem...
My main page is stateful class with tabbar with two tabs. First tab has some text from global variables and couple of textfields that also are prefilled with global variables.
Second tab has a button and ontap it calls setstate that changes variables, that are used on first tab and then animates to first tab.
My problem is that first tabs text doesnt change to new value. At the same time textfields will have new values. If i add print command before returning text on first tab, code will print out new values, but state for text is not set, at the same time textfields state will be set.
Its not possible at moment to add code, but i hope i described mu problem good enough.
Thank You!
I tryed many things and now i got strange working solution that makes what i want.
If i just set new variables and after that let tabcontroller to animate dirst page, pages state will not be set, but if i add small delay, then it works like i want. If anyone could explain why, i would be really thankful.
onPressed: () {
setProduct();
Timer(Duration(milliseconds: 100), animateToFirstPage);
}
There is a really elaborate explanation in this answer.
Bottom line, there is a race condition between setState and animateTo, and he suggests breaking it so:
onPressed: () {
setProduct();
WidgetsBinding.instance.addPostFrameCallback((timeStamp) {
animateToFirstPage;
})
}
Verified it worked for me, and without creepy .sleep solutions
Use a simple state management solution. Where both tabs can listen and modify the values you want. Without code is hard to demonstrate. But you can't simply change the state of a widget from another widget, using provider would be easier.
To update and listen to the change, use StreamController and StreamBuilder. You can put the first tab in a widget combined with SingleTickerProviderStateMixin to prevent it from reloading as well. I created a simple app for demonstration:
Full example:
main.dart
import 'dart:async';
import 'dart:math';
import 'package:flutter/material.dart';
void main() {
runApp(MaterialApp(home: MyApp()));
}
class MyApp extends StatefulWidget {
#override
_MyAppState createState() => _MyAppState();
}
class _MyAppState extends State<MyApp> with SingleTickerProviderStateMixin {
final StreamController _streamController = StreamController<String>();
TabController _tabController;
#override
void initState() {
_tabController = TabController(length: 2, vsync: this);
super.initState();
}
#override
void dispose() {
_streamController.close();
super.dispose();
}
#override
Widget build(BuildContext context) {
return Scaffold(
appBar: AppBar(
title: Text('Sample App'),
),
bottomNavigationBar: TabBar(
controller: _tabController,
labelColor: Colors.red,
tabs: [Tab(text: 'Tab 1'), Tab(text: 'Tab 2')],
),
body: TabBarView(
controller: _tabController,
children: [
FirstTab(_streamController),
Container(
child: Center(
child: TextButton(
child: Text('Press me'),
onPressed: () {
final _someText =
'Random number: ' + Random().nextInt(100).toString();
_streamController.add(_someText);
_tabController.animateTo(0);
},
),
),
),
],
),
);
}
}
class FirstTab extends StatefulWidget {
final StreamController _streamController;
FirstTab(this._streamController);
#override
_FirstTabState createState() => _FirstTabState();
}
class _FirstTabState extends State<FirstTab>
with AutomaticKeepAliveClientMixin {
#override
bool get wantKeepAlive => true;
#override
Widget build(BuildContext context) {
super.build(context);
return Container(
child: Center(
child: StreamBuilder<String>(
initialData: 'Empty text',
stream: widget._streamController.stream,
builder: (context, snapshot) {
return Text(snapshot.data);
}),
),
);
}
}

Navigate part of screen from drawer

let's say I have an app with the following setup:
#override
Widget build(BuildContext context) {
return Scaffold(
appBar: AppBar(),
body: Container(
color: Colors.grey[200],
child: Row(
children: [
MainMenu(),
Expanded(child: MainLoginScreen()),
],
),
));
}
}
I would like to know how can I navigate only the MainLoginScreen widget from the MainMenu with any .push() method.
(I found a way to navigate from a context inside the mainloginscreen,by wrapping it with a MaterialApp widget, but what if I want to use the MainMenu widget instead, which has another context)
There is a general agreement that a 'screen' is a topmost widget in the route. An instance of 'screen' is what you pass to Navigator.of(context).push(MaterialPageRoute(builder: (context) => HereGoesTheScreen()). So if it is under Scaffold, it is not a screen. That said, here are the options:
1. If you want to use navigation with 'back' button
Use different screens. To avoid code duplication, create MenuAndContentScreen class:
class MenuAndContentScreen extends StatelessWidget {
final Widget child;
MenuAndContentScreen({
required this.child,
});
#override
Widget build(BuildContext context) {
return Scaffold(
appBar: AppBar(),
body: Container(
color: Colors.grey[200],
child: Row(
children: [
MainMenu(),
Expanded(child: child),
],
),
),
);
}
}
Then for each screen create a pair of a screen and a nested widget:
class MainLoginScreen extends StatelessWidget {
#override
Widget build(BuildContext context) {
return MenuAndContentScreen(
child: MainLoginWidget(),
);
}
}
class MainLoginWidget extends StatelessWidget {
#override
Widget build(BuildContext context) {
// Here goes the screen content.
}
}
2. If you do not need navigation with 'back' button
You may use IndexedStack widget. It can contain multiple widgets with only one visible at a time.
class MenuAndContentScreen extends StatefulWidget {
#override
_MenuAndContentScreenState createState() => _MenuAndContentScreenState(
initialContentIndex: 0,
);
}
class _MenuAndContentScreenState extends State<MenuAndContentScreen> {
int _index;
_MainMenuAndContentScreenState({
required int initialContentIndex,
}) : _contentIndex = initialContentIndex;
#override
Widget build(BuildContext context) {
return Scaffold(
appBar: AppBar(),
body: Container(
color: Colors.grey[200],
child: Row(
children: [
MainMenu(
// A callback that will be triggered somewhere down the menu
// when an item is tapped.
setContentIndex: _setContentIndex,
),
Expanded(
child: IndexedStack(
index: _contentIndex,
children: [
MainLoginWidget(),
SomeOtherContentWidget(),
],
),
),
],
),
),
);
}
void _setContentIndex(int index) {
setState(() {
_contentIndex = index;
});
}
}
The first way is generally preferred as it is declrative which is a major idea in Flutter. When you have the entire widget tree statically declared, less things can go wrong and need to be tracked. Once you feel it, it really is a pleasure. And if you want to avoid back navigation, use replacement as ahmetakil has suggested in a comment: Navigator.of(context).pushReplacement(...)
The second way is mostly used when MainMenu needs to hold some state that needs to be preserved between views so we choose to have one screen with interchangeable content.
3. Using a nested Navigator widget
As you specifically asked about a nested Navigator widget, you may use it instead of IndexedStack:
class MenuAndContentScreen extends StatefulWidget {
#override
_MenuAndContentScreenState createState() => _MenuAndContentScreenState();
}
class _MenuAndContentScreenState extends State<MenuAndContentScreen> {
final _navigatorKey = GlobalKey();
#override
Widget build(BuildContext context) {
return Scaffold(
appBar: AppBar(),
body: Container(
color: Colors.grey[200],
child: Row(
children: [
MainMenu(
navigatorKey: _navigatorKey,
),
Expanded(
child: Navigator(
key: _navigatorKey,
onGenerateRoute: ...
),
),
],
),
),
);
}
}
// Then somewhere in MainMenu:
final anotherContext = navigatorKey.currentContext;
Navigator.of(anotherContext).push(...);
This should do the trick, however it is a bad practice because:
MainMenu knows that a particular Navigator exists and it should interact with it. It is better to either abstract this knowledge with a callback as in (2) or do not use a specific navigator as in (1). Flutter is really about passing information down the tree and not up.
At some point you would like to highlight the active item in MainMenu, but it is hard for MainMenu to know which widget is currently in the Navigator. This would add yet another non-down interaction.
For such interaction there is BLoC pattern
In Flutter, BLoC stands for Business Logic Component. In its simpliest form it is a plain object that is created in the parent widget and then passed down to MainMenu and Navigator, these widgets may then send events through it and listen on it.
class CurrentPageBloc {
// int is an example. You may use String, enum or whatever
// to identify pages.
final _outCurrentPageController = BehaviorSubject<int>();
Stream<int> _outCurrentPage => _outCurrentPageController.stream;
void setCurrentPage(int page) {
_outCurrentPageController.sink.add(page);
}
void dispose() {
_outCurrentPageController.close();
}
}
class MenuAndContentScreen extends StatefulWidget {
#override
_MenuAndContentScreenState createState() => _MenuAndContentScreenState();
}
class _MenuAndContentScreenState extends State<MenuAndContentScreen> {
final _currentPageBloc = CurrentPageBloc();
#override
Widget build(BuildContext context) {
return Scaffold(
appBar: AppBar(),
body: Container(
color: Colors.grey[200],
child: Row(
children: [
MainMenu(
currentPageBloc: _currentPageBloc,
),
Expanded(
child: ContentWidget(
currentPageBloc: _currentPageBloc,
onGenerateRoute: ...
),
),
],
),
),
);
}
#override
void dispose() {
_currentPageBloc.dispose();
}
}
// Then in MainMenu:
currentPageBloc.setCurrentPage(1);
// Then in ContentWidget's state:
final _navigatorKey = GlobalKey();
late final StreamSubscription _subscription;
#override
void initState() {
super.initState();
_subscription = widget.currentPageBloc.outCurrentPage.listen(_setCurrentPage);
}
#override
Widget build(BuildContext context) {
return Navigator(
key: _navigatorKey,
// Everything else.
);
}
void _setCurrentPage(int currentPage) {
// Can't use this.context, because the Navigator's context is down the tree.
final anotherContext = navigatorKey?.currentContext;
if (anotherContext != null) { // null if the event is emitted before the first build.
Navigator.of(anotherContext).push(...); // Use currentPage
}
}
#override
void dispose() {
_subscription.cancel();
}
This has advantages:
MainMenu does not know who will receive the event, if anybody.
Any number of listeners may listen on such events.
However, there is still a fundamental flaw with Navigator. It can be navigated without MainMenu knowledge using 'back' button or by its internal widgets. So there is no single variable that knows which page is showing now. To highlight the active menu item, you would query the Navigator's stack which eliminates the benefits of BLoC.
For all these reasons I still suggest one of the first two solutions.

How to "merge" scrolls on a TabBarView inside a PageView?

I have an app that uses a PageView on its main page. Today, I got assigned to insert a TabBarView in one of these pages. The problem is that when I scroll the between the tabs when in the last tab, scrolling to the left won't scroll the PageView.
I need a way to make the scroll of page view scroll when at the start or end of the tabbarview.
I found a question with the inverted problem: flutter PageView inside TabBarView: scrolling to next tab at the end of page
However, the method stated there is not suitable to my issue.
I made a minimal example:
import 'package:flutter/material.dart';
void main() => runApp(MyApp());
class MyApp extends StatelessWidget {
#override
Widget build(BuildContext context) => MaterialApp(
title: 'TabBarView inside PageView',
home: MyHomePage(),
);
}
class MyHomePage extends StatefulWidget {
MyHomePage({Key key}) : super(key: key);
#override
_MyHomePageState createState() => _MyHomePageState();
}
class _MyHomePageState extends State<MyHomePage> {
final PageController _pageController = PageController();
#override
Widget build(BuildContext context) => Scaffold(
appBar: AppBar(
title: Text('TabBarView inside PageView'),
),
body: PageView(
controller: _pageController,
children: <Widget>[
Container(color: Colors.red),
GreenShades(),
Container(color: Colors.yellow),
],
),
);
}
class GreenShades extends StatefulWidget {
#override
_GreenShadesState createState() => _GreenShadesState();
}
class _GreenShadesState extends State<GreenShades>
with SingleTickerProviderStateMixin {
TabController _tabController;
#override
void initState() {
this._tabController = TabController(length: 3, vsync: this);
super.initState();
}
#override
Widget build(BuildContext context) => Column(
children: <Widget>[
TabBar(
labelColor: Colors.green,
indicatorColor: Colors.green,
controller: _tabController,
tabs: <Tab>[
const Tab(text: "Dark"),
const Tab(text: "Normal"),
const Tab(text: "Light"),
],
),
Expanded(
child: TabBarView(
controller: _tabController,
children: <Widget>[
Container(color: Colors.green[800]),
Container(color: Colors.green),
Container(color: Colors.green[200]),
],
),
)
],
);
#override
void dispose() {
_tabController.dispose();
super.dispose();
}
}
Note that, in this MRE, it's possible to reach the 3rd page if you drag the TabBar, but not if you drag the TabBarView.
How may I achieve this behavior?
Edit:
As stated by #Fethi, there's a similar question:
Is it possible to swipe from an TabBarView content area to an adjacent PageView page?
However, the question was not answered satisfactorily, as the solution given does not really "blend" the scroll, although the behavior is similar to what was described. It doesn't scroll naturally.
This is possible by using the PageController.postion attribute's drag method, which internally drags the ScrollPosition of the screen. This way, user can intuitively drag the pages like drag halfway and then leave or continue fully.
The idea is inspired from the other post to use the OverScrollNotification but add rather more step to continue intuitive dragging.
Collect the DragstartDetail when user starts scrolling.
Listen for OverScrollNotification and start the draging and at the same time update the drag using the drag.update with the DragUpdateDetails from OverscrollNotification method.
On ScrollEndNotification cancel the the drag.
To keep the idea simple I am pasting only build method of the Tabs page.
A fully working example is available in this dart pad.
#override
Widget build(BuildContext context) {
// Local dragStartDetail.
DragStartDetails dragStartDetails;
// Current drag instance - should be instantiated on overscroll and updated alongside.
Drag drag;
return Column(
children: <Widget>[
TabBar(
labelColor: Colors.green,
indicatorColor: Colors.green,
controller: _tabController,
tabs: <Tab>[
const Tab(text: "Dark"),
const Tab(text: "Normal"),
const Tab(text: "Light"),
],
),
Expanded(
child: NotificationListener(
onNotification: (notification) {
if (notification is ScrollStartNotification) {
dragStartDetails = notification.dragDetails;
}
if (notification is OverscrollNotification) {
drag = _pageController.position.drag(dragStartDetails, () {});
drag.update(notification.dragDetails);
}
if (notification is ScrollEndNotification) {
drag?.cancel();
}
return true;
},
child: TabBarView(
controller: _tabController,
children: <Widget>[
Container(color: Colors.green[800]),
Container(color: Colors.green),
Container(color: Colors.green[200]),
],
),
),
),
],
);
}
Old Answer
The above might not handle some edge cases. If you need more control below code provides the same result but you can handle UserScrollNotification. I am pasting this because, it might be useful for others who would like to know which direction the use is scrolling w.r.t the Axis of the ScrollView.
if (notification is ScrollStartNotification) {
dragStartDetails = notification.dragDetails;
}
if (notification is UserScrollNotification &&
notification.direction == ScrollDirection.forward &&
!_tabController.indexIsChanging &&
dragStartDetails != null &&
_tabController.index == 0) {
_pageController.position.drag(dragStartDetails, () {});
}
// Simialrly Handle the last tab.
if (notification is UserScrollNotification &&
notification.direction == ScrollDirection.reverse &&
!_tabController.indexIsChanging &&
dragStartDetails != null &&
_tabController.index == _tabController.length - 1) {
_pageController.position.drag(dragStartDetails, () {});
}
so you want to scroll the page view to the left when you reach the end of tabs and the same goes to scrolling to the right when on the first tab, what i have been thinking about is manually swipe the page view when in those cases as follow:
index value should the index of page that comes before the tab bar page and after it.
pageController.animateToPage(index,
duration: Duration(milliseconds: 500), curve: Curves.ease);
here is a complete code of what you are looking for, hopefully this helps!
I have a different approach using Listener Widget and TabView physics as show below:
//PageView Widget
#override
Widget build(BuildContext context) {
return Scaffold(
body: PageView(
children: [
Widge1()
TabBarWidget(),
Widget2()
]
)
)
}
//TabBar Widget
final _physycsNotifier = ValueNotifier<bool>(false);
....
....
#override
Widget build(BuildContext context) {
return Column(
children: [
TabBar(
controller: _tabController,
//... other properties
)
Expanded(
child: Listener(
onPointerMove: (event) {
final offset = event.delta.dx;
final index = _tabController.index;
//Check if we are in the first or last page of TabView and the notifier is false
if(((offset > 0 && index == 0) || (offset < 0 && index == _categories.length - 1)) && !_physycsNotifier.value){
_physycsNotifier.value = true;
}
},
onPointerUp: (_) => _physycsNotifier.value = false;
child: ValueListenableBuilder<bool>(
valueListenable: _physycsNotifier,
builder: (_, value, __) {
return TabBarView(
controller: _tabController,
physics: value ? NeverScrollableScrollPhysics() : null,
children: List.generate(_categories.length, (index) {
return _CategoryTab(index: index);
})
);
},
),
)
)
]
)
}
this works fine if you set default physics for PageView and TabView (it means null) if you set other physisc like BouncingScrollPhsysisc there will be some bugs, but i think this is good workaround.

Flutter tabs - a tab is created even though it's not displayed

I have a DefaultTabController containing a TabBarView with a TabController, so far nothing special.
I have 1 tab which needs to make a request to the server as soon as it's initialized, let's call it the explore tab.
I'm making the request in didChangeDependencies if it wasn't already initialized (I have a boolean flag for initialized).
It's indeed making a request everytime the tab's widget is created, however there's one problem.
Let's say there are 3 tabs, while the explore tab is the second tab in between 1 and 3.
When going from tab 1 to tab 3, or from tab 3 to tab 1, it seems that the explore tab is created during the transition (even though it's not displayed at all), and a request to the server is consequently made.
I'd like to avoid that and only make that request in the explore tab's didChangeDependencies when the user is specifically going to the explore tab.
Any ideas?
Ok, so, you have 3 tabs
[tab1],[tab2],[tab3]
Where you would like to triger an event (request to the server) only when [tab2] was pressed.
To achieve this, create a tabController isolated to add an event listener in a StateFull widget, example:
TabController _tabController;
#override
void initState() {
super.initState();
_tabController = TabController(
length: 2,
vsync: this,
);
_tabController.addListener(() {
if (_tabController.indexIsChanging == false) {
if(_tabController.index == 1) {
//Trigger your request
}
}
});
}
Note: indexIsChanging == false is to ensure that tab already finished the job of change currentIndex of that controller, full example below:
import 'package:flutter/material.dart';
void main() => runApp(MyApp());
class MyApp extends StatelessWidget {
#override
Widget build(BuildContext context) {
return MaterialApp(
home: BodyWidget(),
);
}
}
class BodyWidget extends StatefulWidget {
#override
BodyWidgetState createState() {
return new BodyWidgetState();
}
}
class BodyWidgetState extends State<BodyWidget>
with SingleTickerProviderStateMixin {
TabController _tabController;
#override
void initState() {
super.initState();
_tabController = TabController(
length: 3,
vsync: this,
);
_tabController.addListener(() {
if (_tabController.indexIsChanging == false) {
if (_tabController.index == 1) {
//Trigger your request
print('Triger 2 selected, do the http call now.');
}
}
});
}
#override
Widget build(BuildContext context) {
return Scaffold(
appBar: AppBar(
title: Text('test'),
bottom: TabBar(
controller: _tabController,
tabs: <Widget>[
Tab(text: 'Tab 1'),
Tab(text: 'Tab 2'),
Tab(text: 'Tab 3'),
],
),
),
body: TabBarView(
controller: _tabController,
children: <Widget>[
Container(child: Center(child: Text('tab1'))),
Container(child: Center(child: Text('tab2'))),
Container(child: Center(child: Text('tab3'))),
],
),
);
}
}