How to Reuse a Dropdown Button in Flutter with Dynamic State Management

Описание: Learn how to effectively reuse a `DropdownButton` widget in Flutter while managing multiple state updates seamlessly.
---
This video is based on the question https://stackoverflow.com/q/63539802/ asked by the user 'Michael T' ( https://stackoverflow.com/u/9554434/ ) and on the answer https://stackoverflow.com/a/63539981/ provided by the user 'Hamed' ( https://stackoverflow.com/u/9455518/ ) at 'Stack Overflow' website. Thanks to these great users and Stackexchange community for their contributions.

Visit these links for original content and any more details, such as alternate solutions, latest updates/developments on topic, comments, revision history etc. For example, the original title of the Question was: Flutter/Dart: Reuse widget multiple times and return setState value

Also, Content (except music) licensed under CC BY-SA https://meta.stackexchange.com/help/l...
The original Question post is licensed under the 'CC BY-SA 4.0' ( https://creativecommons.org/licenses/... ) license, and the original Answer post is licensed under the 'CC BY-SA 4.0' ( https://creativecommons.org/licenses/... ) license.

If anything seems off to you, please feel free to write me at vlogize [AT] gmail [DOT] com.
---
Reusing a Dropdown Button in Flutter with Dynamic State Management

When developing applications in Flutter, you might encounter situations where you need to repeat certain components, like DropdownButton, multiple times on the same page. This can lead to code duplication, which is neither efficient nor easy to maintain. Furthermore, you may find issues related to state management—specifically when trying to update the selected value of a dropdown upon user interaction. This guide will explore how to reuse a dropdown widget while correctly managing the state so that selections are reflected accurately across your application.

The Challenge: Dropdown Selections and State Management

In your Flutter application, you might encounter a problem when trying to use a DropdownButton widget multiple times. The main issue arises when you need to update the selected value dynamically using setState. Here is a brief outline of the scenario that could present the challenge:

You have a variable (String trial;) that holds the dropdown's current selected value.

The DropdownButton works but does not update the selected value visually when a new option is chosen.

By passing values directly to the onChanged method, you're encountering errors since the passed value must match one of the dropdown items.

Proposed Solution

The solution involves modifying the way you handle the DropdownButton widget and its associated state. By following these steps, you can ensure the dropdown updates correctly with each selection:

1. Define the State Variable

Ensure you have a variable defined that holds the currently selected value. This should be updated using setState within your widget’s build context.

[[See Video to Reveal this Text or Code Snippet]]

2. Build the Main Widget with Dropdowns

Construct your main widget to include the reusable dropdown functionality. Here’s how you can adjust your previous code:

[[See Video to Reveal this Text or Code Snippet]]

3. Create the Reusable Dropdown Widget

Update your dropdown widget function to include a callback for handling state changes. Make sure to pass the onChange method into your DropdownButton:

[[See Video to Reveal this Text or Code Snippet]]

4. Explanation of Changes

Passing the onChange Callback: The most significant change is passing a callback function (onChange) to the dropDownLists method. This allows the dropdown widget to inform its parent when an item is selected.

Updating State with setState: Inside the callback, you call setState(() => trial = value); to update the selected value properly. This ensures that the user’s choice is reflected in the UI.

Conclusion

By following the outlined steps, you ensure that your dropdown widget is reusable while dynamically managing its state effectively. This approach not only makes your code cleaner and more maintainable but also enhances the user experience by providing immediate feedback on selections.

Feel free to adapt this pattern to other widgets in your app that require similar state management!

By utilizing this method, you can create a reusable widget structure that fosters better organization and code reusability in your Flutter applications.