Angular

What's New in @this-dot@route-config v1.2

Published Nov 2, 2021

Updated Feb 13, 2023

2 min read

This article was written over 18 months ago and may contain information that is out of date. Some content may be relevant but please refer to the relevant official documentation or available resources for the latest information.

Recently, we introduced our first open source library to have easier access to RouterModule config's data property. If you haven't read about it yet, I recommend reading my colleague’s introductory blog post.

Since the first release, we received great feedback from the community, and we've been working on improving the developer experience using it. In this article, I'd like to share with you the new features we've introduced, and how to use them.

RouteDataDirective (`*tdRouteData`)

One of the new features we've introduced is a directive for directly accessing the current route data property from within the component's template. This is a structural directive that binds the whole data property to the local variable we define. To use it, we need to add a *tdRouteData directive attribute to a tag that we want in order to use some route's defined properties.

<div *tdRouteData="let routeData">
  <h1>{{ routeData.pageTitle }}</h1>
</div>

In the routeData, we have access to the whole data property (along with all the properties from the data properties defined in parent routes).

Given the following router configuration, we will display the correct title depending on the subpage we're currently on.

@NgModule({
  imports: [
    RouterModule.forChild([
      {
        path: '',
        component: Example1Component,
        children: [
          {
            path: 'first',
            component: FirstComponent,
            data: {
              title: ['First component'],
            },
          },
          {
            path: 'second',
            component: SecondComponent,
            data: {
              title: ['Second component'],
            },
          },
          {
            path: '**',
            pathMatch: 'full',
            redirectTo: 'first',
          },
        ],
      },
    ]),
  ],
})
export class Example1Module {}

If you need to use multiple route properties within one component's template, it is recommended to only use *tdRouteData on one root tag (or ng-container in case your template doesn't have one top-level element). This way we only create one subscription to route's data per template.

<ng-container *tdRouteData="let routeData">
  <h1>{{ routeData.pageTitle }}</h1>
  <ul *ngFor="let item of routeData.someRouteItems">
    <li>{{ item }}</li>
  </ul>
</ng-container>

RouteDataHasDirective (`*tdRouteDataHas`)

The second new feature we've introduced is a directive similar to *tdRouteTags directive we've already shown in the previous article. The big difference is more configuration options. The new *tdRouteDataHas directive allows the developer to configure the property that this directive is using to determine which template to show. We can configure this via the tdRouteDataHasPropName input (or just propName using shorthand syntax). Let's see it in action.

<p *tdRouteDataHas="'showParagraphTag'; propName: 'customRouteTagsProp';">
  Go to first
</p>

Given the following router configuration, we will display the paragraph only on the first route, and not on the second route.

RouterModule.forChild([
  {
    path: '',
    component: Example2Component,
    children: [
      {
        path: 'first',
        component: FirstComponent,
        data: {
          customRouteTagsProp: ['showParagraphTag'],
        },
      },
      {
        path: 'second',
        component: SecondComponent,
        data: {
          customRouteTagsProp: [],
        },
      },
      {
        path: '**',
        pathMatch: 'full',
        redirectTo: 'first',
      },
    ],
  },
]);

Summary

This concludes the new features we've added since the first release. I would like to thank all the people that provided us with suggestions for those features! We're constantly looking for ways to improve our libraries, and encourage you to let us know about any questions or feature requests via an issue on our repository.

If you want to play with the new features, please have a go at this Stackblitz example.

In case you have any questions, you can always tweet or DM me at @ktrz. I'm always happy to help!

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About the author(s)

Chris Trześniewski
Software Engineer, ultra-marathoner. He is passionate about functional programming in JavaScript and loves working with RxJS. In his free time he likes to go jogging.
@ktrz__@ktrz

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This approach offers a more declarative way to manage form state and reactivity, combining the simplicity of template-driven forms with the power of signals. You may be tempted to define the form directly as an object inside a signal. While such an approach may seem more concise, typing into the individual fields does not dispatch reactivity updates, which is usually a deal breaker. Here’s an example StackBlitz with a component suffering from such an issue: Therefore, if you'd like to react to changes in the form fields, it's better to define each field as a separate signal. By defining each form field as a separate signal, you ensure that changes to individual fields trigger reactivity updates correctly. Example 2: A Complex Form with Signals You may see little benefit in using signals for simple forms like the login form above, but they truly shine when handling more complex forms. Let's explore a more intricate scenario - a user profile form that includes fields like firstName, lastName, email, phoneNumbers, and address. The phoneNumbers field is dynamic, allowing users to add or remove phone numbers as needed. Here's how this form might be defined using signals: ` > Notice that the phoneNumbers field is defined as a signal of an array of signals. This structure allows us to track changes to individual phone numbers and update the form state reactively. The addPhoneNumber and removePhoneNumber methods update the phoneNumbers signal array, triggering reactivity updates in the form. ` > In the template, we use the phoneNumbers signal array to dynamically render the phone number input fields. The addPhoneNumber and removePhoneNumber methods allow users to reactively add or remove phone numbers, updating the form state. Notice the usage of the track function, which is necessary to ensure that the ngFor directive tracks changes to the phoneNumbers array correctly. 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In the complex form example, the formValid signal ensures that all required fields are filled and validates the email and phone numbers format. This approach to validation is a bit simple and needs to be better connected to the actual form fields. While it will work for many use cases, in some cases, you might want to wait until explicit "signal forms" support is added to Angular. Tim Deschryver started implementing some abstractions around signal forms, including validation and wrote an article about it. Let's see if something like this will be added to Angular in the future. Why Use Signals in Angular Forms? The adoption of signals in Angular provides a powerful new way to manage form state and reactivity. Signals offer a flexible, declarative approach that can simplify complex form handling by combining the strengths of template-driven forms and reactive forms. Here are some key benefits of using signals in Angular forms: 1. 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What's New in @this-dot@route-config v1.2

RouteDataDirective (`*tdRouteData`)

RouteDataHasDirective (`*tdRouteDataHas`)

Summary

Chris Trześniewski

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RouteDataDirective (*tdRouteData)

RouteDataHasDirective (*tdRouteDataHas)

Summary

Chris Trześniewski

Exploring Angular Forms: A New Alternative with Signals

How to Develop a Vision Pro App using Angular with Nathan Walker

How to Write a Custom Structural Directive in Angular - Part 2

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RouteDataDirective (`*tdRouteData`)

RouteDataHasDirective (`*tdRouteDataHas`)