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Package detailsv3.1.0

contextualactionbar

A Contextual Action Bar(CAB) workaround for flutter. CAB is a top app bar that replace the app app bar and provide contextual actions to selected items

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Install package

flutter pub add contextualactionbar

Package Overview

Package selection guidance compiled from public package information, community data, and project usage.

The contextualactionbar package provides a workaround for implementing a Contextual Action Bar (CAB) in Flutter, enabling a dynamic top app bar that replaces the standard app bar to display context-specific actions when items are selected. Designed for use across multiple platforms including Android, iOS, Web, macOS, Windows, and Linux, it enhances user interaction by offering targeted controls during selection modes. The package integrates seamlessly with existing Flutter apps and supports custom styling and behavior. It is particularly useful in list or grid interfaces where users need to perform batch operations.

Use cases

  • Batch item selection in lists
  • Context-sensitive actions in grids
  • Enhanced user interaction in mobile apps
  • Customizable action overlays
  • Cross-platform implementation
  • Selection mode UI enhancements

Key features

  • Dynamic replacement of app bar
  • Support for multiple platforms
  • Customizable action buttons
  • Integration with selection modes
  • Lightweight and easy to implement
  • Responsive design for all devices

Suitable for

  • Developers building interactive list interfaces
  • Apps requiring batch operations
  • Cross-platform mobile applications
  • UIs with selection-based workflows
  • Teams seeking platform-agnostic CAB solutions
  • Flutter projects needing contextual action support

Considerations

  • Requires manual handling of selection state
  • Limited built-in animations
  • May need additional styling for consistency
  • Depends on proper integration with scrollables
  • Not suitable for simple static UIs
  • Best used with state management patterns

Original README

Original README snapshot from the linked source repository. Visit the repository for the latest content.

Flutter contextual action bar(CAB)

CAB & Flutter

CAB is a top app bar that replace the application app bar to provide contextual actions to selected items. Check the material implementation and requirement here

Flutter does not natively support CAB yet. see issue Until CAB is natively supported, this package should provide you with an elegant way to implement the contextual action bar in flutter.

How it works

  • ContextualScaffold
  • ContextualAppBar
  • ContextualAction
  • ContextualActionWidget

ContextualScaffold<?>

The ContextualScaffold<?> is similar to the normal material Scaffold except that it also takes a required contextualAppBar.

ContextualScaffold<?>(
      contextualAppBar: ContextualAppBar(),
      appBar: AppBar(),
      body: Body(),
    )

You can provide multiple ContextualScaffold as needed

ContextualAppBar<?>

The ContextualAppBar<?> is similar to the normal material Appbar but takes a counterBuilder instead of title and also a contextualActions instead of actions.

 ContextualAppBar(
      counterBuilder: (int itemsCount){
        return Text("$itemsCount Selected");
      },
      contextualActions: <ContextualAction>[],
    )

ContextualAction<?>

The ContextualAction<?> allows you to take actions on the selected items, with the help of itemsHandler callback.

ContextualAction(
            itemsHandler: (List<?> items) {
              items.forEach((item) {
                Scaffold.of(context).showSnackBar(SnackBar(
                  content: Text("$item saved"),
                ));
              });
            },
            child: Icon(Icons.save),
          ),

ContextualActionWidget<?>

You can use the ContextualActionWidget anywhere in the ContextualActionScaffold body to notify ContextualActionScaffold that an item have been selected in order to show the ContextualAppBar.

   ContextualActionWidget(
          data: ?,
          child: ChildWidget(),
        )

Note: It is important that the child widget does not handle onLongPress.

A closer look at ContextualActionWidget<?>

The ContextualActionWidget<?> takes other optional parameters like

  • selectedColor
  • selectedWidget
  • unselectedWidget

The selectedColor is the color of the background for the selected item, it defaults to the splash color, if not provided. The selectedColor works well with ListTile.

selectedWidget and unselectedWidget are stacked on top of the provided child widget. By default, they are positioned at the center of the provided child widget. Since They are stacked, you can use Row, Align, Positioned Widget or any other combination of widgets to position them where desired.

The selectedWidget is shown when the ActionMode is enabled and the item is selected, while the unselectedWidget is shown when ActionMode is enabled and the item is not selected. See example(status_saver) image below with both the selectedWidget and unselectedWidget aligned to the top-right corner.

ActionMode

This contextual action bar workaround does not support zero item in the ActionMode.

  • Use the ActionMode.addItem<?> to add an item to the selected items. If this is the first selection, the ActionMode is will be enabled.

  • Use the ActionMode.addItems<?> to add a list of items.

  • Use the ActionMode.disable<?> to disable and deselect all selected items.

  • Use the ActionMode.enabledStream<?> to emit true or false depending on if the Action mode is enabled or disabled respectively.

Note: In most cases, you won't need to use ActionMode.disable<?> because the package already do that for you where needed.

Study complete examples at example page. If you like the project, don't forget to star ⭐️

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License

This package is licensed under the MIT license. See LICENSE for details.

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