Changing the Style of a View in React Native with a Button Press

Learn how to dynamically change the style of a View in React Native by pressing a button inside it. This guide provides a simple solution to modify background colors with state management.
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Change the Style of a View by Pressing a Nested Button in React Native

If you're diving into React Native and looking to make your app interactive, one common requirement is to change the styles of components dynamically. In this post, we’ll address a common scenario: how to change the style (like background color) of a View by pressing a nested Button.

The Problem

While working with React Native, you may start with an initial setup like this:

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

Attempting to change the backgroundColor of the View in this manner will result in an error: undefined is not an object (evaluating 'styles.A.backgroundColor = 'yellow').

So, what are we missing?

Understanding the Problem

The error arises because you're trying to directly modify the styles object when a button is pressed. In React (and specifically React Native), you need to manage your component styles through state, not by directly mutating styles as defined at the start of your component.

The Solution

To properly change the background color of a View when a button is pressed, we will utilize React's useState Hook. Here's how to implement it step by step:

Step 1: Import the useState Hook

First, ensure you import useState from React at the top of your file.

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

Step 2: Set Up State for Background Color

Instead of hardcoding your background color, use useState to create a dynamic state variable:

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

Step 3: Update the View and Button

Now you will update the View to use this state variable for its background color. The Button will update this state on press:

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

Final Code

Combining all these changes, your final code will look like this:

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

Conclusion

By using the useState Hook, you can effectively manage the style of your components in a React Native application. Instead of trying to directly modify style properties, you can easily change them by updating the state. This approach not only resolves errors but also adheres to the best practices of React development.

Give it a try, and enjoy enhancing the interactivity of your app!