Resolving SwiftUI View Not Updating with EnvironmentObject Observable Property

Discover how to fix the issue of SwiftUI views not updating from EnvironmentObject observable properties in your app by restructuring your code effectively.
---

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: SwiftUI view is not updating from environmentObject observable property

If anything seems off to you, please feel free to write me at vlogize [AT] gmail [DOT] com.
---
Resolving SwiftUI View Not Updating with EnvironmentObject Observable Property

When developing with SwiftUI, you may encounter a common issue: the view does not update as expected when using an EnvironmentObject that is an observable property. This can be particularly frustrating, especially when integrating real-time data from sources like Firestore. In this guide, we'll investigate the problem and provide a structured solution to ensure your views refresh correctly based on changes in the underlying data.

The Problem

In our scenario, we're dealing with a SignedInAuthentication object that is set as an EnvironmentObject. This object maintains user and workout completion data, both of which are marked with -Published. However, despite having a snapshot listener correctly set up in the WorkoutCompletionDataStore, the corresponding SwiftUI view (HomeScreen) does not refresh when the workoutCompletions array is modified. The initial setup and code structure look something like this:

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

The view displays the workout completions, but it fails to update when changes occur in the Firestore database due to the setup of the EnvironmentObject hierarchy. So, how do we resolve this?

The Solution

Thanks to user contributions, particularly advice from -workingdog, we learned that refactoring our code structure could significantly improve our situation. Here’s how you can fix the issue step-by-step:

1. Restructure Your Environment Object

The key takeaway is to use the WorkoutCompletionDataStore as a top-level EnvironmentObject. This approach prevents issues stemming from nested observable objects that might not communicate properly with the SwiftUI view hierarchy.

Updated Code Structure:

You should declare your WorkoutCompletionDataStore as follows:

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

2. Modify the Home Screen

Next, within your HomeScreen, you can access the workoutCompletionStore now initialized at the top level. Here’s how you might implement this:

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

3. Ensure Proper Data Flow

Make sure that any data updates triggered by Firestore are correctly emitted from the WorkoutCompletionDataStore and that the -Published properties remain reactive. If you followed the previous steps, this should automatically trigger updates to the SwiftUI views whenever workoutCompletions changes.

Conclusion

By restructuring the way your observable objects are implemented, particularly by promoting WorkoutCompletionDataStore to a top-level EnvironmentObject, you eliminate the issues of nested observable contexts and ensure that your views update automatically with changes in the underlying data. This simple yet effective refactor can significantly enhance the responsiveness of your SwiftUI applications.

Would you like to share your thoughts on this approach, or do you have other tips that worked for you? Leave a comment below!