Saving the layouts

[kartik2014]

I was playing around with this library and I am trying to find out a way to save the layout preference of a user so that when user sees his preferred layout when he logs in next time. I can save it in DB but I need some sort of hints or data in the backend which will be sent by front end. Could you please let me know if it is possible with this libary ?

[anarchistgeek]

@kartik2014 you can get the current layout on "onLayoutChange" event, then you can save this output to database. It is pretty straightforward, please have a look at demos, especially https://strml.github.io/react-grid-layout/examples/7-localstorage.html which should give you a good idea.

[kartik2014]

Thanks !

[guiklimek]

ChatGPT version

To effectively use ResponsiveGridLayout with layouts saved in localStorage, you'll need to implement a lifecycle that:

1. Checks localStorage on Initial Load: When the component mounts, it should check localStorage for any saved layouts. If found, use these layouts; otherwise, fallback to default layouts.

2. Saves Layouts on Change: Whenever the layout changes (due to user interaction or breakpoint changes), save the new layout to localStorage.

_{^{Here's a step-by-step guide to implementing this}}

Step 1: Define Default Layouts

First, define your default layouts for each breakpoint. These will be used if there are no saved layouts in localStorage.

const defaultLayouts = {
  lg: [{ i: 'a', x: 0, y: 0, w: 1, h: 2 }],
  md: [{ i: 'a', x: 0, y: 0, w: 3, h: 2 }],
  // Add more breakpoints as needed
};

Step 2: Load Layouts from localStorage

Create a function to load the layouts from localStorage. If no saved layouts are found, use the default ones.

const loadLayouts = () => {
  try {
    const savedLayouts = localStorage.getItem('layouts');
    return savedLayouts ? JSON.parse(savedLayouts) : defaultLayouts;
  } catch (err) {
    console.error("Failed to load layouts from localStorage", err);
    return defaultLayouts;
  }
};

Step 3: Save Layouts to localStorage

Define a function to save the layouts to localStorage. This function will be called whenever the layout changes.

const saveLayouts = (layouts) => {
  try {
    localStorage.setItem('layouts', JSON.stringify(layouts));
  } catch (err) {
    console.error("Failed to save layouts to localStorage", err);
  }
};

Step 4: Use Layouts in Your Component

In your component, initialize the state with the layouts loaded from localStorage. Use the onLayoutChange event to update this state and save the new layouts to localStorage.

import React, { useState, useEffect } from 'react';
import { Responsive, WidthProvider } from 'react-grid-layout';

const ResponsiveGridLayout = WidthProvider(Responsive);

const MyComponent = () => {
  const [layouts, setLayouts] = useState(loadLayouts());

  useEffect(() => {
    // Optionally, you can add a window event listener to save layouts on unload
    window.addEventListener('beforeunload', () => saveLayouts(layouts));
    return () => window.removeEventListener('beforeunload', () => saveLayouts(layouts));
  }, [layouts]);

  const onLayoutChange = (currentLayout, allLayouts) => {
    setLayouts(allLayouts);
    saveLayouts(allLayouts);
  };

  return (
    <ResponsiveGridLayout
      className="layout"
      layouts={layouts}
      onLayoutChange={onLayoutChange}
      // ... other necessary props
    >
      {/* your grid items */}
    </ResponsiveGridLayout>
  );
};

In this setup:

• loadLayouts is called initially to load layouts from localStorage or fallback to defaults.
• onLayoutChange updates the state with the new layouts and saves them to localStorage.
• An optional useEffect hook with a cleanup function ensures layouts are saved when the component unmounts or the page is closed, providing an extra layer of data safety.

This approach provides a complete lifecycle for managing and persisting grid layouts across user sessions using localStorage.