Flutter - RepaintBoundary causes state reset of StatefulWidget - dart

Question

I have a preview widget that loads data after a user tap. This state (already tapped or not) should not be lost while scrolling (the preview is located in a list) or navigating through other screen.
The scrolling is solved by adding AutomaticKeepAliveClientMixin which saves the state when scrolling away.
Now i also need to wrap the preview widget (actually a more complex widget that contains the preview) with a RepaintBoundary, to be able to make a "screenshot" of this widget alone.
Before i wrap the widget with a RepaintBoundary, the state is saved both while scrolling and navigating to another screen.
After i add the RepaintBoundary the scrolling still works but for navigation the state is reset.
How can i wrap a Stateful widget that should hold its state with a RepaintBoundary?
Code is a simplified example of my implementation with the same problem.
import 'package:flutter/material.dart';
void main() {
runApp(MyApp());
}
class MyApp extends StatelessWidget {
MyApp({Key key}) : super(key: key);
#override
Widget build(BuildContext context) {
final title = 'Test';
return MaterialApp(
title: title,
home: Scaffold(
appBar: AppBar(
title: Text(title),
),
body: TestList(40),
),
);
}
}
class TestList extends StatefulWidget {
final int numberOfItems;
TestList(this.numberOfItems);
#override
_TestListState createState() => _TestListState();
}
class _TestListState extends State<TestList> {
#override
Widget build(BuildContext context) {
print('_TestListState build.');
return ListView.builder(
itemCount: widget.numberOfItems,
itemBuilder: (context, index) {
return RepaintBoundary(
key: GlobalKey(),
child: Preview()
);
},
);
}
}
class Preview extends StatefulWidget {
#override
_PreviewState createState() => _PreviewState();
}
class _PreviewState extends State<Preview> with AutomaticKeepAliveClientMixin {
bool loaded;
#override
void initState() {
super.initState();
print('_PreviewState initState.');
loaded = false;
}
#override
bool get wantKeepAlive => true;
#override
Widget build(BuildContext context) {
super.build(context);
print('_PreviewState build.');
if(loaded) {
return GestureDetector(
onTap: () {
Navigator.push(
context,
MaterialPageRoute(builder: (context) => NewScreen()),
);
},
child: ListTile(
title: Text('Loaded. Tap to navigate.'),
leading: Icon(Icons.visibility),
),
);
} else {
return GestureDetector(
onTap: () {
setState(() {
loaded = true;
});
},
child: ListTile(
title: Text('Tap to load.'),
),
);
}
}
}
class NewScreen extends StatelessWidget {
#override
Widget build(BuildContext context) {
return Scaffold(
appBar: AppBar(title: Text('New Screen')),
body: Center(
child: Text(
'Navigate back and see if loaded state is gone.',
style: TextStyle(fontSize: 14.0),
),
),
);
}
}

Answer 1

Take a look at RepaintBoundary.wrap, it assigns the RepaintBoundary widget a key based on its child or childIndex so state is maintained:
class _TestListState extends State<TestList> {
#override
Widget build(BuildContext context) {
print('_TestListState build.');
return ListView.builder(
itemCount: widget.numberOfItems,
itemBuilder: (context, index) {
return RepaintBoundary.wrap(
Preview(),
index,
);
},
);
}
}
https://api.flutter.dev/flutter/widgets/RepaintBoundary/RepaintBoundary.wrap.html
EDIT: As per the below comments, it looks like this solution would break the screenshot ability so you'd have to store the list of children widgets in your state like so:
class _TestListState extends State<TestList> {
List<Widget> _children;
#override
void initState() {
super.initState();
_children = List.generate(
widget.numberOfItems,
(_) => RepaintBoundary(
key: GlobalKey(),
child: Preview(),
));
}
#override
Widget build(BuildContext context) {
print('_TestListState build.');
return ListView(children: _children);
}
}