Flutter: CheckBox doesn't work inside OverlayEntry? - dart

Question

I am trying to display some widgets like a CheckBox or a Switch in an OverlayEntry. The overlay is built in a tap event.
The problem is that the bool _value is updated only the first time I tap the CheckBox inside the overlay, but that CheckBox doesn't update its State. The strange thing is that (only the first tap) the tap updates the CheckBox outside the overlay instead of the one inside it.
What I have missed here?
Below a full snippet to reproduce this.
Thanks for your time!
import 'package:flutter/material.dart';
void main() => runApp(MyApp());
class MyApp extends StatelessWidget {
#override
Widget build(BuildContext context) {
return MaterialApp(
home: MyHomePage(),
);
}
}
class MyHomePage extends StatefulWidget {
MyHomePage({Key key}) : super(key: key);
#override
_MyHomePageState createState() => _MyHomePageState();
}
class _MyHomePageState extends State<MyHomePage> {
bool _value = true;
_buildOverlay() {
OverlayEntry _overlayEntry;
OverlayState _overlayState = Overlay.of(context);
_overlayEntry = OverlayEntry(
builder: (BuildContext context) {
return Stack(
children: <Widget>[
Material(
child: Container(
padding: EdgeInsets.all(100),
color: Colors.lightBlue,
child: Checkbox(
value: _value,
onChanged: (bool value) { print("$value $_value"); setState(() => _value = value); },
),
),
),
],
);
},
);
_overlayState.insert(_overlayEntry);
}
#override
Widget build(BuildContext context) {
return Scaffold(
appBar: AppBar(
title: Text(""),
),
body: Center(
child: Column(
mainAxisAlignment: MainAxisAlignment.center,
children: <Widget>[
Row(
children: <Widget>[
FloatingActionButton(
onPressed: () {_buildOverlay();},
child: Icon(Icons.add),
),
Checkbox(
value: _value,
onChanged: (bool value) { print("$value $_value"); setState(() => _value = value); },
),
],
),
],
),
),
);
}
}
UPDATE:
In addition to the anmol.majhail solution, using ValueListenableBuilder could be another solution without the need to do a StatefulWidget.
The declaration of _value becomes:
var _value = ValueNotifier<bool>(false);
and here the _overlayEntry in the _buildOverlay() function:
_overlayEntry = OverlayEntry(
builder: (BuildContext context) {
return Material(
child: Container(
padding: EdgeInsets.all(100),
color: Colors.lightBlue,
child: ValueListenableBuilder<bool>(
valueListenable: _value,
builder: (context, value, child) {
return Checkbox(
value: _value.value,
onChanged: (bool value) {
print("$value $_value");
setState(() => _value.value = value);
},
);
},
),
),
);
},
);

Answer 1

Issue here is Overlay entry have different context. In Order to make it work you need to separate the overlay entry in a separate stateful widget - through which you can manage the checkbox state.
working Code:
import 'package:flutter/material.dart';
void main() => runApp(MyApp());
class MyApp extends StatelessWidget {
#override
Widget build(BuildContext context) {
return MaterialApp(
home: MyHomePage(),
);
}
}
class MyHomePage extends StatefulWidget {
MyHomePage({Key key}) : super(key: key);
#override
_MyHomePageState createState() => _MyHomePageState();
}
class _MyHomePageState extends State<MyHomePage> {
bool _value = true;
#override
Widget build(BuildContext context) {
return Scaffold(
appBar: AppBar(
title: Text(""),
),
body: Center(
child: Column(
mainAxisAlignment: MainAxisAlignment.center,
children: <Widget>[
Row(
children: <Widget>[
FloatingActionButton(
onPressed: () {
OverlayState _overlayState = Overlay.of(context);
_overlayState.insert(OverlayEntry(
builder: (BuildContext context) {
return OverlayClass(
val: _value,
);
},
));
// _buildOverlay(context);
},
child: Icon(Icons.add),
),
Checkbox(
value: _value,
onChanged: (bool value) {
print("$value $_value");
setState(() => _value = value);
},
),
],
),
],
),
),
);
}
}
class OverlayClass extends StatefulWidget {
final bool val;
OverlayClass({this.val});
#override
_OverlayClassState createState() => _OverlayClassState();
}
class _OverlayClassState extends State<OverlayClass> {
bool _value;
#override
void initState() {
super.initState();
_value = widget.val;
}
#override
Widget build(BuildContext context) {
return Stack(
children: <Widget>[
Material(
child: Container(
padding: EdgeInsets.all(100),
color: Colors.lightBlue,
child: Checkbox(
value: _value,
onChanged: (bool value) {
print("$value $_value");
setState(() => _value = value);
},
),
),
),
],
);
}
}