PageModel class

Prerequisites

This guide uses example of the generated code of the EcommerceFlow demo app. To view the generated code directly, check out the Github repository.

When you create a new page in FlutterFlow, it automatically generates two files: a Widget class and a Model class. The PageModel classes are responsible for managing the state of individual pages and initializing the components used in these Pages. These classes extend the FlutterFlowModel class, which provides a consistent structure and shared functionality across all page models.

A PageModel class typically holds local state fields specific to the page, which correspond to the Page State variables. For example, in the product_list_page_model.dart file (which is the Model file for the ProductListPage), one of the state fields might be _searchString. This private field stores the current search string and includes a getter and setter to manage its value while logging any changes.

String? _searchString;
set searchString(String? value) {
  _searchString = value;
  debugLogWidgetClass(rootModel);
}
String? get searchString => _searchString;

In addition to managing local state, the PageModel class also contains fields for handling the state of widgets on the page. For instance, _dropDownValue is a private field that stores the current value of a dropdown widget. Similar to _searchString, it has a getter and setter that logs changes to this field.

String? _dropDownValue;
set dropDownValue(String? value) {
  _dropDownValue = value;
  debugLogWidgetClass(rootModel);
}
String? get dropDownValue => _dropDownValue;

The PageModel class is also responsible for initializing the models of components used on the page. For example, if the page includes a CartCounter component, the model for this component is initialized within the page's model class.

// Model for CartCounter component.
  late CartCounterModel cartCounterModel;

@override
void initState(BuildContext context) {
    cartCounterModel = createModel(context, () => CartCounterModel()..parentModel = this);
    
}

When dealing with dynamic lists of components, such as those in a ListView, Row, or Column widget, the PageModel initializes a Map<String, FlutterFlowModel> to manage the state of each component instance. For example, if the page includes a list of CategoryAvatar components, the initialization might look like this:

// Models for CategoryAvatar dynamic component.
  Map<String, FlutterFlowModel> categoryAvatarModels = {};

Finally, the dispose function in the ProductListPageModel class is used to clean up resources when they are no longer needed. This is a common practice in Flutter to prevent memory leaks. In this class, the dispose function is overridden to dispose of the cartCounterModel, searchQueryFocusNode, and searchQueryTextController.

  @override
  void dispose() {
    cartCounterModel.dispose();
    searchQueryFocusNode?.dispose();
    searchQueryTextController?.dispose();
  }