Example of overlays with search suggestions during HumpdayQ&A - 11th January 2023 - by Simon Lightfoot

main.dart

// MIT License
//
// Copyright (c) 2023 Simon Lightfoot
//
// Permission is hereby granted, free of charge, to any person obtaining a copy
// of this software and associated documentation files (the "Software"), to deal
// in the Software without restriction, including without limitation the rights
// to use, copy, modify, merge, publish, distribute, sublicense, and/or sell
// copies of the Software, and to permit persons to whom the Software is
// furnished to do so, subject to the following conditions:
//
// The above copyright notice and this permission notice shall be included in all
// copies or substantial portions of the Software.
//
// THE SOFTWARE IS PROVIDED "AS IS", WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR
// IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO THE WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY,
// FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE AND NONINFRINGEMENT. IN NO EVENT SHALL THE
// AUTHORS OR COPYRIGHT HOLDERS BE LIABLE FOR ANY CLAIM, DAMAGES OR OTHER
// LIABILITY, WHETHER IN AN ACTION OF CONTRACT, TORT OR OTHERWISE, ARISING FROM,
// OUT OF OR IN CONNECTION WITH THE SOFTWARE OR THE USE OR OTHER DEALINGS IN THE
// SOFTWARE.
//
import 'dart:async';

import 'package:flutter/material.dart';

class SearchManager {
  SearchManager();

  final names = <String>['Simon', 'Steve', 'Randal', 'Dalan', 'TrainOfThrought'];

  Future<List<String>> performSearch(String query) async {
    final results = <String>[];
    for (final name in names) {
      if (name.toLowerCase().contains(query.toLowerCase())) {
        results.add(name);
      }
    }
    return results;
  }
}

void main() {
  runApp(const SearchApp());
}

@immutable
class SearchApp extends StatefulWidget {
  const SearchApp({super.key});

  static SearchAppState of(BuildContext context) {
    return context.findAncestorStateOfType<SearchAppState>()!;
  }

  @override
  State<SearchApp> createState() => SearchAppState();
}

class SearchAppState extends State<SearchApp> {
  final searchManager = SearchManager();

  @override
  Widget build(BuildContext context) {
    return const MaterialApp(
      home: Home(),
      debugShowCheckedModeBanner: false,
    );
  }
}

@immutable
class Home extends StatelessWidget {
  const Home({super.key});

  @override
  Widget build(BuildContext context) {
    return Transform.scale(
      alignment: Alignment.topLeft,
      scale: 1.0, // embiggen
      child: Material(
        child: Column(
          children: const [
            Padding(
              padding: EdgeInsets.symmetric(vertical: 8.0, horizontal: 24.0),
              child: SearchField(),
            ),
            ListTile(
              title: Text('Blah 1'),
            ),
            ListTile(
              title: Text('Blah 2'),
            ),
            ListTile(
              title: Text('Blah 3'),
            ),
          ],
        ),
      ),
    );
  }
}

@immutable
class SearchField extends StatefulWidget {
  const SearchField({super.key});

  @override
  State<SearchField> createState() => _SearchFieldState();
}

class _SearchFieldState extends State<SearchField> {
  final _width = ValueNotifier<double>(0.0);
  final _layerLink = LayerLink();
  final _focusNode = FocusNode();
  final _controller = TextEditingController();

  OverlayEntry? _overlayEntry;

  @override
  void initState() {
    super.initState();
    _focusNode.addListener(_onFocusOrTextChanged);
    _controller.addListener(_onFocusOrTextChanged);
  }

  void _onFocusOrTextChanged() {
    final shouldShowOverlay = _focusNode.hasFocus && _controller.text.trim().isNotEmpty;
    if (_overlayEntry != null && !shouldShowOverlay) {
      _overlayEntry!.remove();
      _overlayEntry = null;
    } else if (_overlayEntry == null && shouldShowOverlay) {
      _overlayEntry = OverlayEntry(
        builder: (BuildContext builderContext) {
          return SearchSuggestionsList(
            layerLink: _layerLink,
            controller: _controller,
            width: _width,
          );
        },
      );
      Overlay.of(context).insert(_overlayEntry!);
    }
  }

  @override
  void dispose() {
    _focusNode.removeListener(_onFocusOrTextChanged);
    _focusNode.dispose();
    _controller.removeListener(_onFocusOrTextChanged);
    _controller.dispose();
    super.dispose();
  }

  @override
  Widget build(BuildContext context) {
    return LayoutBuilder(builder: (BuildContext context, BoxConstraints constraints) {
      scheduleMicrotask(() => _width.value = constraints.maxWidth);
      return CompositedTransformTarget(
        link: _layerLink,
        child: TextField(
          focusNode: _focusNode,
          controller: _controller,
        ),
      );
    });
  }
}

@immutable
class SearchSuggestionsList extends StatefulWidget {
  const SearchSuggestionsList({
    super.key,
    required this.layerLink,
    required this.controller,
    required this.width,
  });

  final LayerLink layerLink;
  final TextEditingController controller;
  final ValueNotifier<double> width;

  @override
  State<SearchSuggestionsList> createState() => _SearchSuggestionsListState();
}

class _SearchSuggestionsListState extends State<SearchSuggestionsList> {
  late SearchManager searchManager;
  late Future<List<String>> results;

  @override
  void initState() {
    super.initState();
    searchManager = SearchApp.of(context).searchManager;
    widget.controller.addListener(_onTextChanged);
    _onTextChanged();
  }

  void _onTextChanged() {
    final text = widget.controller.text.trim();
    setState(() {
      results = searchManager.performSearch(text);
    });
  }

  @override
  void dispose() {
    widget.controller.removeListener(_onTextChanged);
    super.dispose();
  }

  @override
  Widget build(BuildContext context) {
    return CompositedTransformFollower(
      link: widget.layerLink,
      followerAnchor: Alignment.topLeft,
      targetAnchor: Alignment.bottomLeft,
      child: Align(
        alignment: Alignment.topLeft,
        child: ValueListenableBuilder(
          valueListenable: widget.width,
          builder: (BuildContext context, double width, Widget? child) {
            return SizedBox(
              width: width,
              child: child,
            );
          },
          child: IntrinsicHeight(
            child: Material(
              type: MaterialType.card,
              elevation: 8.0,
              child: FutureBuilder(
                future: results,
                builder: (BuildContext context, AsyncSnapshot<List<String>> snapshot) {
                  if (snapshot.connectionState != ConnectionState.done &&
                      snapshot.hasData == false) {
                    return const Center(child: CircularProgressIndicator());
                  }
                  final theme = Theme.of(context);
                  final results = snapshot.requireData;
                  return SingleChildScrollView(
                      child: Column(
                    children: [
                      if (results.isEmpty) //
                        ListTile(
                          title: Text(
                            'No results found',
                            style: TextStyle(
                              color: theme.colorScheme.error,
                            ),
                          ),
                        ),
                      for (final result in results) //
                        ListTile(
                          onTap: () {
                            print(result);
                          },
                          title: Text(result),
                        ),
                    ],
                  ));
                },
              ),
            ),
          ),
        ),
      ),
    );
  }
}

Thanks

setting showWhenUnlinked to false under CompositedTransformFollower helps avoid OverlayEntry from showing up at the top left when scrolling.

Thank you simon for this awesome search overlay.

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