Angular Virtual ForOf Directive Overview

    The Ignite UI for Angular igxForOf directive is an alternative to ngForOf for templating large amounts of data. It uses virtualization behind the scenes to optimize DOM rendering and memory consumption.

    Angular Virtual For Directive Example

    Getting Started with Ignite UI for Angular Virtual ForOf Directive

    To get started with the Ignite UI for Angular igxFor directive, first you need to install Ignite UI for Angular. In an existing Angular application, type the following command:

    ng add igniteui-angular
    

    For a complete introduction to the Ignite UI for Angular, read the getting started topic.

    The next step is to import the IgxForOfModule in your app.module.ts file.

    // app.module.ts
    
    import { IgxForOfModule } from 'igniteui-angular';
    // import { IgxForOfModule } from '@infragistics/igniteui-angular'; for licensed package
    
    @NgModule({
        imports: [
            ...
            IgxForOfModule,
            ...
        ]
    })
    export class AppModule {}
    

    Alternatively, as of 16.0.0 you can import the IgxForOfDirective as a standalone dependency.

    // home.component.ts
    
    import { IgxForOfDirective } from 'igniteui-angular';
    // import { IgxForOfDirective } from '@infragistics/igniteui-angular'; for licensed package
    
    @Component({
        selector: 'app-home',
        template: `
        <span #container>
            <ng-template *igxFor="data"></ng-template>
        </span>
        `,
        styleUrls: ['home.component.scss'],
        standalone: true,
        imports: [IgxForOfDirective]
    })
    export class HomeComponent {
        public data: Employee [];
    }
    

    Now that you have the Ignite UI for Angular Tree Grid module or directives imported, you can start using the igxFor directive.

    Using the Angular Virtual ForOf

    Now that we have the module or directive imported, let’s get started with a basic configuration of the igxFor that binds to local data:

    <span #container>
        <ng-template *igxFor="data"></ng-template>
    </span>
    

    The data property is an array that provides the data objects used to construct the virtualized DOM.

    Examples

    The igxFor directive can be used to virtualize the data in vertical, horizontal or both directions.

    Virtualization works similarly to Paging by slicing the data into smaller chucks which are swapped from a container viewport while the user scrolls the data horizontally/vertically. The difference with the Paging is that virtualization mimics the natural behavior of the scrollbar. The igxFor directive is creating scrollable containers and renders small chunks of the data. It is used inside the igxGrid and it can be used to build a virtual igx-list.

    Vertical virtualization

    <igx-list>
        <div [style.height]="'500px'" [style.overflow]="'hidden'" [style.position]="'relative'">
            <igx-list-item [style.width]="'calc(100% - 18px)'"
                *igxFor="let item of data | igxFilter: fo;
                         scrollOrientation : 'vertical';
                         containerSize: '500px'; 
                         itemSize: '50px'">
                <div class="contact">
                    <span class="name">{{item.name}}</span>
                </div>
            </igx-list-item>
        </div>
    </igx-list>
    

    Note: It is strongly advised that the parent container of the igxForOf template has the following CSS rules applied: height for vertical and width for horizontal, overflow: hidden and position: relative. This is because the smooth scrolling behavior is achieved through content offsets that could visually affect other parts of the page if they remain visible.

    Horizontal virtualization

    <igx-list>
        <div [style.width]="'880px'" [style.overflow]="'hidden'" [style.position]="'relative'">
            <igx-list-item [style.width]="'220px'"
                *igxFor="let item of data | igxFilter: fo;
                         scrollOrientation : 'horizontal'; 
                         containerSize: '880px'; 
                         itemSize: '220px'">
                <div class="contact">
                    <span class="name">{{item.name}}</span>
                </div>
            </igx-list-item>
        </div>
    </igx-list>
    

    Horizontal and vertical virtualization

    <table #container [style.width]='width' 
        [style.height]='height'
        [style.overflow]='"hidden"'
        [style.position]='"relative"'>
        <ng-template #scrollContainer igxFor let-rowData
            [igxForOf]="data"
            [igxForScrollOrientation]="'vertical'"
            [igxForContainerSize]='height'
            [igxForItemSize]='"50px"'>
            <tr [style.display]="'flex'" [style.height]="'50px'">
                <ng-template #childContainer igxFor let-col
                    [igxForOf]="cols"
                    [igxForScrollOrientation]="'horizontal'"
                    [igxForScrollContainer]="parentVirtDir"
                    [igxForContainerSize]='width'>
                        <td [style.min-width]='col.width + "px"'>
                            {{rowData[col.field]}}
                        </td>
                </ng-template>
            </tr>
        </ng-template>
    </table>
    

    The igxFor directivе is used to virtualize data in both vertical and horizontal directions inside the igxGrid.

    Follow the Grid Virtualization topic for more detailed information and demos.

    igxFor bound to remote service

    The igxForOf directive can be bound to a remote service using the Observable property - remoteData (in the following case). The chunkLoading event should also be utilized to trigger the requests for data.

    <div style='height: 500px; overflow: hidden; position: relative;'>
        <ng-template igxFor let-item [igxForOf]="remoteData | async"
            (chunkPreload)="chunkLoading($event)"
            [igxForScrollOrientation]="'vertical'"
            [igxForContainerSize]='"500px"'
            [igxForItemSize]='"50px"'
            [igxForRemote]='true'
            let-rowIndex="index" #virtDirRemote>
            <div style='height:50px;'>{{item.ProductID}} : {{item.ProductName}}</div>
        </ng-template>
    </div>
    

    Note: There is a requirement to set the totalItemCount property in the instance of igxForOf.

    this.virtDirRemote.totalItemCount = data['@odata.count'];
    

    In order to access the directive instance from the component, it should be marked as ViewChild:

    @ViewChild('virtDirRemote', { read: IgxForOfDirective })
    public virtDirRemote: IgxForOfDirective<any>;
    

    After the request for loading the first chunk, the totalItemCount can be set:

    public ngAfterViewInit() {
        this.remoteService.getData(this.virtDirRemote.state, (data) => {
            this.virtDirRemote.totalItemCount = data['@odata.count'];
        });
    }
    

    When requesting data you can take advantage of the IgxForOfState interface, which provides the startIndex and chunkSize properties. Note that initialy the chunkSize will be 0, so you have to specify the size of the first loaded chunk (the best value is the initial igxForContainerSize divided by the igxForItemSize).

    public getData(data?: IForOfState, cb?: (any) => void): any {
        var dataState = data;
        return this.http
            .get(this.buildUrl(dataState))
            .map((response) => response.json())
            .map((response) => {
                return response;
            })
            .subscribe((data) => {
                this._remoteData.next(data.value);
                if (cb) {
                    cb(data);
                }
            });
    }
    
    private buildUrl(dataState: any): string {
        let qS: string = '?', requiredChunkSize: number;
        if (dataState) {
            const skip = dataState.startIndex;
                requiredChunkSize =  dataState.chunkSize === 0 ?
                // Set initial chunk size, the best value is igxForContainerSize
                // initially divided by igxForItemSize
                10 : dataState.chunkSize;
            const top = requiredChunkSize;
            qS += `$skip=${skip}&$top=${top}&$count=true`;
        }
        return `${this.url}${qS}`;
    }
    

    Every time the chunkPreload event is thrown, a new chunk of data should be requested:

    chunkLoading(evt) {
        if(this.prevRequest){
            this.prevRequest.unsubscribe();
         }
         this.prevRequest = this.remoteService.getData(evt, ()=> {
            this.virtDirRemote.cdr.detectChanges();
        });
    }
    

    Local Variables

    The igxFor directive includes the following helper properties in its context: even, odd, first and last. They are used to identify the current element position in the collection. The following code snippet demonstrates how to use the even property in an ng-template. Аn even class will be assigned to every even div element:

    <ng-template igxFor let-item let-isEven="even"
                 [igxForOf]="data" 
                 [igxForScrollOrientation]="'vertical'" >
        <div [ngClass]="{even: isEven}"></div>
    </ng-template>
    

    Known Limitations

    Limitation Description
    scrollTo method does not work correctly when the content size of the rendered templates changes post initialization When the elements inside the template have a size, that changes runtime after initialization (for example as a result of content projection, remote request resolution etc.), then the scrollTo method will not be able to scroll to the correct index. The method will scroll to the position of the index before the runtime size change occurs, hence the location will not be correct after the size is changed later. A possible workaround is to use templates that do not change their size based on their content if the content is loaded later.

    API References

    Additional Resources

    Our community is active and always welcoming to new ideas. * [Ignite UI for Angular **Forums**](https://www.infragistics.com/community/forums/f/ignite-ui-for-angular) * [Ignite UI for Angular **GitHub**](https://github.com/IgniteUI/igniteui-angular)