Jetpack Compose Animations: A Quick Guide

Jetpack Compose, the modern Android UI toolkit, has revolutionized how we build user interfaces. With its declarative approach, Compose simplifies UI development and makes it more intuitive. One of the exciting aspects of Compose is its built-in animation capabilities. In this blog post, we’ll explore how to create engaging animations using Jetpack Compose.

Animate Common Composable Properties

Compose provides convenient APIs for animating common properties of a composable. Let’s dive into some examples:

1. Animating Visibility

You can use AnimatedVisibility to hide or show a composable. Here’s a basic example:var visible by remember { mutableStateOf(true) } AnimatedVisibility(visible) { // Your composable here // ... }

The enter and exit parameters of AnimatedVisibility allow you to configure how a composable behaves when it appears and disappears. Alternatively, you can animate the alpha over time using animateFloatAsState:val animatedAlpha by animateFloatAsState( targetValue = if (visible) 1.0f else 0f, label = "alpha" ) Box( modifier = Modifier .size(200.dp) .graphicsLayer { alpha = animatedAlpha } .clip(RoundedCornerShape(8.dp)) .background(colorGreen) .align(Alignment.TopCenter) ) { // Your content here }

Keep in mind that changing the alpha keeps the composable in the composition, whereas AnimatedVisibility eventually removes it.

2. Animating Background Color

To animate the background color of a composable, use animateColorAsState:val animatedColor by animateColorAsState( if (animateBackgroundColor) colorGreen else colorBlue, label = "color" ) Column( modifier = Modifier.drawBehind { drawRect(animatedColor) } ) { // Your composable here }

This approach is more performant than using Modifier.background(), especially when animating colors over time.

Practical Magic with Animations

Compose offers many other animation mechanisms, such as animating size, position, and more. For a comprehensive understanding, explore the full set of API options in the Compose Animation documentation.

In summary, Jetpack Compose empowers developers to create delightful and interactive UIs with ease. Whether you’re building a simple app or a complex interface, animations play a crucial role in enhancing the user experience. Happy animating! 🚀

Source: Conversation with Bing, 3/24/2024
(1) Quick guide to Animations in Compose | Jetpack Compose | Android Developers. https://developer.android.com/jetpack/compose/animation/quick-guide.
(2) Quick Start Guide on Animations in Jetpack Compose – Finotes Blog. https://www.blog.finotes.com/post/quick-start-guide-on-animations-in-jetpack-compose.
(3) Animate Your Jetpack Compose UI: A Comprehensive Overview. https://blog.realogs.in/animating-jetpack-compose-ui/.
(4) Jetpack compose: Custom animations | by Hardik P | Canopas. https://blog.canopas.com/jetpack-compose-custom-animations-550dcdcded83.
(5) Animations in Jetpack Compose: animateContentSize – Medium. https://medium.com/@timacosta06/animations-in-compose-animatecontentsize-1eca1194ca1e.

Author: John Rowan

I am a Senior Android Engineer and I love everything to do with computers. My specialty is Android programming but I actually love to code in any language specifically learning new things.

Author: John Rowan

I am a Senior Android Engineer and I love everything to do with computers. My specialty is Android programming but I actually love to code in any language specifically learning new things.

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