Is there a method to add columns to an Angular material table dynamically?

Question

Is there a method to add columns to an Angular material table dynamically?

I'm encountering an issue with creating dynamic tables using Angular Material tables. Since the table is reliant on an interface, I have a set number of columns. What I'm aiming for is to generate a table dynamically based on the server's response. Is there a method to create the interface dynamically or something similar? The reason behind this query is that the application might have varying numbers of columns - sometimes 2, other times 3, depending on the array size. My current interface structure appears as follows:

export interface Data {
    file: any,
    typea: any,
    typeb: any
}

Based on this interface, I have 3 columns defined. While there are at least 3 columns present, more may be required depending on incoming data. Unfortunately, I haven't been able to achieve this yet. Any assistance in this matter would be greatly valued.

angular typescript interface angular-material

Answer 1

Answer №1

If you want to easily manage multiple columns in a table, one approach is to store all possible columns in an array called definedColumns. You can then loop through this array to define the headers and cells for each column.

To control which columns are displayed based on certain conditions, create another array named columnsToDisplay containing the names of the columns you wish to show. By adding or removing column IDs from this array, you can dynamically update the table to display the desired columns.

<table mat-table [dataSource]="data" class="mat-elevation-z8">
  <ng-container matColumnDef="{{column}}" *ngFor="let column of definedColumns">
    <th mat-header-cell *matHeaderCellDef> {{column}} </th>
    <td mat-cell *matCellDef="let element"> {{element[column]}} </td>
  </ng-container>

  <tr mat-header-row *matHeaderRowDef="columnsToDisplay"></tr>
  <tr mat-row *matRowDef="let row; columns: columnsToDisplay;"></tr>
</table>

You can see a working example of this concept on the Angular Material website under "Table dynamically changing the columns displayed" in the examples section here - https://material.angular.io/components/table/examples

If you need more advanced features, like using TemplateRefs for cell and header definitions, consider exploring Angular Material's CDK functionalities.

For dynamically adding and removing columns from a table using Angular CDK API, you can assign #table to your mat-table element and access it in your component as a @ViewChild. Then, you can utilize this.table.addColumnDef to add new columns as needed. Check out https://material.angular.io/cdk/table/api#CdkColumnDef for more information.

Answer 2

If you want to easily manage multiple columns in a table, one approach is to store all possible columns in an array called definedColumns. You can then loop through this array to define the headers and cells for each column.

To control which columns are displayed based on certain conditions, create another array named columnsToDisplay containing the names of the columns you wish to show. By adding or removing column IDs from this array, you can dynamically update the table to display the desired columns.

<table mat-table [dataSource]="data" class="mat-elevation-z8">
  <ng-container matColumnDef="{{column}}" *ngFor="let column of definedColumns">
    <th mat-header-cell *matHeaderCellDef> {{column}} </th>
    <td mat-cell *matCellDef="let element"> {{element[column]}} </td>
  </ng-container>

  <tr mat-header-row *matHeaderRowDef="columnsToDisplay"></tr>
  <tr mat-row *matRowDef="let row; columns: columnsToDisplay;"></tr>
</table>

You can see a working example of this concept on the Angular Material website under "Table dynamically changing the columns displayed" in the examples section here - https://material.angular.io/components/table/examples

If you need more advanced features, like using TemplateRefs for cell and header definitions, consider exploring Angular Material's CDK functionalities.

For dynamically adding and removing columns from a table using Angular CDK API, you can assign #table to your mat-table element and access it in your component as a @ViewChild. Then, you can utilize this.table.addColumnDef to add new columns as needed. Check out https://material.angular.io/cdk/table/api#CdkColumnDef for more information.

Answer 3

Answer №2

While I'm not completely sold on angular-material tables, they do offer the functionality to generate dynamic properties for your Data object following a server request.

The code snippet provided is in JavaScript and can easily be ported over to TypeScript, where the promise represents an HTTP call.

var obj = { };
var promise = new Promise(resolve => resolve(['one', 'two', 'three']));

promise.then(data => {
  for (let column of data){
    obj[column] = 'data -> ' + column;
  }
  
  console.log(obj);
});

Answer 4

While I'm not completely sold on angular-material tables, they do offer the functionality to generate dynamic properties for your Data object following a server request.

The code snippet provided is in JavaScript and can easily be ported over to TypeScript, where the promise represents an HTTP call.

var obj = { };
var promise = new Promise(resolve => resolve(['one', 'two', 'three']));

promise.then(data => {
  for (let column of data){
    obj[column] = 'data -> ' + column;
  }
  
  console.log(obj);
});

Is there a method to add columns to an Angular material table dynamically?

Answer №1

Answer №2

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