How to Use Angular Material Tabs

Angular Material provides a set of high-quality UI components to help developers create modern web applications with minimal effort. One of the essential components for building responsive and interactive user interfaces is the Tab component. In this article, we will explore how to use Angular Material Tabs to organize content and enhance the user experience in your Angular applications.

01. Introduction to Angular Material Tabs

Tabs are a powerful UI element that allows content to be divided into sections, making it easier for users to navigate between them. The mat-tab-group component, along with the mat-tab component, is used to implement tabs in Angular Material. This component offers a rich set of features such as lazy loading of tab content, accessibility, and customizable appearance.

02. Setting Up Angular Material Tabs

Before using Angular Material tabs, you need to ensure that you have Angular Material installed and configured in your project. If you haven’t done so, follow these steps:

Install Angular Material using the following command:

<code>ng add @angular/material</code>

Import the MatTabsModule into your app module:

<code>import { MatTabsModule } from '@angular/material/tabs';</code>

Add MatTabsModule to the imports array in your module:

<code>@NgModule({
  imports: [MatTabsModule],
  ...
})</code>

Now you are ready to use the Angular Material Tabs in your application!

03. Basic Usage of Angular Material Tabs

Once Angular Material Tabs are set up, you can begin using them in your templates. The mat-tab-group serves as the container for the tabs, while each individual tab is wrapped in the mat-tab element.

Example 1: Simple Tab Implementation

<mat-tab-group>
  <mat-tab label="Tab 1">Content for Tab 1</mat-tab>
  <mat-tab label="Tab 2">Content for Tab 2</mat-tab>
  <mat-tab label="Tab 3">Content for Tab 3</mat-tab>
</mat-tab-group>

In this example, we have three tabs with labels "Tab 1", "Tab 2", and "Tab 3". The content for each tab is defined inside the respective mat-tab tag. By default, the first tab will be selected when the component loads.

04. Customizing Angular Material Tabs

Angular Material Tabs can be customized in various ways, from changing the active tab's appearance to adding icons, dynamic tab content, and more. Here are some customization options:

Example 2: Adding Icons to Tabs

<mat-tab-group>
  <mat-tab label="Home" icon="home">Content for Home</mat-tab>
  <mat-tab label="Search" icon="search">Content for Search</mat-tab>
  <mat-tab label="Settings" icon="settings">Content for Settings</mat-tab>
</mat-tab-group>

In this example, each tab has an icon, which is set using the icon attribute. You can use any Material icon or custom icons.

Example 3: Changing the Tab Label Position

<mat-tab-group mat-align-tabs="start">
  <mat-tab label="Tab 1">Content for Tab 1</mat-tab>
  <mat-tab label="Tab 2">Content for Tab 2</mat-tab>
</mat-tab-group>

The mat-align-tabs directive can be used to change the alignment of the tab labels. You can align them to the start, center, or end.

Example 4: Disable Tabs

<mat-tab-group>
  <mat-tab label="Tab 1" [disabled]="isDisabled">Content for Tab 1</mat-tab>
  <mat-tab label="Tab 2">Content for Tab 2</mat-tab>
</mat-tab-group>

The [disabled] attribute allows you to dynamically disable a tab. In this case, the first tab will be disabled based on the value of the isDisabled variable.

05. Lazy Loading Tab Content

Angular Material provides an efficient way to load tab content lazily. This can significantly improve performance, especially if the tab content is heavy or contains complex components.

Example 5: Lazy Loading Tab Content

<mat-tab-group>
  <mat-tab label="Tab 1">
    <ng-template matTabContent>
      <p>Content for Tab 1</p>
    </ng-template>
  </mat-tab>
  <mat-tab label="Tab 2">
    <ng-template matTabContent>
      <p>Content for Tab 2</p>
    </ng-template>
  </mat-tab>
</mat-tab-group>

The matTabContent directive ensures that the content inside the tab is only loaded when the tab is selected. This is an excellent way to enhance performance in applications with heavy tab content.

06. Conclusion

Angular Material Tabs are an essential part of building interactive and user-friendly web applications. They provide a clean and efficient way to organize content and improve the overall user experience. With the features provided by Angular Material, you can:

Create simple and customized tabs.
Enhance performance with lazy loading of tab content.
Disable tabs dynamically based on user interaction or application state.
Use Material icons to enrich the appearance of tabs.

By following the examples and tips outlined in this article, you can effectively implement Angular Material Tabs in your application to create a modern, efficient, and user-friendly UI.