[typescript] Accessing a property in a parent Component

I have a property in a top level Component that is used data from a HTTP source like so (this is in a file called app.ts):

import {UserData} from './services/user-data/UserData';

Component({
    selector: 'app', // <app></app>
    providers: [...FORM_PROVIDERS],
    directives: [...ROUTER_DIRECTIVES],
    pipes: [],
    template: require('./app.html')
})
@RouteConfig([
    // stuff here
])

export class App {
    // Please note that UserData is an Injectable Service I have written
    userStatus: UserStatus;

    constructor(private userData: UserData) {
        this.userStatus = new UserStatus();
    }

    ngOnInit() {
        this.userData.getUserStatus()
            .subscribe(
            (status) => {
                this.userStatus = status; // I want to access this in my Child Components...
            },
            (err) => {console.log(err);},
            () => {console.log("User status complete");            }
        );
    }
}

Now, I have another Component that is a direct child of the top level Component and within it I would like to access the parent's property 'userStatus', here is the child:

Component({
    selector: 'profile',
    template: require('app/components/profile/profile.html'),
    providers: [],
    directives: [],
    pipes: []
})

export class Profile implements OnInit {
    constructor() {

    }

    ngOnInit() {
        // I want to have access with the parent App Component, 'userStatus' propety here... I only want to read this property
    }
}

Now in Angular 1.x this would be easy as I could reference $parent in my child controller or (ANTI PATTERN ALERT!!!) I could be so foolish to put this data in my $rootScope.

What would be the best way to access the parent in Angular 2?

This question is related to typescript angular

The answer is


I had the same problem but I solved it differently. I don't know if it's a good way of doing it, but it works great for what I need.

I used @Inject on the constructor of the child component, like this:

import { Component, OnInit, Inject } from '@angular/core';
import { ParentComponent } from '../views/parent/parent.component';

export class ChildComponent{
    constructor(@Inject(ParentComponent) private parent: ParentComponent){

    }

    someMethod(){
        this.parent.aPublicProperty = 2;
    }
}

This worked for me, you only need to declare the method or property you want to call as public.

In my case, the AppComponent handles the routing, and I'm using badges in the menu items to alert the user that new unread messages are available. So everytime a user reads a message, I want that counter to refresh, so I call the refresh method so that the number at the menu nav gets updated with the new value. This is probably not the best way but I like it for its simplicity.


On Angular 6, I access parent properties by injecting the parent via constructor. Not the best solution but it works:

 constructor(@Optional() public parentComponentInjectionObject: ParentComponent){
    // And access like this:
    parentComponentInjectionObject.thePropertyYouWantToAccess;
}

You could:

  • Define a userStatus parameter for the child component and provide the value when using this component from the parent:

    @Component({
      (...)
    })
    export class Profile implements OnInit {
      @Input()
      userStatus:UserStatus;
    
      (...)
    }
    

    and in the parent:

    <profile [userStatus]="userStatus"></profile>
    
  • Inject the parent into the child component:

    @Component({
      (...)
    })
    export class Profile implements OnInit {
      constructor(app:App) {
        this.userStatus = app.userStatus;
      }
    
      (...)
    }
    

    Be careful about cyclic dependencies between them.


Since the parent-child interaction is not an easy task to do. But by having a reference for the parent component in the child component it would be much easier to interact. In my method, you need to first pass a reference of the parent component by calling the function of the child component. Here is the for this method.

The Code For Child Component.

    import { Component, Input,ElementRef,Renderer2 } from '@angular/core';

    import { ParentComponent } from './parent.component';

    @Component({
      selector: 'qb-child',
      template: `<div class="child"><button (click)="parentClickFun()">Show text Of Parent Element</button><button (click)="childClickFun()">Show text Of Child Element</button><ng-content></ng-content></div>`,
      styleUrls: ['./app.component.css']
    })
    export class ChildComponent  {
      constructor(private el: ElementRef,private rend: Renderer2){

      };

      qbParent:ParentComponent; 
      getParent(parentEl):void{
        this.qbParent=parentEl;
        console.log(this.el.nativeElement.innerText);
      }
      @Input() name: string;
      childClickFun():void{
        console.log("Properties of Child Component is Accessed");
      }

      parentClickFun():void{
        this.qbParent.callFun();
      }
    }

This is Code for parent Component

import { Component, Input , AfterViewInit,ContentChild,ElementRef,Renderer2} from '@angular/core';

import { ChildComponent } from './child.component';

@Component({
  selector: 'qb-parent',
  template: `<div class="parent"><ng-content></ng-content></div>`,
  styleUrls: ['./app.component.css']
})
export class ParentComponent implements AfterViewInit {
  constructor(private el: ElementRef,private rend: Renderer2){

  };
  @Input() name: string;
  @ContentChild(ChildComponent,{read:ChildComponent,static:true}) qbChild:ChildComponent;

  ngAfterViewInit():void{
    this.qbChild.getParent(this);
  }

  callFun():void{
    console.log("Properties of Parent Component is Accessed");
  }

}

The Html Code

<qb-parent>
  This is Parent
  <qb-child>
    This is Child
  </qb-child>
</qb-parent>

Here we pass the parent component by calling a function of the child component. The link below is an example of this method. Click here!


I made a generic component where I need a reference to the parent using it. Here's what I came up with:

In my component I made an @Input :

@Input()
parent: any;

Then In the parent using this component:

<app-super-component [parent]="this"> </app-super-component>

In the super component I can use any public thing coming from the parent:

Attributes:

parent.anyAttribute

Functions :

parent[myFunction](anyParameter)

and of course private stuff won't be accessible.


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