Ionic 2 - How to reach a component from inside a directive? - components

Question

I'm trying to build a directive to display a custom numpad when
the control (input) on which the directive is applied is clicked.
I'm Working on Ionic 2 RC5.
myPage.html
<ion-content>
<ion-item>
<ion-label stacked>Label</ion-label>
<ion-input dirNumpad type="text" [(ngModel)]="myField"></ion-input>
</ion-item>
</ion-content>
<ion-footer>
<numpad #idNumpad hidden></numpad>
</ion-footer>
The Numpad component is in the DOM, at the bottom of the page.
dirNumpad.ts
import { Directive, ElementRef, ViewChild } from '#angular/core';
import { Numpad } from '../../components/numpad/numpad';
#Directive({
selector: '[dirNumpad]', // Attribute selector
host: {
'(click)': 'onClick()'
}
})
export class DirNumpad {
#ViewChild('idNumpad') numpad: Numpad;
constructor( private el: ElementRef ) {
}
onClick() {
this.showNumpad();
}
showNumpad() {
console.log(this.numpad); => undefined
this.numpad.show(); => error: show property does not exist on undefined
}
}
numpad.html
<div class="numpad" style="position:absolute; top:auto; left:0;
right:0; bottom:0; height:150px;">My Numpad</div>
numpad.ts
import { Component, Input } from '#angular/core';
#Component({
selector: 'numpad',
templateUrl: 'numpad.html'
})
export class Numpad {
constructor() {}
}
My problem: I can not reach the numpad component from inside the directive through ViewChild.
console.log(this.numpad) always returns "undefined"!
I need it to show the numpad only if user clicks on the input on which the directive is applied...
What am I doing wrong?
I'm stucked with this problem, so any help will be appreciated.

Answer 1

ViewChild only applies to the children items of the item. Since the component is not a child in any way of the directive but rather a sibling it cant be received in ViewChild.
You can pass it as part of an input
Declare an input in your component
import { Directive, ElementRef, Input } from '#angular/core';
import { Numpad } from '../../components/numpad/numpad';
#Directive({
selector: '[dirNumpad]', // Attribute selector
host: {
'(click)': 'onClick()'
}
})
export class DirNumpad {
#Input('numpad') numpad: Numpad;
constructor( private el: ElementRef ) {
}
onClick() {
this.showNumpad();
}
showNumpad() {
console.log(this.numpad); => undefined
this.numpad.show(); => error: show property does not exist on undefined
}
}
and set it in your html
<ion-content>
<ion-item>
<ion-label stacked>Label</ion-label>
<ion-input dirNumpad [numpad]="idNumpad" type="text" [(ngModel)]="myField"></ion-input>
</ion-item>
</ion-content>
<ion-footer>
<numpad #idNumpad hidden></numpad>
</ion-footer>