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Introduction

shinyMobile is built on top of the framework7 template (V5.7.14) and has different purposes:

  • Develop mobile-ready shinyapps.
  • Develop progressive web shinyapps (PWA, similar to native apps).
  • Develop desktop shinyapps.

Custom skins

shinyMobile offers 3 skins:

  • aurora for desktop apps.
  • ios and md for mobile apps.

It automatically detects if the app is running with android or iOS and accordingly adapts the layout. It is of course possible to apply the iOS skin on an android device and inversely, although not recommended.

shinyMobile also provides 2 themes, namely light and dark.

Layouts

shinyMobile brings 3 out of the box layouts:

  • f7SingleLayout(): develop simple apps (best choice for iOS/android Apps).
  • f7TabLayout(): develop complex multi-tabbed apps (best choice for iOS/android Apps).
  • f7SplitLayout(): for tablets and desktop with a sidebar, navbar and a main panel

UI elements

Inputs: brief comparison side by side with {shiny}

shinyMobile has its own custom input widgets with unique design for each skin (iOS/android/aurora). Below we summarise all known shiny inputs and their equivalent with shinyMobile.

Features (sample) shiny shinyMobile
Range slider sliderInput() f7Slider()
Text input textInput(), textAreaInput() f7Text(), f7Password(), f7TextArea()
Checkbox checkboxInput(), checkboxGroupInput() f7Checkbox(), f7CheckboxGroup()
Radio radioButtons() f7Radio()
Toggle switch ❌ (see bslib) f7Toggle()
Numeric numericInput() f7Stepper()
Select selectInput() f7Select(), f7SmartSelect(), f7Picker()
Autocomplete f7AutoComplete()
Action button actionButton() f7Button() f7Fab()
Date dateInput(), dateRangeInput() f7DatePicker()
Color f7ColorPicker()
Download downloadButton() f7DownloadButton()

Containers

Create your first App

Page

It is the main template skeleton.

f7Page(
  ..., 
  options = list(...),
  title = NULL,
  allowPWA = FALSE
)

options sets up the app look and feel (See dedicated section below). f7Page() accepts any shinyMobile layout (See below).

The navbar is a mandatory element of any shinyMobile layout. It contains a title, a subtitle and triggers for both right and left panels (f7Panel()).

f7Navbar(
  ..., 
  subNavbar = NULL, 
  title = NULL, 
  subtitle = NULL,
  hairline = TRUE, 
  shadow = TRUE, 
  bigger = FALSE,
  transparent = FALSE,
  leftPanel = FALSE, 
  rightPanel = FALSE
)

For complex apps, you can even add it a sub-navbar with f7SubNavbar(...), which may contain any element like f7Button() or text. f7Navbar() exposes styling parameters such as shadow and hairline.

The Toolbar

This is an option if you decide not to embed a f7SubNavbar(). The toolbar is the right place to add f7Button(), f7Link(), f7Badge()… Its location is controlled with the position parameter (either top or bottom).

f7Toolbar(
  ..., 
  position = c("top", "bottom"), 
  hairline = TRUE,
  shadow = TRUE, 
  icons = FALSE, 
  scrollable = FALSE
)

Under the hood, f7Tabs() is a custom f7Toolbar().

Panels

Panels are also called sidebars, f7Panel() being the corresponding function.

f7Panel(
  ..., 
  id = NULL,
  title = NULL, 
  side = c("left", "right"),
  theme = c("dark", "light"), 
  effect = c("reveal", "cover"),
  resizable = FALSE
)

f7Panel() has a theme option, regardless of the main app theme. For instance, it is entirely possible to create a dark f7Panel() while the page theme is light, and conversely. Its behavior is controlled via the effect argument:

  • reveal makes the body content move and resize.
  • cover covers the body content.

The resizable argument allows to dynamically resize the panel.

Note that for the moment, there is no option to control the width of each panel.

As stated previously for the f7SplitLayout(), the f7Panel() may also be considered as a sidebar. In that case, we may include f7PanelMenu(). Finally do not forget to set up the f7Navbar() so that panels are allowed!

The appbar

f7Appbar() is displayed on top of the f7Navbar(). It is a best choice to embed f7Searchbar(). f7Appbar() may also trigger f7Panel().

f7Appbar(
  ..., 
  leftPanel = FALSE, 
  rightPanel = FALSE,
  maximizable = FALSE
)

Select a template

This choice is crucial when you are developing an App. It depends on the complexity of your visualizations and content. If your plan is to develop a simple graph or table, you should go for the f7SingleLayout() option. For more complex design, the best is f7TabLayout(). f7SplitLayout() is specific for tablets and desktop apps.

Simple Layout

f7SingleLayout() is dedicated to build simple, one-page apps or gadgets.

f7SingleLayout(
  ..., 
  navbar, 
  toolbar = NULL, 
  panels = NULL,
  appbar = NULL
)

While only the navbar is mandatory, other components such as the toolbar are optional for the f7SingleLayout().

The app below runs with specific options:

f7Page(
  options = list(dark = FALSE, filled = FALSE, theme = "md"),
  ...
)
library(shiny)
library(shinyMobile)
library(apexcharter)
library(dplyr)
library(ggplot2)

data("economics_long")
economics_long <- economics_long %>%
  group_by(variable) %>%
  slice((n()-100):n())


shinyApp(
  ui = f7Page(
    title = "My app",
    options = list(dark = FALSE, filled = FALSE, theme = "md"),
    f7SingleLayout(
      navbar = f7Navbar(
        title = "Single Layout",
        hairline = TRUE,
        shadow = TRUE
      ),
      toolbar = f7Toolbar(
        position = "bottom",
        f7Link(label = "Link 1", href = "https://www.google.com"),
        f7Link(label = "Link 2", href = "https://www.google.com")
      ),
      # main content
      f7Shadow(
        intensity = 16,
        hover = TRUE,
        f7Card(
          title = "Card header",
          apexchartOutput("areaChart")
        )
      )
    )
  ),
  server = function(input, output) {
    output$areaChart <- renderApexchart({
      apex(
        data = economics_long,
        type = "area",
        mapping = aes(
          x = date,
          y = value01,
          fill = variable
        )
      ) %>%
        ax_yaxis(decimalsInFloat = 2) %>% # number of decimals to keep
        ax_chart(stacked = TRUE) %>%
        ax_yaxis(max = 4, tickAmount = 4)
    })
  }
)

Tabs Layout

Choose this layout to develop complex multi-tabbed apps (best choice for iOS/android Apps).

f7TabLayout(
  ..., 
  navbar,
  messagebar = NULL,
  panels = NULL, 
  appbar = NULL
)

The … argument requires f7Tabs(..., id = NULL, swipeable = FALSE, animated = TRUE). The id argument is mandatory if you want to exploit the updateF7Tabs() function. f7Tabs() expect to have f7Tab(..., tabName, icon = NULL, active = FALSE) passed inside.

The app below runs with specific options:

f7Page(
  options = list(dark = FALSE, filled = FALSE, theme = "md"),
  ...
)
library(shiny)
library(shinyMobile)
library(apexcharter)

poll <- data.frame(
  answer = c("Yes", "No"),
  n = c(254, 238)
)

shinyApp(
  ui = f7Page(
    options = list(dark = FALSE, filled = FALSE, theme = "md"),
    title = "My app",
    f7TabLayout(
      panels = tagList(
        f7Panel(title = "Left Panel", side = "left", theme = "light", "Blabla", effect = "cover"),
        f7Panel(title = "Right Panel", side = "right", theme = "dark", "Blabla", effect = "cover")
      ),
      navbar = f7Navbar(
        title = "Tabs",
        hairline = TRUE,
        shadow = TRUE,
        leftPanel = TRUE,
        rightPanel = TRUE
      ),
      f7Tabs(
        animated = TRUE,
        #swipeable = TRUE,
        f7Tab(
          title = "Tab 1",
          tabName = "Tab1",
          icon = f7Icon("folder"),
          active = TRUE,

          f7Shadow(
            intensity = 10,
            hover = TRUE,
            f7Card(
              title = "Card header",
              apexchartOutput("pie")
            )
          )
        ),
        f7Tab(
          title = "Tab 2",
          tabName = "Tab2",
          icon = f7Icon("keyboard"),
          active = FALSE,
          f7Shadow(
            intensity = 10,
            hover = TRUE,
            f7Card(
              title = "Card header",
              apexchartOutput("scatter")
            )
          )
        ),
        f7Tab(
          title = "Tab 3",
          tabName = "Tab3",
          icon = f7Icon("layers_alt"),
          active = FALSE,
          f7Shadow(
            intensity = 10,
            hover = TRUE,
            f7Card(
              title = "Card header",
              f7SmartSelect(
                "variable",
                "Variables to show:",
                c("Cylinders" = "cyl",
                  "Transmission" = "am",
                  "Gears" = "gear"),
                openIn = "sheet",
                multiple = TRUE
              ),
              tableOutput("data")
            )
          )
        )
      )
    )
  ),
  server = function(input, output, session) {

    # river plot
    dates <- reactive(seq.Date(Sys.Date() - 30, Sys.Date(), by = input$by))

    output$pie <- renderApexchart({
      apex(
        data = poll,
        type = "pie",
        mapping = aes(x = answer, y = n)
      )
    })

    output$scatter <- renderApexchart({
      apex(
        data = mtcars,
        type = "scatter",
        mapping = aes(
          x = wt,
          y = mpg,
          fill = cyl
        )
      )
    })

    # datatable
    output$data <- renderTable({
      mtcars[, c("mpg", input$variable), drop = FALSE]
    }, rownames = TRUE)
  }
)

Split Layout

f7SplitLayout() is the third layout introduced with shinyMobile, similar to sidebarLayout with {shiny}. This template is focused for tablet/desktop use. It is composed of a sidebar, and a main panel.

f7SplitLayout(
  ..., 
  navbar, 
  sidebar, 
  toolbar = NULL, 
  panels = NULL,
  appbar = NULL
)

The main content goes in the parameter. Navigation items are gathered in the sidebar slot. The sidebar expect a f7Panel(). Importantly, the side parameter must be set to left and the style to reveal. The navigation menu is organized as follows:

f7PanelMenu(
  id = "menu",
  f7PanelItem(
    tabName = "tab1", 
    title = "Tab 1", 
    icon = f7Icon("email"), 
    active = TRUE
  ),
  f7PanelItem(
    tabName = "tab2", 
    title = "Tab 2", 
    icon = f7Icon("home")
  )
)

The id argument is important if you want to get the currently selected item or update the select tab. Each f7PanelItem() has a mandatory tabName. The associated input will be input$menu in that example, with tab1 for value since the first tab was set to an active state. To adequately link the body and the sidebar, you must wrap the body content in f7Items() containing as many f7Item() as sidebar items. The tabName must correspond.

library(shiny)
library(ggplot2)
library(shinyMobile)
library(apexcharter)
library(thematic)

fruits <- data.frame(
  name = c('Apples', 'Oranges', 'Bananas', 'Berries'),
  value = c(44, 55, 67, 83)
)

thematic_shiny(font = "auto")

new_mtcars <- reshape(
  data = head(mtcars),
  idvar = "model",
  varying = list(c("drat", "wt")),
  times = c("drat", "wt"),
  direction = "long",
  v.names = "value",
  drop = c("mpg", "cyl", "hp", "dist", "qsec", "vs", "am", "gear", "carb")
)

shinyApp(
  ui = f7Page(
    title = "My app",
    options = list(
      theme = "aurora",
      dark = TRUE,
      filled = FALSE,
      color = "#007aff",
      touch = list(
        tapHold = TRUE,
        tapHoldDelay = 750,
        iosTouchRipple = FALSE
      ),
      iosTranslucentBars = FALSE,
      navbar = list(
        iosCenterTitle = TRUE,
        hideNavOnPageScroll = TRUE
      ),
      toolbar = list(
        hideNavOnPageScroll = FALSE
      ),
      pullToRefresh = FALSE
    ),
    f7SplitLayout(
      sidebar = f7Panel(
        title = "Sidebar",
        side = "left",
        theme = "light",
        f7PanelMenu(
          id = "menu",
          f7PanelItem(
            tabName = "tab1",
            title = "Tab 1",
            icon = f7Icon("equal_circle"),
            active = TRUE
          ),
          f7PanelItem(
            tabName = "tab2",
            title = "Tab 2",
            icon = f7Icon("equal_circle")
          ),
          f7PanelItem(
            tabName = "tab3",
            title = "Tab 3",
            icon = f7Icon("equal_circle")
          )
        ),
        uiOutput("selected_tab"),
        effect = "reveal"
      ),
      navbar = f7Navbar(
        title = "Split Layout",
        hairline = FALSE,
        shadow = TRUE
      ),
      toolbar = f7Toolbar(
        position = "bottom",
        f7Link(label = "Link 1", href = "https://www.google.com"),
        f7Link(label = "Link 2", href = "https://www.google.com")
      ),
      # main content
      f7Items(
        f7Item(
          tabName = "tab1",
          f7Button("toggleSheet", "Plot parameters"),
          f7Sheet(
            id = "sheet1",
            label = "Plot Parameters",
            orientation = "bottom",
            swipeToClose = TRUE,
            backdrop = TRUE,
            f7Slider(
              "obs",
              "Number of observations:",
              min = 0, max = 1000,
              value = 500
            )
          ),
          br(),
          plotOutput("distPlot")
        ),
        f7Item(
          tabName = "tab2",
          apexchartOutput("radar")
        ),
        f7Item(
          tabName = "tab3",
          f7Toggle(
            inputId = "plot_show",
            label = "Show Plot?",
            checked = TRUE
          ),
          apexchartOutput("multi_radial")
        )
      )
    )
  ),
  server = function(input, output, session) {

    observeEvent(input$toggleSheet, {
      updateF7Sheet(id = "sheet1")
    })

    observeEvent(input$obs, {
      if (input$obs < 500) {
        f7Notif(
          text = paste0("The slider value is only ", input$obs, ". Please
                        increase it"),
          icon = f7Icon("bolt_fill"),
          title = "Alert",
          titleRightText = Sys.Date()
        )
      }
    })

    output$radar <- renderApexchart({
      apex(
        data = new_mtcars,
        type = "radar",
        mapping = aes(
          x = model,
          y = value,
          group = time)
      )
    })

    output$selected_tab <- renderUI({
      HTML(paste0("Access the currently selected tab: ", strong(input$menu)))
    })

    output$distPlot <- renderPlot({
      dist <- rnorm(input$obs)
      hist(dist)
    })

    output$multi_radial <- renderApexchart({
      if (input$plot_show) {
        apex(data = fruits, type = "radialBar", mapping = aes(x = name, y = value))
      }
    })

  }
)

App options

This is where you can customize the global app behavior:

options = list(
    theme = c("ios", "md", "auto", "aurora"),
    dark = TRUE,
    filled = FALSE,
    color = "#007aff",
    touch = list(
      tapHold = TRUE,
      tapHoldDelay = 750,
      iosTouchRipple = FALSE
    ),
    iosTranslucentBars = FALSE,
    navbar = list(
      iosCenterTitle = TRUE,
      hideOnPageScroll = TRUE
    ),
    toolbar = list(
      hideOnPageScroll = FALSE
    ),
    pullToRefresh = FALSE
  )

As stated above, you may choose between 3 skins and 2 color themes. There is a third option called filled that allows to fill the navbar and toolbar if enabled. The color options simply changes the color of elements such as buttons, panel triggers, tabs triggers, … shinyMobile brings a lot of different colors. hideOnPageScroll allows to hide/show the navbar and toolbar which is useful to focus on the content. The tapHold parameter ensure that the “long-press” feature is activated. preloader is useful in case you want to display a loading screen. Framework7 has many more options which can be passed through this options parameter.

Gadgets

shinyMobile is particularly well suited to build shiny gagdets. To convert an existing app to a gadget, wrap it in the shiny::runGadget() function.

library(shiny)
library(shinyMobile)
runGadget(shinyAppDir(system.file("examples/tab_layout", package = "shinyMobile")))