How to use React.forwardRef in a class based component?

React.forwardRef is a powerful feature in React that allows us to pass a ref from a parent component to a child component. This is especially useful when working with class-based components, as it enables us to access the underlying DOM element or React component instance.

In this blog post, we will explore how to use React.forwardRef in a class-based component and provide you with code snippets to help you implement it in your own projects.

Using React.forwardRef in a Class-based Component

To use React.forwardRef in a class-based component, we need to follow a few steps:

1. Create a ref using the React.createRef() method.
2. Pass the ref to the child component using the ref prop.
3. Use React.forwardRef to forward the ref to the underlying DOM element or React component instance.

Let’s take a look at an example:

import React from 'react';

class ChildComponent extends React.Component {
  render() {
    return (
      

        Child Component
      
    );
  }
}

const ForwardedChildComponent = React.forwardRef((props, ref) => {
  return ;
});

class ParentComponent extends React.Component {
  constructor(props) {
    super(props);
    this.childRef = React.createRef();
  }

  componentDidMount() {
    console.log(this.childRef.current); // Access the child component's DOM element or instance
  }

  render() {
    return (
      
    );
  }
}

export default ParentComponent;

In this example, we have a ParentComponent that renders a ForwardedChildComponent. The ParentComponent creates a ref using React.createRef() and passes it to the ForwardedChildComponent using the ref prop. The ForwardedChildComponent then uses React.forwardRef to forward the ref to the underlying ChildComponent.

Finally, in the componentDidMount lifecycle method of the ParentComponent, we can access the childRef to interact with the ChildComponent’s DOM element or instance.

That’s it! You have successfully used React.forwardRef in a class-based component. Now you can pass refs from parent components to child components and access the underlying DOM element or React component instance.

Feel free to use this code snippet as a starting point for your own projects. Happy coding!