Table of contents
1.
Introduction
2.
What is React Native Calendars Library?
3.
Features to Highlight in the React Native Calendars Library
3.1.
Marking Dates
3.2.
Multiple Layouts
3.3.
Custom Themes
3.4.
User Interactions
3.5.
Localization
4.
Customization of Style, Content, & Dates
4.1.
Changing How It Looks
4.2.
Changing What It Shows
4.3.
Making Dates Interactive
5.
React Native Calendar Components
5.1.
The Basic Calendar
5.2.
The Agenda
5.3.
The Calendar List
6.
Frequently Asked Questions 
6.1.
Can React Native Calendars work with both iOS and Android?
6.2.
How do I change the language or locale of the calendar?
6.3.
Is it possible to integrate React Native Calendars with external data sources, like Google Calendar?
7.
Conclusion
Last Updated: Mar 27, 2024
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React Native Calendars

Author Riya Singh
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Introduction

React Native Calendars is a dynamic tool designed for mobile app developers to seamlessly integrate calendar functionalities into their React Native apps. It provides a variety of calendar components, enabling users to select dates, mark events, and manage schedules within their applications. 

React Native Calendars

This article will give you the understanding what React Native Calendars is, its basic features, and how you can customize it to fit your app's needs, ensuring an engaging and intuitive user experience for managing dates and events.

What is React Native Calendars Library?

React Native Calendars Library is like a toolbox for adding calendars to mobile apps made with React Native. Think of it as a set of building blocks that lets you show a calendar in your app. This isn't just any calendar, though. You can make it show special dates, like birthdays or appointments, in different colors or styles, so they stand out.

When you use React Native Calendars in your app, you can pick from different types of calendars. Some are simple, showing just the days of the month. Others are more detailed, letting you see a whole agenda or schedule. It's like choosing the right kind of planner that suits your app's style and what your users need.

For example, if your app helps users plan their fitness routine, you might want a calendar that lets them tap on a day to see their planned workouts. React Native Calendars makes this possible by giving you the code pieces you need. You can put these pieces together to make a calendar that feels like it was made just for your app.

So, React Native Calendars is all about giving your app the ability to work with dates and events in a way that's helpful and looks good. It's not about adding fancy, complicated features that make things harder. It's about making it easier for people to see what's happening and when, right inside your app.

Features to Highlight in the React Native Calendars Library

The React Native Calendars Library comes packed with features that make it really useful for anyone wanting to add calendar functions to their app. Here's a look at some of the cool things you can do with it:

Marking Dates

You can highlight specific dates on the calendar for things like holidays, appointments, or personal events. This makes those dates stand out, so they're easy to spot.

Multiple Layouts

Whether you need a simple month view, a detailed agenda, or a week planner, this library has you covered. You can choose the layout that best fits your app's needs.

Custom Themes

You can change the colors and style of the calendar to match your app's design. This means the calendar won't just work well; it'll look great as part of your app.

User Interactions

Users can interact with the calendar in various ways, like tapping on a date to see more details or swiping to change months. This makes your app more engaging and user-friendly.

Localization

The library supports different languages and calendar formats, so you can tailor the experience to your users' preferences, no matter where they are in the world.

Customization of Style, Content, & Dates

Customizing the React Native Calendars library is like making your app's calendar feel right at home with your design. You can change how it looks and what it shows to users. This means your calendar won't just be useful; it'll also look like a part of your app that was always meant to be there.

Changing How It Looks

You can change the colors, text sizes, and even the shapes within the calendar. For example, if your app has a dark theme, you can make your calendar dark too. Or, if your app uses round buttons, you can make the date markers round as well.

Here's a simple code example to customize the calendar's appearance:

import { Calendar } from 'react-native-calendars';
const StyledCalendar = () => {
  return (
    <Calendar
      // Customize the theme
      theme={{
        backgroundColor: '#ffffff',
        calendarBackground: '#ededed',
        textSectionTitleColor: '#b6c1cd',
        todayTextColor: '#00adf5',
        dayTextColor: '#2d4150',
        arrowColor: 'orange',
        monthTextColor: 'blue',
        textDayFontWeight: '300',
        textMonthFontWeight: 'bold',
        textDayHeaderFontWeight: '300',
        textDayFontSize: 16,
        textMonthFontSize: 20,
        textDayHeaderFontSize: 16
      }}
    />
  );
};


In this code, we're using the theme prop to change the colors and text styles in the calendar. This way, the calendar can match the look of your app.

Changing What It Shows

You can also decide what the calendar shows. Maybe you want to add special notes to certain dates or show icons for specific types of events, like a small cake for birthdays or a bell for reminders.

import { Calendar } from 'react-native-calendars';
const ContentCalendar = () => {
  return (
    <Calendar
      // Mark dates with custom content
      markedDates={{
        '2024-03-08': {marked: true, dotColor: 'red', activeOpacity: 0},
        '2024-03-17': {disabled: true, disableTouchEvent: true}
      }}
      // Custom day component to show anything (like icons or text)
      dayComponent={({date, state}) => {
        return (
          <View>
            <Text style={{textAlign: 'center', color: state === 'disabled' ? 'gray' : 'black'}}>
              {date.day}
            </Text>
            {/* Your custom content like icons or additional text can go here */}
          </View>
        );
      }}
    />
  );
};


With this setup, you're not just marking dates but also adding your own content to the calendar. This makes your calendar more informative and interactive.

Making Dates Interactive

You can make the calendar react to user actions, like tapping on a date to see more details or adding an event. This interaction makes your app more engaging and helpful.

import { Calendar } from 'react-native-calendars';
const InteractiveCalendar = () => {
  return (
    <Calendar
      onDayPress={(day) => {
        console.log('Selected day', day);
        // Here you can handle what happens when a day is pressed
      }}
    />
  );
};


This code lets users tap on a day to do something, like showing more details about that day's events. It makes the calendar not just something to look at but something to use.

React Native Calendar Components

React Native Calendar Components are like the different pieces you can use to show calendars in your app. Each piece has its own job, making it easier for you to build the kind of calendar you want. Let's talk about a few key components that come with React Native Calendars.

The Basic Calendar

This is the simplest form where users see the whole month, with dates they can tap on. It's good for apps where users need to pick a date, like setting a reminder or choosing a delivery date.

Here's a quick code snippet to set up a basic calendar:

import { Calendar } from 'react-native-calendars';
const BasicCalendar = () => {
  return (
    <Calendar
      // Basic setup
      onDayPress={(day) => {
        console.log('Selected day', day);
      }}
      // You can customize it more with themes or marked dates
    />
  );
};

The Agenda

The Agenda component shows a list of items or events for each day. It's useful for apps that help users manage their schedules, like a to-do list or event planner.

Adding an Agenda to your app looks something like this:

import { Agenda } from 'react-native-calendars';
const MyAgenda = () => {
  return (
    <Agenda
      // Items is an object with dates as keys and arrays of items as values
      items={{
        '2024-03-22': [{text: 'Item 1 for 2024-03-22'}],
        '2024-03-23': [{text: 'Item 2 for 2024-03-23'}, {text: 'Item 3 for 2024-03-23'}]
      }}
      // Rendering each item
      renderItem={(item, firstItemInDay) => (
        <View>
          <Text>{item.text}</Text>
        </View>
      )}
    />
  );
};

The Calendar List

The Calendar List lets users scroll through months. It's great for apps where users need to plan or look ahead for several months.

Here's how you can include a Calendar List:

import { CalendarList } from 'react-native-calendars';
const CalendarScroll = () => {
  return (
    <CalendarList
      // You can customize how many months to show or how it scrolls
      pastScrollRange={12}
      futureScrollRange={12}
      scrollEnabled={true}
      showScrollIndicator={true}
    />
  );
};


These components give you different ways to work with dates in your app. You can choose one based on what your users need to do. Whether it's picking a single date, managing daily tasks, or planning for the future, there's a component ready to help you build it into your app.

Frequently Asked Questions 

Can React Native Calendars work with both iOS and Android?

Yes, React Native Calendars is designed to work smoothly on both iOS and Android platforms. This means you can use it to build cross-platform apps that provide a consistent calendar experience on different devices.

How do I change the language or locale of the calendar?

React Native Calendars supports localization, allowing you to set the language and format according to different locales. You can customize this by using the locale prop and providing the appropriate language code.

Is it possible to integrate React Native Calendars with external data sources, like Google Calendar?

Absolutely! While React Native Calendars does not directly sync with external calendars, you can fetch data from services like Google Calendar and display it using the library's components. You'll need to handle the data fetching and formatting part in your app's logic.

Conclusion

In this article, we've navigated through the React Native Calendars library, looking into its main aspects and how it can be customised to fit the unique requirements of your mobile app. Starting with a basic understanding, we explored the versatile features that allow for marking special dates, customizing the calendar's appearance, and making dates interactive to engage users. We also looked into the various components available, such as the Basic Calendar, Agenda, and Calendar List, each serving a distinct purpose to accommodate different scheduling and planning needs.

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