Handling Keyboard in React Native

Managing the keyboard when it appears on the screen is crucial in mobile app development to ensure a seamless user experience. React Native provides several ways to handle this using components like KeyboardAvoidingView, KeyboardAwareScrollView, and pl…


This content originally appeared on DEV Community and was authored by Amit Kumar

Managing the keyboard when it appears on the screen is crucial in mobile app development to ensure a seamless user experience. React Native provides several ways to handle this using components like KeyboardAvoidingView, KeyboardAwareScrollView, and platform-specific configurations. Below are some common approaches to manage the keyboard behavior effectively.

1. Basic Usage with KeyboardAvoidingView

The KeyboardAvoidingView component is used to adjust the layout of your UI when the keyboard appears. Below is a typical implementation:

import { SafeAreaView, KeyboardAvoidingView } from 'react-native';

<SafeAreaView style={{ flex: 1 }}>
  <KeyboardAvoidingView
    enabled
    behavior={isAndroid ? 'height' : 'padding'}
    style={{ flex: 1 }}
    keyboardVerticalOffset={isAndroid ? 10 : 0} // Adjust space before keyboard
  >
    {/* Your UI components */}
  </KeyboardAvoidingView>
</SafeAreaView>

Key Props:

  • behavior: Specifies how the view will behave. Common values are 'height', 'padding', or 'position'.
  • keyboardVerticalOffset: Adds extra spacing to avoid overlapping.

2. Android-Specific Configurations

For Android, you can configure the MainActivity in your app to handle the keyboard correctly.

Before:

<activity
  android:name=".MainActivity"
  android:label="@string/app_name"
  android:configChanges="keyboard|keyboardHidden|orientation|screenSize"
  android:windowSoftInputMode="adjustResize">

After:

<activity
  android:name=".MainActivity"
  android:label="@string/app_name"
  android:configChanges="keyboard|keyboardHidden|orientation|screenSize">

Remove android:windowSoftInputMode="adjustResize" to let React Native handle the keyboard adjustments.

3. Using KeyboardAwareScrollView

The KeyboardAwareScrollView from react-native-keyboard-aware-scroll-view provides additional flexibility and control.

Example:

import { KeyboardAwareScrollView } from 'react-native-keyboard-aware-scroll-view';

<KeyboardAwareScrollView
  keyboardShouldPersistTaps='handled'
  showsVerticalScrollIndicator={false}
  contentContainerStyle={{ flex: 1 }}
  bounces={false}
  enableOnAndroid // Adjust based on need
  scrollEnabled={false} // Adjust based on need
  extraHeight={15} // Adjust based on need
  extraScrollHeight={15} // Adjust based on need
>
  {/* Your UI components */}
</KeyboardAwareScrollView>

Key Props:

  • keyboardShouldPersistTaps: Ensures taps outside the keyboard dismiss it. Always set to 'handled'.
  • extraHeight: Adds extra scroll height for better adjustment.
  • enableOnAndroid: Enables keyboard behavior handling on Android.

4. Handling Keyboard in Modals

When working with modals, you can combine Modal and KeyboardAwareScrollView for better keyboard handling.

Example:

import { Modal } from 'react-native';
import { KeyboardAwareScrollView } from 'react-native-keyboard-aware-scroll-view';

<Modal
  isVisible={isModalVisible}
  supportedOrientations={['portrait']}
  transparent={true}
>
  <KeyboardAwareScrollView
    keyboardShouldPersistTaps='handled'
    showsVerticalScrollIndicator={false}
    contentContainerStyle={{ flex: 1 }}
    bounces={false}
    enableOnAndroid // Adjust based on need
    scrollEnabled={false} // Adjust based on need
    extraHeight={15} // Adjust based on need
    extraScrollHeight={15} // Adjust based on need
  >
    {/* Modal content */}
  </KeyboardAwareScrollView>
</Modal>

Best Practices

  • Always use keyboardShouldPersistTaps='handled' to ensure smooth interaction.
  • Adjust extraHeight or keyboardVerticalOffset based on your design needs.
  • Use platform-specific configurations to handle unique keyboard behaviors on iOS and Android.
  • Test thoroughly with different screen sizes and keyboard types to ensure compatibility.

By following these methods, you can effectively handle keyboard behavior in your React Native app, providing a seamless and user-friendly experience.


This content originally appeared on DEV Community and was authored by Amit Kumar


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Amit Kumar | Sciencx (2025-01-22T16:19:27+00:00) Handling Keyboard in React Native. Retrieved from https://www.scien.cx/2025/01/22/handling-keyboard-in-react-native-2/

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