Get easy and reactive access to the width and height of your screen using vue.js

Responsive design is a cornerstone of modern web development, ensuring that your application adapts gracefully to various screen sizes. In this comprehensive guide, we’ll explore how to achieve easy and reactive access to the width and height of your screen using Vue.js. Leveraging Vue.js reactivity, we’ll create a simple yet powerful solution that allows your application to seamlessly respond to changes in screen dimensions.

Introduction to Vue.js and Screen Dimensions

Vue.js is a JavaScript framework renowned for its simplicity and reactivity. By integrating Vue.js into your project, you gain the ability to create dynamic and responsive user interfaces. In this guide, we’ll focus on utilizing Vue.js to obtain real-time access to the width and height of the screen, enabling you to tailor your application’s layout accordingly.

Setting Up the Vue.js Project

Begin by setting up a new Vue.js project using the Vue CLI:

vue create vue-screen-dimensions

Navigate to the project directory:

cd vue-screen-dimensions

Creating the ScreenDimensions Component

Create a modular Vue component, named ScreenDimensions.vue, to encapsulate the functionality of accessing screen dimensions:

<!-- ScreenDimensions.vue -->
<template>
  <div class="screen-dimensions">
    <p>Screen Width: {{ screenWidth }}px</p>
    <p>Screen Height: {{ screenHeight }}px</p>
  </div>
</template>

<script>
export default {
  data() {
    return {
      screenWidth: window.innerWidth,
      screenHeight: window.innerHeight,
    };
  },
  mounted() {
    window.addEventListener('resize', this.handleResize);
  },
  beforeDestroy() {
    window.removeEventListener('resize', this.handleResize);
  },
  methods: {
    handleResize() {
      this.screenWidth = window.innerWidth;
      this.screenHeight = window.innerHeight;
    },
  },
};
</script>

<style scoped>
/* Component-specific styles here */
.screen-dimensions {
  text-align: center;
  margin: 20px;
  padding: 20px;
  border: 1px solid #ccc;
  border-radius: 5px;
  background-color: #f8f8f8;
}
</style>

This component displays the current screen width and height, and it dynamically updates these values when the screen is resized.

Incorporating the ScreenDimensions Component

Integrate the ScreenDimensions component into your main application file (e.g., App.vue):

<!-- App.vue -->
<template>
  <div id="app">
    <ScreenDimensions />
  </div>
</template>

<script>
import ScreenDimensions from './components/ScreenDimensions.vue';

export default {
  components: {
    ScreenDimensions,
  },
};
</script>

<style>
/* Global styles here */
body {
  margin: 0;
  font-family: 'Arial', sans-serif;
  background-color: #f4f4f4;
}

#app {
  text-align: center;
  padding: 20px;
}
</style>

There are following steps through that we can Get easy and reactive access to the width and height of your screen

About Vue.js library

Sometimes when building an app you need to have access to the screen’s dimensions. Usually that’s going to be done in the css using @media – but sometimes you need to access that info right in your JavaScript

The issue with this is you have to worry about adding event listeners and then removing them later. We wanted to just be able to import something quickly and then be able to forget about it later. So this mixin does just that – just use Vue.use() or mixins: [], and you’re off.

There is something to consider – where and how you include this library. There are two ways, make sure to be aware of the differences:

Install

# npm
npm i vue-screen-size

# yarn
yarn add vue-screen-size

Or you can include it through the browser at the bottom of your page:

<script src="https://unpkg.com/vue-screen-size/dist/vue-screen-size.min.js"></script>

Usage Example 1 – Whole app has access (Not Recommended)

In this usage – your whole app – and every child component – has access to the $vssWidth, $vssHeight, and $vssEvent variables. This is sorta pollutive though, as multiple instances of the mixin are initialized and it’s kinda wasteful. The is due to the way Vue mixins are passed down to child components. You can read more about this here. The second example is recommended

import VueScreenSize from 'vue-screen-size'
Vue.use(VueScreenSize)

// Access `this.$vssWidth`, `this.$vssHeight`, and `this.$vssEvent` anywhere in your app

Usage Example 2 – Just the component you install it on has access – (Recommended)

import VueScreenSize from 'vue-screen-size'

export default {
    ...
    mixins: [VueScreenSize.VueScreenSizeMixin],
    ...
}

// Access `this.$vssWidth`, `this.$vssHeight`, and `this.$vssEvent` in your component.

Variables

Methods

Development

# install dependencies
npm install

# serve with hot reload
npm run watch

# run the tests
npm run test

# build demo page
npm run build:example

# build
npm run build

# publish to npm
npm publish