Flutter's Hero Widget Has a Hidden Superpower (Most Devs Never Use It)

Flutter's Hero widget is a well-known tool for creating seamless transitions between screens. This article delves into a less commonly used feature called flightShuttleBuilder, which allows developers to customize the Hero animation beyond the default fade and scale effects.

Understanding flightShuttleBuilder

The flightShuttleBuilder callback provides a way to control the animation of the Hero widget during its flight between screens. It offers parameters such as animation progress, flight direction, and context from both the source and destination Hero widgets.

Parameters:

• flightContext: The build context of the flying Hero.
• animation: A value from 0 to 1 indicating the progress of the animation.
• flightDirection: Indicates whether the Hero is moving forward (push) or backward (pop).
• fromHeroContext: The context of the source Hero widget.
• toHeroContext: The context of the destination Hero widget.

Implementing Custom Animations

By utilizing the animation parameter, developers can integrate various transition effects such as FadeTransition and ScaleTransition to create unique Hero animations. The flightDirection parameter can be used to create different animations for push and pop transitions.

Example Code:

The article provides example code showcasing bouncy and spinning Hero animations using flightShuttleBuilder.

Conclusion

The flightShuttleBuilder provides a powerful way to customize Hero animations in Flutter, allowing developers to create engaging and unique user experiences. By experimenting with different transition effects and parameters, developers can unlock the full potential of the Hero widget.

So the next time someone tells you “Flutter animations are all the same,” just smile… and show them your potato Hero.