Create a Flutter Carousel Slider with dynamic heigth for each page

Question

I have a Carousel Slider with a dotted indicator as shown in this image

Each page of the slider is a Card widget with a ListView as a child.

If the Card is not inside the Carousel widget, it expands as the elements inside the Listview increase.

I would like to maintain this behavior for each page of the slider, but when I put the cards inside the slider, they no longer resize based on the content, but seem to have a pre-defined height (even if I haven't specified any!).

How could I dynamically update the height of the cards inside the slider?

This is my code:

main.dart file

import 'package:flutter/material.dart';
import 'carousel.dart';

void main() => runApp(MyApp());

class MyApp extends StatelessWidget {
  @override
  Widget build(BuildContext context) {
    return MaterialApp(
      title: 'Slider App',
      home: MyHomePage(),
    );
  }
}

class GeneralEvent {
  final String title;
  final String desc;
  GeneralEvent(this.title, this.desc);
}

class MyHomePage extends StatefulWidget {
  @override
  _MyHomePageState createState() => _MyHomePageState();
}

final List<GeneralEvent> userEvents = [
  GeneralEvent(
    "List Item 1",
    "Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipisci elit.",
  ),
  GeneralEvent(
    "List Item 2",
    "Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipisci elit.",
  ),
  GeneralEvent(
    "List Item 3",
    "Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipisci elit.",
  ),
  GeneralEvent(
    "List Item 4",
    "Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipisci elit.",
  ),
  GeneralEvent(
    "List Item 5",
    "Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipisci elit.",
  ),
];

class _MyHomePageState extends State<MyHomePage> {
  final List<Card> cards = [
    Card(
      child: Column(
        crossAxisAlignment: CrossAxisAlignment.start,
        children: <Widget>[
          Padding(
            padding: const EdgeInsets.all(16.0),
            child: Text(
              'Card 1',
              style: TextStyle(fontSize: 24),
            ),
          ),
          Container(
            height: 1,
            width: double.infinity,
            color: Color.fromRGBO(0, 0, 0, 0.12),
          ),
          ListView.builder(
            physics: NeverScrollableScrollPhysics(),
            shrinkWrap: true,
            itemBuilder: (ctx, index) {
              return ListTile(
                title: Text(
                  userEvents.sublist(0, 3)[index].title,
                ),
                subtitle: Text(userEvents.sublist(0, 3)[index].desc),
              );
            },
            itemCount: userEvents.sublist(0, 3).length,
          ),
        ],
      ),
    ),
    Card(
      child: Column(
        crossAxisAlignment: CrossAxisAlignment.start,
        children: <Widget>[
          Padding(
            padding: const EdgeInsets.all(16.0),
            child: Text(
              'Card 2',
              style: TextStyle(fontSize: 24),
            ),
          ),
          Container(
            height: 1,
            width: double.infinity,
            color: Color.fromRGBO(0, 0, 0, 0.12),
          ),
          ListView.builder(
            physics: NeverScrollableScrollPhysics(),
            shrinkWrap: true,
            itemBuilder: (ctx, index) {
              return ListTile(
                title: Text(
                  userEvents.sublist(3)[index].title,
                ),
                subtitle: Text(userEvents.sublist(3)[index].desc),
              );
            },
            itemCount: userEvents.sublist(3).length,
          ),
        ],
      ),
    ),
  ];

  @override
  Widget build(BuildContext context) {
    return Scaffold(
      backgroundColor: Color.fromRGBO(235, 235, 235, 1),
      appBar: AppBar(title: Text('iWantASliderAPP')),
      body: Padding(
        padding: EdgeInsets.fromLTRB(5, 0, 5, 0),
        child: LayoutBuilder(
          builder: (context, constraints) {
            return ListView(
              children: <Widget>[
                CarouselWithIndicator(cards),
                Padding(
                  padding: const EdgeInsets.fromLTRB(0, 50, 0, 0),
                  child: Text(
                    "if the Card is not in the slider it resize properly:",
                  ),
                ),
                cards[0]
              ],
            );
          },
        ),
      ),
    );
  }
}

and carousel.dart

import 'package:flutter/material.dart';
import 'package:carousel_slider/carousel_slider.dart';

class CarouselWithIndicator extends StatefulWidget {
  final List cards;

  CarouselWithIndicator(this.cards);

  @override
  _CarouselWithIndicatorState createState() => _CarouselWithIndicatorState();
}

class _CarouselWithIndicatorState extends State<CarouselWithIndicator> {
  List<T> map<T>(List list, Function handler) {
    List<T> result = [];
    for (var i = 0; i < list.length; i++) {
      result.add(handler(i, list[i]));
    }
    return result;
  }

  int _current = 0;

  @override
  Widget build(BuildContext context) {
    return Column(
      children: <Widget>[
        CarouselSlider(
          // height: // NO HEIGHT SPECIFIED!
          viewportFraction: 1.0,
          enlargeCenterPage: true,
          enableInfiniteScroll: false,
          onPageChanged: (index) {
            setState(() {
              _current = index;
            });
          },
          items: widget.cards.map((card) {
            return Builder(
              builder: (BuildContext context) {
                return Container(
                  width: MediaQuery.of(context).size.width,
                  child: card,
                );
              },
            );
          }).toList(),
        ),
        SizedBox(
          height: 5,
        ),
        Row(
          mainAxisAlignment: MainAxisAlignment.center,
          children: map<Widget>(widget.cards, (index, card) {
            return Container(
              width: 10.0,
              height: 10.0,
              margin: EdgeInsets.symmetric(vertical: 10.0, horizontal: 3.0),
              decoration: BoxDecoration(
                shape: BoxShape.circle,
                color: _current == index ? Colors.grey : Color.fromRGBO(200, 200, 200, 1),
              ),
            );
          }),
        ),
      ],
    );
  }
}

score 4 · Answer 1 · answered May 26 '21 at 07:49

I finally found a solution to this with the help of runtime height determination. Link to runtime size determination question : How to get height of a Widget?

Just define a height variable and update it in Measure size's onChanged Function.

MeasureSizeRenderObject.dart

import 'package:flutter/material.dart';
import 'package:flutter/rendering.dart';

typedef void OnWidgetSizeChange(Size size);

class MeasureSizeRenderObject extends RenderProxyBox {
  Size oldSize;
  final OnWidgetSizeChange onChange;

  MeasureSizeRenderObject(this.onChange);

  @override
  void performLayout() {
    super.performLayout();

    Size newSize = child.size;
    if (oldSize == newSize) return;

    oldSize = newSize;
    WidgetsBinding.instance.addPostFrameCallback((_) {
      onChange(newSize);
    });
  }
}

class MeasureSize extends SingleChildRenderObjectWidget {
  final OnWidgetSizeChange onChange;

  const MeasureSize({
    Key key,
    @required this.onChange,
    @required Widget child,
  }) : super(key: key, child: child);

  @override
  RenderObject createRenderObject(BuildContext context) {
    return MeasureSizeRenderObject(onChange);
  }
}

Import the above dart file and you are good to go.

In my case I had a list of days and a Map<String,List> of operational hours per day. So when ever a new operational hour was added the ListView length would grow in size.

List _days = ['Mon', 'Tue', 'Wed', 'Thu', 'Fri', 'Sat', 'Sun'];

Map<String, List> _operationalHours = {};

I was populating operational hours from Firebase Cloud Firestore.

CarouselSlider Code :

CarouselSlider.builder(
            itemCount: days.length,
            itemBuilder: (BuildContext context, int index, int realIdx) {
              return Card(
                shape: RoundedRectangleBorder(
                    borderRadius: BorderRadius.circular(20)),
                color: Color(0xff3b3b3b),
                child: Container(
                  width: displayWidth(context),
                  padding: EdgeInsets.all(15.0),
                  child: Column(
                    children: [
                      Text(
                        days[index],
                        style: TextStyle(
                            color: Colors.white,
                            fontWeight: FontWeight.bold,
                            fontSize: 20),
                      ),
                      SizedBox(
                        height: 15,
                      ),
                      Column(
                        children: [
                           MeasureSize(
                                      onChange: (size) {
                                        height = size.height;
                                        print("log" + height.toString());
                                        setState(() {});
                                      },
                                      child: ListView.builder(
                                          shrinkWrap: true,
                                          itemCount: operationalHours[days[index]]
.length,
                                              itemBuilder: (context, i) {
                                                return getTimeSlot(
                                             operationalHours[days[index]][i]);
                                              }),
                                        )
                            ],
                          )
                        ],
                      ),
                    ),
                  );
                },
                options: new CarouselOptions(
                    autoPlay: false,
                    viewportFraction: 1.0,
                    height: 100 + height,
                    enlargeCenterPage: false,
                    enableInfiniteScroll: false,
                    onPageChanged: (index, reason) {
                      setState(() {
                        _current = index;
                      });
                    }),
              ),

If I made any typo or bug while copying my code from IDE to StackOverflow let me know. I will update the answer.

Can you provide a sample code or github or any other link to your project? — Shatanik Mahanty, Aug 04 '21 at 16:36
Ooh you mean the height is increasing for every carousel and then not shrinking for smaller carousel? — Shatanik Mahanty, Aug 06 '21 at 17:57
It;s adding those 100 pixels you've added with height in carouselOptions with every build. — akshay bhange, Aug 10 '21 at 10:13
That doesn't seem to be the case for me. If you can provide the full app code or a minimal reproducible code I can maybe debug. Those hundred pixel are for the Text and SizedBox widget I have added along with the list view — Shatanik Mahanty, Aug 10 '21 at 13:17
Also kindly check if the shrinkWrap property is set to true for your code. — Shatanik Mahanty, Aug 10 '21 at 13:24

score 4 · Answer 2 · answered Jun 27 '22 at 12:34

I recognized that using CarouselSlider for different content sizes is difficult.

I used this package instead: https://pub.dev/packages/expandable_page_view

    int current = 0;

    Container(
        width: MediaQuery.of(context).size.width,
        child: ExpandablePageView.builder(
          onPageChanged: (index) {
            setState(() {
              current = index;
            });
          },
          itemCount: itemList.length,
          itemBuilder: (context, index) {

            return GalleryItemThumbnail(
              galleryItemModel: GalleryItemModel(id: itemList[index]),
              onTap: () {
                _open(context, index);
              },
            );
          },
        ),
      ),

I did this too. It really does seem like the best answer. It's pretty easy to swap; only major thing that I noticed that I needed to do was use a PageController instead of the old CarouselSliderController. If you're using a controller at all. — Aaron Krauss, Aug 10 '23 at 16:59

score 2 · Answer 3 · answered Apr 14 '20 at 15:22

This is a known issue in the library. This is the answer from the creator of the lib Currently there is no way to define a dynamic height for each carousel item. But I think it can be done by creating a dynamic height container in the carousel item.

For the whole conversation have a look at the issue: https://github.com/serenader2014/flutter_carousel_slider/issues/106

score 1 · Answer 4 · answered Apr 15 '20 at 08:36

this is an open issue of the library but you can still achieve partially by the below code.
carousel.dart

import 'package:carousel_slider/carousel_slider.dart';
import 'package:flutter/material.dart';

class CarouselWithIndicator extends StatefulWidget {
  final List cards;

  CarouselWithIndicator(this.cards);

  @override
  _CarouselWithIndicatorState createState() => _CarouselWithIndicatorState();
}

class _CarouselWithIndicatorState extends State<CarouselWithIndicator> {
  List<T> map<T>(List list, Function handler) {
    List<T> result = [];
    for (var i = 0; i < list.length; i++) {
      result.add(handler(i, list[i]));
    }
    return result;
  }

  int _current = 0;

  @override
  Widget build(BuildContext context) {
    return Column(
      mainAxisSize: MainAxisSize.min,
      children: <Widget>[
        Wrap(
          children: <Widget>[
            CarouselSlider(
              height: double.maxFinite,
              viewportFraction: 1.0,
              enlargeCenterPage: true,
              enableInfiniteScroll: false,
              onPageChanged: (index) {
                setState(() {
                  _current = index;
                });
              },
              items: widget.cards.map((card) {
                return Builder(
                  builder: (BuildContext context) {
                    return Container(
                      width: MediaQuery.of(context).size.width,
                      child: card,
                    );
                  },
                );
              }).toList(),
            ),
          ],
        ),
        SizedBox(
          height: 5,
        ),
        Row(
          mainAxisAlignment: MainAxisAlignment.center,
          children: map<Widget>(widget.cards, (index, card) {
            return Container(
              width: 10.0,
              height: 10.0,
              margin: EdgeInsets.symmetric(vertical: 10.0, horizontal: 3.0),
              decoration: BoxDecoration(
                shape: BoxShape.circle,
                color: _current == index
                    ? Colors.grey
                    : Color.fromRGBO(200, 200, 200, 1),
              ),
            );
          }),
        ),
      ],
    );
  }
}

main.dart file

import 'package:flutter/material.dart';

import 'carousel.dart';

void main() => runApp(MyApp());

class MyApp extends StatelessWidget {
  @override
  Widget build(BuildContext context) {
    return MaterialApp(
      title: 'Slider App',
      home: MyHomePage(),
    );
  }
}

class GeneralEvent {
  final String title;
  final String desc;
  GeneralEvent(this.title, this.desc);
}

class MyHomePage extends StatefulWidget {
  @override
  _MyHomePageState createState() => _MyHomePageState();
}

final List<GeneralEvent> userEvents = [
  GeneralEvent(
    "List Item 1",
    "Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipisci elit.",
  ),
  GeneralEvent(
    "List Item 2",
    "Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipisci elit.",
  ),
  GeneralEvent(
    "List Item 3",
    "Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipisci elit.",
  ),
  GeneralEvent(
    "List Item 4",
    "Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipisci elit.",
  ),
  GeneralEvent(
    "List Item 5",
    "Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipisci elit.",
  ),
];

class _MyHomePageState extends State<MyHomePage> {
  List<Widget> cards = [
    Wrap(
      children: <Widget>[
        Card(
          child: Column(
            crossAxisAlignment: CrossAxisAlignment.start,
            children: <Widget>[
              Padding(
                padding: const EdgeInsets.all(16.0),
                child: Text(
                  'Card 1',
                  style: TextStyle(fontSize: 24),
                ),
              ),
              Container(
                height: 1,
                width: double.infinity,
                color: Color.fromRGBO(0, 0, 0, 0.12),
              ),
              ListView.builder(
                physics: NeverScrollableScrollPhysics(),
                shrinkWrap: true,
                itemBuilder: (ctx, index) {
                  return ListTile(
                    title: Text(
                      userEvents.sublist(0, 3)[index].title,
                    ),
                    subtitle: Text(userEvents.sublist(0, 3)[index].desc),
                  );
                },
                itemCount: userEvents.sublist(0, 3).length,
              ),
            ],
          ),
        ),
      ],
    ),
    Wrap(
      children: <Widget>[
        Card(
          child: Column(
            crossAxisAlignment: CrossAxisAlignment.start,
            children: <Widget>[
              Padding(
                padding: const EdgeInsets.all(16.0),
                child: Text(
                  'Card 2',
                  style: TextStyle(fontSize: 24),
                ),
              ),
              Container(
                height: 1,
                width: double.infinity,
                color: Color.fromRGBO(0, 0, 0, 0.12),
              ),
              ListView.builder(
                physics: NeverScrollableScrollPhysics(),
                shrinkWrap: true,
                itemBuilder: (ctx, index) {
                  return ListTile(
                    title: Text(
                      userEvents.sublist(3)[index].title,
                    ),
                    subtitle: Text(userEvents.sublist(3)[index].desc),
                  );
                },
                itemCount: userEvents.sublist(3).length,
              ),
            ],
          ),
        ),
      ],
    ),
  ];

  @override
  Widget build(BuildContext context) {
    return Scaffold(
      backgroundColor: Color.fromRGBO(235, 235, 235, 1),
      appBar: AppBar(title: Text('iWantASliderAPP')),
      body: Padding(
        padding: EdgeInsets.fromLTRB(5, 0, 5, 0),
        child: LayoutBuilder(
          builder: (context, constraints) {
            return ListView(
              children: <Widget>[
                Column(
                  mainAxisSize: MainAxisSize.min,
                  children: <Widget>[
                    CarouselWithIndicator(cards),
                  ],
                ),
                Padding(
                  padding: const EdgeInsets.fromLTRB(0, 50, 0, 0),
                  child: Text(
                    "if the Card is not in the slider it resize properly:",
                  ),
                ),
                cards[0]
              ],
            );
          },
        ),
      ),
    );
  }
}

I hope this would be somewhat helpful for you. :)

Create a Flutter Carousel Slider with dynamic heigth for each page

4 Answers4