How to Build a Task Manager using Angular 12

Angular is a popular Javascript framework. It can be used to build different applications, ranging from simple to complex. <!--more--> A task manager writes, organizes, and rearranges tasks more efficiently. The task manager we will build will allow the user to add a task, mark the task as complete, and delete the task.

In this tutorial, we will discuss the concepts of building a sample Angular task manager application.

Table of content #

• Prerequisites
• Key takeaways
• Create a new angular project
• Create a component
• Add tasks to the to-do list
• Mark task as done
• Delete a task
• Save task to local storage
• Conclusion

Prerequisites #

To follow along with this tutorial:

• You should have Node.js installed on your local machine.
• You should be fairly familiar with Angular and JavaScript. Knowledge of TypeScript is useful but not a prerequisite.
• You should have Angular CLI installed on your local development machine.

Key takeaways #

By the end of this tutorial, you should be able to:

• Build a simple task manager.
• Save items to local storage.

Create a new angular project #

Run the CLI command ng new *project name* on your command prompt to create a new Angular project.

ng new todoApp 

The above Angular CLI command installs all the necessary Angular NPM packages and other dependencies for the project.

To serve your application to the browser, cd into the project root directory and run the following command:

ng serve 

Create a component #

Now that we've setup our project, let's proceed and create a todo component to handle all of our logic:

Run the command below to create a todo component:

ng generate component todo
# OR
ng g c todo

Next, let's add template code in the todo.component.html file. In this tutorial, we will use Tailwind CSS for styling.

Note: Tailwind CSS CDN link should be added to the index.html file.

Copy and paste the code below in the todo.component.html file.

    <div class="h-100 w-full flex items-center justify-center bg-teal-lightest font-sans">
        <div class="bg-white rounded shadow p-6 m-4 w-full lg:w-3/4 lg:max-w-lg">
            <div class="mb-4">
                <h1 class="text-grey-darkest">Todo List</h1>
                <form class="flex mt-4">
                    <input class="shadow appearance-none border rounded w-full py-2 px-3 mr-4 text-grey-darker" placeholder="Add Todo">
                    <button class="flex-no-shrink p-2 border-2 rounded text-teal border-teal hover:text-white hover:bg-teal">Add</button>
                </form>
            </div>
            <div>
                <div class="flex mb-4 items-center">
                    <p class="w-full text-grey-darkest">task 1</p>
                    <button class="flex-no-shrink p-2 ml-4 mr-2 border-2 rounded hover:text-white text-green border-green hover:bg-green">Done</button>
                    <button class="flex-no-shrink p-2 ml-2 border-2 rounded text-red border-red hover:text-white hover:bg-red">Remove</button>
                </div>
                <div class="flex mb-4 items-center">
                    <p class="w-full text-green">task 2</p>
                    <button class="flex-no-shrink p-2 ml-4 mr-2 border-2 rounded hover:text-white text-green border-green hover:bg-green">Done</button>
                    <button class="flex-no-shrink p-2 ml-2 border-2 rounded text-red border-red hover:text-white hover:bg-red">Remove</button>
                </div>
            </div>
        </div>
    </div>

Output:

Note: The buttons are static, so we will make them work next.

Add tasks to the to-do list #

Tasks will be added to the to-do list by clicking the Add button or by pressing the Enter key.

Let's see what happens under the hood, since the Add button and the input box are in a form element, we handle them using the Angular FormGroup property.

To use the FormGroup property, we first import it in the app.module.ts file as shown below:

import { FormsModule, ReactiveFormsModule } from '@angular/forms';

Next, add the modules to the imports array as shown below:

In the todo.component.html, add the [FormGroup] property in the <form> element and set it to newTodoForm. This will help collect and collate the value of each element into an object.

Next, proceed and add a formControlName and set it to todoItem, and also bind add an event listener (ngSubmit) to the form element.

The event listener will listen for a submitted event(s) and trigger an addTask() method.

    <div class="h-100 w-full flex items-center justify-center bg-teal-lightest font-sans">
        <div class="bg-white rounded shadow p-6 m-4 w-full lg:w-3/4 lg:max-w-lg">
            <div class="mb-4">
                <h1 class="text-grey-darkest">Todo List</h1>
                <form [formGroup]="newTodoForm" class="flex mt-4" (ngSubmit)="addTask()">
                    <input class="shadow appearance-none border rounded w-full py-2 px-3 mr-4 text-grey-darker" placeholder="Add Todo" formControlName="todoItem">
                    <button type='submit' class="flex-no-shrink p-2 border-2 rounded text-teal border-teal hover:text-white hover:bg-teal">Add</button>
                </form> 
            </div>

Then to make our form functional, we will write some TypeScript code in our todo.component.ts file.

Follow these steps:

1. Import the [FormBuilder](https://angular.io/api/forms/FormBuilder) service from the @angular/forms package. This service gives suitable methods for creating controls.

    //todo.component.ts
    import { Component, OnInit } from '@angular/core';
    import { FormBuilder } from '@angular/forms';

2. Inject the FormBuilder service in the TodoComponent constructor(). This service is included in the [ReactiveFormsModule](https://angular.io/api/forms/ReactiveFormsModule) module, which has already been imported.

    //todo.component.ts
    
    export class TodoComponent implements OnInit {
    constructor(
    private formBuilder: FormBuilder
    ) {}
    } 

3. We will use the group() method of the FormBuilder class to collect the user inputs. These methods set the newTodoForm property to a form model containing the todoItem field.

    //todo.component.ts
    export class TodoComponent implements OnInit {
    newTodoForm = this.formBuilder.group({
        todoItem: ''
      })
    constructor(
    private formBuilder: FormBuilder
    ) {}
    } 

4. Define an addTask() method to add a task to an empty array. Remember that addTask() is the method associated with the (ngSubmit) event on the form.

• Create an empty array taskList that will later hold the input task.
• In addTask(), collect the value of the input element and store it in a constant variable called value.
• Push value into the taskList array. The id is set to the length of the taskList array while the name is set to variable value.
• Reset the input element.

The entire Todo component class is as follows:

    //todo.component.ts
    
    import { Component, OnInit } from '@angular/core';
    import { FormBuilder } from '@angular/forms';
    
    export class TodoComponent implements OnInit {
      taskList: any[] = []
      newTodoForm = this.formBuilder.group({
        todoItem: ''
      })
        
      constructor(
        private formBuilder: FormBuilder
      ) { }
      
      addTask() {
        const value = this.newTodoForm.value.todoItem
        this.taskList.push({ id: this.taskList.length, name: value })
        this.newTodoForm.reset(); 
      }
    }

We need to loop through and display the taskList array using *ngFor. It's a predefined directive in Angular.

It accepts an array to iterate data over a template to replicate the template with different data. It's the same as the forEach() method in JavaScript, which also iterates over an array.

The looping will be done in the todo.component.html file. After looping, set the <p> to display the task dynamically.

    <div class="h-100 w-full flex items-center justify-center bg-teal-lightest font-sans">
        <div class="bg-white rounded shadow p-6 m-4 w-full lg:w-3/4 lg:max-w-lg mt-4">
            <div class="mb-4">
                <h1 class="text-4xl font-black">Todo List</h1>
                <form [formGroup]="newTodoForm" class="flex mt-4" (ngSubmit)="addTask()">
                    <input class="shadow appearance-none border rounded w-full py-2 px-3 mr-4 text-grey-darker"
                        placeholder="Add Todo" formControlName="todoItem">
                    <button type="submit"
                        class="flex-no-shrink p-2 border-2 rounded text-teal border-teal hover:text-white hover:bg-teal"  
                        >Add
                    </button>
                </form>
                 
            </div>
            <div>
                <div class="flex mb-4 items-center" *ngFor= "let value of taskList">
                    <p class="w-full text-grey-darkest">{{value.name}}</p>
                    <button
                        class="flex-no-shrink p-2 ml-4 mr-2 border-2 rounded  text-green border-green hover:bg-green">Done</button>
                    <button
                        class="flex-no-shrink p-2 ml-2 border-2 rounded text-red border-red  hover:bg-red">Remove</button>
                </div>
            </div>
        </div>
    </div>

Mark task as done #

When a task is completed, it should be marked as such. This can be done by striking a line through the task.

To achieve this, we will do the following:

1. Add a click event to the Done button on the todo.component.html with the markDone(value) method.

    <p class="w-full text-grey-darkest" [ngClass]="{'line-through': value.completed}">  {{value.name}}</p>
     <button class="flex-no-shrink p-2 ml-4 mr-2 border-2 rounded  text-green border-green hover:bg-green" (click)="markDone(value)">Done</button>

2. In the TodoComponent class, we will define the markDone() method.

    //todo.component.ts
    completed: boolean = false;

    markDone(value: any) {
        value.completed = !value.completed
        value.completed === true ?
          this.taskList.push(this.taskList.splice(this.taskList.indexOf(value), 1)[0]) :
          this.taskList.unshift(this.taskList.splice(this.taskList.indexOf(value), 1)[0])
      }

In the code snippet above, a variable completed is created and set to a boolean false. This variable is used to toggle the Done button. Hence, when value.complete is true, bind a line-through class to the task.

    <p class="w-full text-grey-darkest" [ngClass]="{'line-through': value.completed}">  {{value.name}}</p>

Next is a conditional statement; If value.complete is true,then push the task to the end of the taskList[] array using the push() method. Otherwise, move it to the beginning of the taskList array using the unshift() method.

Let's proceed and implement this on our code as follows:

    //todo.component.ts
    
    import { Component, OnInit } from '@angular/core';
    import { FormBuilder } from '@angular/forms';
    
    @Component({
      selector: 'app-todo',
      templateUrl: './todo.component.html',
      styleUrls: ['./todo.component.css']
    })
    export class TodoComponent implements OnInit {
      completed: boolean = false;
      taskList: any[] = []
      newTodoForm = this.formBuilder.group({
        todoItem: ''
      })
        
      constructor(
        private formBuilder: FormBuilder
      ) { }
      
      addTask() {
        const value = this.newTodoForm.value.todoItem
        this.taskList.push({ id: this.taskList.length, name: value })
        this.newTodoForm.reset(); 
      }
      
      markDone(value: any) {
        value.completed = !value.completed
        value.completed === true ?
          this.taskList.push(this.taskList.splice(this.taskList.indexOf(value), 1)[0]) :
          this.taskList.unshift(this.taskList.splice(this.taskList.indexOf(value), 1)[0])
      }
    }

    <div class="h-100 w-full flex items-center justify-center bg-teal-lightest font-sans">
        <div class="bg-white rounded shadow p-6 m-4 w-full lg:w-3/4 lg:max-w-lg mt-4">
            <div class="mb-4">
                <h1 class="text-4xl font-black">Todo List</h1>
                <form [formGroup]="newTodoForm" class="flex mt-4" (ngSubmit)="addTask()">
                    <input class="shadow appearance-none border rounded w-full py-2 px-3 mr-4 text-grey-darker"
                        placeholder="Add task" formControlName="todoItem">
                    <button type="submit"
                        class="flex-no-shrink p-2 border-2 rounded text-teal border-teal hover:text-black hover:bg-teal"  
                        >Add
                    </button>
                </form>
                 
            </div>
            <div>
                <div class="flex mb-4 items-center" *ngFor= "let value of taskList">
                    <p class="w-full text-grey-darkest" [ngClass]="{'line-through': value.completed}">{{value.name}}</p>
                <button class="flex-no-shrink p-2 ml-4 mr-2 border-2 rounded  text-green border-green hover:bg-green" (click)="markDone(value)">Done</button>
                    <button
       class="flex-no-shrink p-2 ml-2 border-2 rounded text-red border-red  hover:bg-red">Remove</button>
                </div>
            </div>
        </div>
    </div>

Delete a task #

Tasks can be deleted or removed from the to-do list. For this to be achieved, the following should be done simultaneously:

1. Add a click event to the Remove button. Next, set the click event to the removeTask(i) method with the index of the task passed into the method.

    <div>
          <div class="flex mb-4 items-center" *ngFor= "let value of taskList; index as i">
                    <p class="w-full text-grey-darkest" [ngClass]="{'line-through': value.completed}">{{value.name}}</p>
                    <button
                        class="flex-no-shrink p-2 ml-4 mr-2 border-2 rounded  text-green border-green hover:bg-green" (click)="markDone(value)">Done</button>
                    <button
                        class="flex-no-shrink p-2 ml-2 border-2 rounded text-red border-red  hover:bg-red" (click)="removeTask(i)">Remove</button>
                </div>
            </div>
        </div>
    </div>

2. Define the removeTask method in the todo.component.ts file:

    //todo.component.ts
    
    removeTask(i: any) {
        this.taskList.splice(i, 1)
      }

The splice() method will remove the task whose index was passed in the removeTask method.

Save task to local storage #

LocalStorage is a JavaScript feature that allows sites to store data in key-value pairs.

The browser stores this data with no expiration date. This means that the stored data will remain even after the browser is refreshed or closed.

There are different localStorage methods which can be used to achieve specific needs.

When any task is added to the to-do list, it should also be added to the local storage. This is done by modifying the addTask() method as shown below:

    //todo.component.ts
    
    addTask() {
        const value = this.newTodoForm.value.todoItem
        this.taskList.push({ id: this.taskList.length, name: value })
        window.localStorage.setItem('task', JSON.stringify(this.taskList))
        this.newTodoForm.reset(); 
      }

localStorage is a read-only property of the Windows interface. Hence, the use of windows.localStorage in the code snippet above.

Using the .setItem(), which accepts a key and value, a task is stored in the local storage. The key, in this case, is task while the value is the taskList array.

The JSON.stringify() method converts the content of taskList array to a string. Next, add window.localStorage.setItem('task', JSON.stringify(this.taskList)) to removeTask(). This keeps the task deleted from the to-do list even after the browser is refreshed.

    //todo.component.ts 
 
    removeTask(i: any) {
        this.taskList.splice(i, 1)
        window.localStorage.setItem('task', JSON.stringify(this.taskList))
 
      }

Finally, we want the saved task to remain even after closing or refreshing the browser. To achieve this, we have to use one angular lifecycle hook called [ngOninit()](https://angular.io/api/core/OnInit).

The [ngOninit()](https://angular.io/api/core/OnInit) is invoked only when the directive is instantiated.

    //todo.component.ts
 
    ngOnInit(): void {
        this.taskList = window.localStorage.getItem('task') ? JSON.parse(localStorage.getItem('task')) : []
      }

In the code above, the local storage method getItem() is used to get items from the local storage and display them. The complete code for this tutorial is on GitHub here.

Conclusion #

This article was a complete guide on how you can build a simple task manager in Angular. I know this will be of great help to developers starting in Angular.

Happy Coding ☺️

---

Peer Review Contributions by: Miller Juma