---
title: "bs4Dash"
author: "David Granjon"
date: "`r format(Sys.time(), '%d %B, %Y')`"
output: rmarkdown::html_vignette
vignette: >
%\VignetteIndexEntry{bs4Dash}
%\VignetteEngine{knitr::rmarkdown}
%\VignetteEncoding{UTF-8}
---
```{r, include = FALSE}
library(bslib)
knitr::opts_chunk$set(
collapse = TRUE,
comment = "#>"
)
```
## Introduction
`{bs4Dash}` relies on the same basis as `{shinydashboard}`, that is the AdminLTE HTML [template](https://adminlte.io/themes/v3/), except the version
is higher (3.1.0 vs 2.4). The biggest difference is the dependence on Bootstrap 4, which is not natively
supported by `{Shiny}`. That's why elements like `tabsetPanel()`, `actionButton()`, ... have been rewritten
to provide full Bootstrap4 support. In addition, `{bs4Dash}` comes with extra elements that will
help you to develop Shiny apps with a more professional look and feel. Below is a summary of the main features:
| Features (sample) | shinydashboard | shinydashboardPlus | bs4Dash |
|----------|:-------------:|------:|------:|
| Popover, tooltips enhanced support | ❌ | ❌ | ✅ |
| Fullscreen toggle | ❌ | ❌ | ✅ |
| dark/light skin switch | ❌ | ❌ | ✅ |
| right sidebar (controlbar) | ❌ | ✅ | ✅ |
| semi collapsible sidebar (sidebar mini) | ❌ | ✅ | ✅ |
| expand on hover sidebar | ❌ | ✅ | ✅ |
| closable boxes | ❌ | ✅ | ✅ |
| box sidebar | ❌ | ✅ | ✅ |
| get box state on the server (open, closed, ...) | ❌ | ✅ | ✅ |
| control sidebars on the server | ❌ | ✅| ✅ |
| dashboard user dropdown | ❌ | ✅ | ✅ |
| theme selector | ❌ | ✅ | ✅ |
| social box | ❌ | ✅ | ✅ |
| user box | ❌ | ✅ | ✅ |
| control AdminLTE options | ❌ | ✅ | |
| seamlessly customize appearance | ❌ | ✅| ✅ |
| beautiful preloaders | ❌ | ✅ | ✅ |
| scroll to top button! | ❌ | ✅ | ✅ |
Since the 2.0.0 release, `{bs4Dash}` overwrites most of the `{shinydashboard}` functions
such as `dashboardPage()` and `box()` to facilitate the transition from one package to another.
## What changes in v2.0.0 ?
### Breaking changes
v2.0.0 is clearly a __major breaking change__ for `{bs4Dash}`. It means that coming
from v0.5.0 (latest CRAN version to date), you will have to rewrite part of the code.
It was not an easy decision to take but necessary to improve the package quality (naming consistency, ...).
Now the transition from `{shinydashboard}` to `{bs4Dash}` will be easier since
function parameters have been harmonized. The reverse is not always guaranteed because of the number
of extra parameters in `{bs4Dash}`.
### More checks
Under the hood, functions are safer and more controls are done on the user inputs to reduce the risk of accidentally providing wrong values.
### New features
The most exiting features of 2.0.0 are probably the ability to leverage the awesome `{fresh}`
package (see [here](https://dreamrs.github.io/fresh/articles/vars-shinydashboard.html) for more details)
through the `dashboardPage()` _freshTheme_ parameter. Additionally, the `skinSelector()`
allows to dynamically change the dashboard skin on the client side.
There are also more `update_` functions to programmatically control elements from the server.
Now the `dashboardSidebar()` may be collapsed, so is the `dashboardControlbar()`.
The `dashboardPage()` _options_ parameter is an easy way to fine tune the AdminLTE behavior (see [here](https://adminlte.io/themes/AdminLTE/documentation/index.html#adminlte-options) for the
list of available options). The `box()` component has been reworked to reduce the number of
parameters and include new sub-components like the `boxSidebar()` that may be programmatically collapsed,
or the `boxLabel()`. `box()` has an input binding indicating its current state on the
server side, to perform specific tasks. Finally, colors are better documented thanks to
Victor Perrier from dreamRs. For instance, the primary color is shown
as , danger is , which eventually helps users to choose between all available options.
## Basic Example
Below is a simple app you may build with `{bs4Dash}`. Interestingly, you'll be able to notice
the scroll to top button feature if you scroll to the bottom (bottom-right corner), as well as the live theme
switcher in the navigation bar that goes from light to dark. This new feature is exclusive to `{bs4Dash}`.
```{r basic-demo-code, eval=TRUE, echo=FALSE}
card(
bs4Dash:::create_link_iframe(bs4Dash:::shinylive_links["inst/examples/vignettes-demos/scrollToTop"]),
full_screen = TRUE,
style = "margin: 0 auto; float: none;"
)
```