React Native Icons & Fonts: Vector Icon Solutions

Unlock the Power of Icons and Fonts in Your React Native App

When it comes to building a React Native app, the devil is in the details. Two crucial elements that can make or break your app’s user experience are icons and fonts. In this article, we’ll dive into the world of React Native Vector Icons, custom fonts, and popular icon sets like Entypo, Simple Line Icons, and Ionicon. By the end of this tutorial, you’ll know how to set up a bare-bones React Native project with TypeScript, configure React Native Vector Icons, and link custom fonts with zero native code.

Getting Started with React Native

To begin, let’s create a new React Native project with a TypeScript template. Open your terminal and run the following command:


npx react-native init MyProject --template react-native-template-typescript


This will create a new React Native project with a TypeScript template. Navigate to the project folder and build your app for each OS.

Linking and Unlinking with React Native Asset

React Native Asset makes linking and unlinking a breeze. First, install react-native-asset globally:


npm install -g react-native-asset


Create a new folder called assets and another folder inside it called fonts. Then, download a font family from Google Fonts, unzip it, and add your chosen font weights to the fonts folder.

Creating a Text Component

Let’s create a custom text component to consume our new fonts. Create a folder called components with a file inside called Text.tsx, and add the following code:

“`jsx
import { TextProps } from ‘eact-native’;

interface Props extends TextProps {
children: React.ReactNode;
}

const Text: React.FC = ({ children, style,…props }) => {
return ;
};

export default Text;
“`

React Native Vector Icons

With over 3,000 free icons and 15.7k GitHub stars, React Native Vector Icons is an excellent choice for all your icon needs. To use this package, install it and its dev dependency in your project:


npm install react-native-vector-icons
npm install --save-dev @types/react-native-vector-icons


Building an Icon Component

Let’s build a reusable icon component. Create a new file called Icon.tsx in your components folder, and add the following code:

“`jsx
import { View, TextStyle } from ‘eact-native’;
import MaterialCommunityIcons from ‘eact-native-vector-icons/MaterialCommunityIcons’;

interface Props {
name: keyof typeof MaterialCommunityIcons.glyphMap;
size: number;
color: string;
}

const Icon: React.FC = ({ name, size, color }) => {
return ;
};

export default Icon;
“`

Working with Popular Icon Sets

Besides Material Community Icons, you can also use popular icon sets like Entypo, Ionicon, or Simple Line Icons in your React Native applications. Let’s use one of these icons in an application. Edit your Icon.tsx file to add the following minimalistic code:

“`jsx
import { View, TextStyle } from ‘eact-native’;
import Entypo from ‘eact-native-vector-icons/Entypo’;

interface Props {
name: keyof typeof Entypo.glyphMap;
size: number;
color: string;
}

const Icon: React.FC = ({ name, size, color }) => {
return ;
};

export default Icon;
“`

Troubleshooting Common Issues

While working with React Native Vector Icons, Ionicons, or custom icons, you may often run into issues or errors. Here are some common issues and their solutions:

• Extremely slow launch of emulator: Use a real smartphone device (iOS or Android) instead of an emulator.
• TypeError: cli.init is not a function for react native while creating a project: Uninstall and re-install React Native global.
• Error encountered: Missing setup packages or software: Ensure you have the required setup in place correctly.
• Build failed: Examine the stack trace and log to determine what went wrong.
• Icons not rendering: Use npx react-native-asset to associate the asset files with the project.

By following this tutorial, you’ll be able to add icons and fonts to your iOS or Android app, work with popular icon sets, and troubleshoot common errors when working with icons in React Native applications. Happy coding!