Routing

The routing module allows hash-based navigation in an Anvil app.

Live Example:	hash-routing-example.anvil.app
Example Clone Link:	Example

Introduction

An Anvil app is a single-page app. When the user navigates through the app’s pages the URL does not change. The part of the URL before the # is used by the server to identify the app. The part following the #, is never sent to the server and used only by the browser.

The routing module takes advantage of the URL hash and allows unique URLs to be defined for forms within an app. Here are a few examples of URL hashes within an app and associated terminology.

URL	url_hash	url_pattern	url_dict	url_keys	dynamic_vars
blog.anvil.app/#	''	''	{}	[]	{}
blog.anvil.app/#blog	'blog'	'blog'	{}	[]	{}
blog.anvil.app/#blog?id=10	'blog?id=10'	'blog'	{'id':'10'}	['id']	{}
blog.anvil.app/#blog/10	'blog/10'	'blog/{id}'	{}	[]	{'id': 10}

Template Forms

These are top-level forms.

A TemplateForm is not the HomeForm. A TemplateForm has no content. It only has a navigation bar, header, optional sidebar and a content_panel (This is based on the Material Design standard-page.html).

• import the routing module

• import all the forms that may be added to the content_panel

• add the decorator: @routing.template(path, priority, condition)

from anvil_extras import routing
from .Form1 import Form1
from .Form2 import Form2
from .Form3 import Form3
from .ErrorForm import ErrorForm

@routing.template(path="", priority=0, condition=None)
class MainRouter(MainRouterTemplate):

An Anvil app can have multiple template forms. When the url_hash changes the routing module will check each registered template form in order of priority (highest values first). A template form will be loaded as the open_form only if, the current url_hash starts with the template’s path argument and either the condition is None or the condition is a callable that returns True. The path argument can be a string or an iterable of strings.

The above example would be the fallback template form. This is equivalent to:

@routing.default_template
class MainRouter(MainRouterTemplate):

If you have a different top-level template for the admin section of your app you might want a second template.

from .. import Globals

@routing.template(path="admin", priority=1, condition=lambda: Globals.admin is not None)
class AdminRouterForm(AdminRouterTemplate):

The above code takes advantage of an implied Globals module that has an admin attribute. If the url_hash starts with admin and the Globals.admin is not None then this template will become the open_form.

Another example might be a login template

from .. import Globals

@routing.template(path="", priority=2, condition=lambda: Globals.user is None)
class LoginRouterForm(LoginRouterTemplate):

Note that TemplateForms are never cached (unlike RouteForms).

Route Forms

A route form is any form that will be loaded inside a TemplateForm’s content_panel.

• Import the routing module

• add the @routing.route decorator above the class definition

• The first argument to the decorator is the url_pattern (think of it as the page name).

• The second argument is optional and is any url_keys (a list of strings that make up a query strings in the url_hash) (use routing.ANY to signify optionaly url_keys)

from anvil_extras import routing

@routing.route('article', url_keys=['id'])
class ArticleForm(ArticleFormTemplate):
    ...

Or without any url_keys

from anvil_extras import routing

@routing.route('article')
class ArticleForm(ArticleFormTemplate):
    ...

Or with url_keys where there may be other optional keys

from anvil_extras import routing

@routing.route('article', url_keys=["id", routing.ANY])
class ArticleForm(ArticleFormTemplate):
    ...

Home form

The HomeForm is also a Route Form that appears in the content_panel of the loaded TemplateForm.

• Import the routing module

• add the @routing.route decorator

• set the url_pattern (page name) to an empty string

from anvil_extras import routing

@routing.route('')
class Home(HomeTemplate):
    ...

---

Error form (Optional)

This is the form that is shown when the url_hash refers to a page that does not exist, or the query string does not match the url_keys listed in the decorator. Follow these steps to create an error form that shows an error message:

• Create a form with the label Sorry, this page does not exist

• Import the routing module

• add the decorator @routing.error_form

from anvil_extras import routing

@routing.error_form
class ErrorForm(ErrorFormTemplate):
    ...

---

Startup Forms and Startup Modules

If you are using a Startup Module or a Startup Form all the TemplateForms and RouteForms must be imported otherwise they will not be registered by the routing module.

If using a Startup module, it is recommended call routing.launch() after any initial app logic

from anvil_extras import routing
from .. import Global


# Setup some global data
Global.user = anvil.server.call("get_user")
if Global.user is None:
    routing.set_url_hash("login", replace_current_url=True)

routing.launch() # I will load the correct template form

It is also ok to use anvil.open_form("LoginForm"), or to use a TemplateForm as the Startup Form. In either case, the routing module will validate the template form is correct based on the registered templates for the app.

Navigation

It is important to never use the typical method to navigate when using the routing module.

# Banned
get_open_form().content_panel.clear()
get_open_form().content_panel.add_component(Form1())
# This will result in an Exception('Form1 is a route form and was not loaded from routing')

Instead

# option 1
set_url_hash('articles') # anvil's built-in method

# or an empty string to navigate to the home page
set_url_hash('')

# option 2
routing.set_url_hash('articles')
#routing.set_url_hash() method has some bonus features and is recommended over the anvil's built-in method

With query string parameters:

# option 1
set_url_hash(f'article?id={self.item["id"]}')

# option 2
routing.set_url_hash(f'article?id={self.item["id"]}')

# option 3
routing.set_url_hash(url_pattern='article', url_dict={'id':self.item['id']})

routing.set_url_hash() - has some additional features. See API Docs and Examples.

Dynamic Vars

An alternative to a query string is to include a dynamic URL hash. The dynamic variables inside the URL pattern will be included in the dynamic_vars attribute.

from anvil_extras import routing

@routing.route("article/{id}")
class ArticleForm(ArticleFormTemplate):
    ...

You can then check the id using:

print(self.dynamic_vars) # {'id': 3}
print(self.dynamic_vars['id']) # 3

Multiple dynanamic variables are supported e.g. foo/{var_name_1}/{var_name_2}. A dynamic varaible must be entirely contained within a / portion of the url_pattern, e.g. foo/article-{id} is not valid.

---

Redirects

A redirect is similar to a template in that the arguments are the same.

@routing.redirect(path="admin", priority=20, condition: Globals.user is None or not Globals.user["admin"])
def redirect_no_admin():
    # not an admin or not logged in
    return "login"

# can also use routing.set_url_hash() to redirect
@routing.redirect(path="admin", priority=20, condition=lambda: Globals.user is None or not Globals.user["admin"])
def redirect_no_admin():
    routing.set_url_hash("login", replace_current_url=True, set_in_history=False, redirect=True)

When used as a decorator, the redirect function will be called if:

• the current url_hash starts with the redirect path, and

• the condition returns True or the condition is None

The redirect function can return a url_hash, which will then trigger a redirect. Alternatively, a redirect can use routing.set_url_hash() to redirect.

Redirects are checked at the same time as templates, in this way a redirect can intercept the current navigation before any templates are loaded.

API

Decorators

routing.template(path='', priority=0, condition=None, redirect=None)

Apply this decorator above the top-level Form - TemplateForm.

• path should be a string or iterable of strings.

• priority should be an integer.

• condition can be None, or a function that returns True or False

The TemplateForm must have a content_panel. It is often could to refer to TemplateForm``s with the suffix ``Router e.g. MainRouter, AdminRotuer. There are two callbacks available to a TemplateForm.

on_navigation(self, **nav_args)

on_navigation(self, url_hash, url_patter, url_dict, unload_form)

The on_navigation method, when added to your TemplateForm, will be called whenever the url_hash is changed. It’s a good place to adjust the look of your TemplateForm if the url_hash changes. e.g. the selected link in the sidebar. The unload_form is possible None if this is the first load of the app.

on_form_load(self, **nav_args)

on_form_load(self, url_hash, url_patter, url_dict, form)

The on_form_load is called after a form has been loaded into the content_panel. This is also a good time to adjust the TemplateForm.

routing.default_template

equivalent to routing.template(path='', priority=0, condition=None).

routing.route(url_pattern, url_keys=[], title=None, full_width_row=False, template=None)

The routing.route decorator should be called with arguments that determine the shape of the url_hash. The url_pattern determines the string immediately after the #. The url_keys determine the required query string parameters in a url_hash.

The template, when set, should be set to a string or list of strings that represent valid templates this route can be added to. If no template is set then this form can be added to any template.

The routing module adds certain parameters to a Route Form and supports a before_unload callback.

url_hash

The current url_hash. The url_hash includes the query. See Introduction for examples.

url_pattern

The url_hash without the query string.

url_dict

The query string is converted to a python dict.

dynamic_vars

See Dynamic URLs.

before_unload(self)

If the before_unload method is added it will be called whenever the form currently in the content_panel is about to be removed. If any truthy value is returned then unloading will be prevented. See Form Unloading.

routing.lazy_route(url_pattern, url_keys=[], title=None, full_width_row=False, template=None)

from anvil_extras import routing

@routing.lazy_route('article', url_keys=['id', routing.ANY], title="Article-{id} | RoutingExample")
def article_route():
    from ..ArticleForm import ArticleForm
    return ArticleForm

This decorator allows you to lazily load Forms. When using @routing.route all Forms that are routes must be imported before the app starts. This is fine for most small applications, but as your application grows you may find that executing all the code for all the Forms is slow. The lazy_route decorator should decorate a function that imports the Form and returns it.

routing.redirect(path, priority=0, condition=None)

The redirect decorator can decorate a function that will intercept the current navigtation, depending on its path, priority and condition arguments.

• path can be a string or iterable of strings.

• priority should be an integer - the higher the value the higher the priority.

• conditon should be None or a callable that returns a True or False.

A redirect function can return a url_hash - which will trigger a redirect, or it can call routing.set_url_hash().

routing.error_form

The routing.error_form decorator is optional and can be added above a form that will be displayed if the url_hash does not refer to any known Route Form.

Exception

exception routing.NavigationExit

Usually called inside the on_navigation callback. Prevents the current navigation from attempting to change the content_panel. Useful for login forms.

List of Methods

routing.launch()

This can be called inside a Startup Module. It will ensure that the correct Template is loaded based on the current url_hash and template conditions. Calling open_form() on a TemplateForm will implicitly call routing.launch(). Until routing.launch() is called anvil components will not be loaded when the url_hash is changed. This allows you to set the url_hash in startup logic before any navigation is attempted. Similarly when a TemplateForm is loaded any routing is delayed until after the TemplateForm has been initialized.

routing.set_url_hash(url_hash)

routing.set_url_hash(url_hash, **properties)

routing.set_url_hash(url_pattern=None, url_dict=None, **properties)

routing.set_url_hash(url_hash, *, replace_current_url=False, set_in_history=True, redirect=True, load_from_cache=True, **properties)

Sets the url_hash and begins navigation to load a form. Any properties provided will be passed to the form’s properties. You can also pass the url_pattern and url_dict separately and let the routing module convert this to a valid url_hash. This is particularly useful when you have strings that need encoding as part of the query string.

The additional keywords in the call signature will adjust the routing behaviour.

If replace_current_url is set to True. Then the navigation will happen “in place” rather than as a new history item.

If set_in_history is set to False the URL will not be added to the browser’s history stack.

If redirect is set to False then you do not want to navigate away from the current form.

if load_from_cache is set to False then the new URL will not load from cache.

Note that any additional properties will only be passed to a form if it is the first time the form has loaded and/or it is not loaded from cache.

routing.alert(content, *args, **kws)

Use in place of anvil.alert. If you use anvil.alert then alerts will not close when the user navigates. This is probably not what you want. When using routing.alert any alert that is dismissible will close when the user navigates. Any non-dismissible alert will block the navigation.

You may want to do import anvil; anvil.alert = routing.alert as the first line in a startup module to override anvil.alert across your app.

routing.get_url_components(url_hash=None)

Returns a 3 tuple of the url_hash, url_pattern and url_dict. If the url_hash is None it will return the components based on the current url_hash of the page.

routing.get_url_hash(url_hash=None)

Returns the url_hash - this differs slightly from the Anvil implementation. It does not convert a query string to a dictionary automatically.

routing.get_url_pattern(url_hash=None)

Returns the part of the url_hash without the query string.

routing.get_url_dict(url_hash=None)

Returns a dictionary based on the query string of the url_hash.

routing.load_error_form()

Loads the error form at the current url_hash.

routing.remove_from_cache(url_hash)

Removes a url_hash from the routing module’s cache.

routing.add_to_cache(url_hash, form)

Adds a form to the cache at a specific url_hash. Whenever the user navigates to this URL the cached form will be used. (Caching generally happens without you thinking about it).

routing.clear_cache()

Clears all forms and url_hash’s from the cache.

routing.get_cache()

Returns the cache object from the routing module. Adjusting the cache directly may have side effects and is not supported.

routing.go(x=0)

Go forward/back x number of pages. Use negative values to go back.

routing.go_back()

Go back one page.

routing.reload_page(hard=False)

Reload the current route_form (if hard = True the page will refresh)

routing.on_session_expired(reload_hash=True, allow_cancel=True)

Override the default behaviour for a session expired. Anvil’s default behaviour will reload the app at the home form.

routing.set_warning_before_app_unload(True)

Pop up the default browser dialogue when navigating away from the app.

routing.logger

Logging information is provided when debugging. Logging is turned off by default.

To turn logging on do: routing.logger.debug = True.

Notes and Examples

The following represents some notes and examples that might be helpful

Routing Debug Print Statements

To debug your routing behaviour use the routing logger. Routing logs are turned off by default.

To use the routing logger, in your Startup Module

from anvil_extras import routing

routing.logger.debug = True

Page Titles

You can set each Route Form to have a title parameter, which will change the browser tab title

If you do not provide a title then the page title will be the default title provided by Anvil in your titles and logos

@routing.route('', title='Home | RoutingExample')
class Home(HomeTemplate):
    ...

@routing.route('article', url_keys=['id'], title="Article-{id} | RoutingExample")
class ArticleForm(ArticleFormTemplate):
    ...

@routing.route('article/{id}', title='Article | {id}')
class ArticleForm(ArticleFormTemplate):
    ...

• Think f-strings without the f

• Anything in curly braces should be an item from url_keys or a dynamic variable in the url_pattern.

You can also dynamically set the page title, for example, to values loaded from the database.

from anvil.js.window import document

@routing.route('article', url_keys=['id'])
class ArticleForm(ArticleFormTemplate):
  def __init__(self, **properties):
    self.item = anvil.server.call('get_article', article_id=self.url_dict['id'])
    document.title = f"{self.item['title']} | RoutingExample'"

    self.init_components(**properties)

Full-Width Rows

You can set a Route Form to load as a full_width_row by setting the full_width_row parameter to True.

@routing.route('', title='Home', full_width_row=True)
class Home(HomeTemplate):
    ...

Multiple Route Decorators

It is possible to define optional parameters by adding multiple decorators, e.g. one with and one without the key. Here is an example that allows using the home page with the default empty string and with one optional search parameter:

@routing.route('')
@routing.route('', url_keys=['search'])
class Form1(Form1Template):
  def __init__(self, **properties):
    self.init_components(**properties)
    self.search_terms.text = self.url_dict.get('search', '')

Perhaps your form displays a different item depending on the url_pattern/ url_hash:

@routing.route('articles')
@routing.route('blogposts')
class ListItems(ListItemsTemplate):
  def __init__(self, **properties):
    self.init_components(**properties)
    self.item = anvil.server.call(f'get_{self.url_pattern}')
    # self.url_pattern is provided by the routing module

Setting a Route’s Template

@routing.route('foo', template="MainRouter")
class Foo(FooTemplate):
    def __init__(self, **properties):
        ...

Setting a template argument determines which templates a route form can be added to. If no template is set then this route can be added to any template.

A template argument should be the name of the template or a list of template names.

@routing.route('foo', template=["MainRouter", "AdminRouter"])
class Foo(FooTemplate):
    def __init__(self, **properties):
        ...

If you have a route that can be used on multiple templates, consider using / notation.

@routing.template('admin', priority=2, condition=lambda Globals.is_admin)
class AdminRouter(AdminRouterTemplate):
    ...

@routing.route('/foo', template="AdminRouter")
class Foo(FooTemplate):
    ...

In the above example, since the route "/foo" does not start with admin, "admin/foo" will be a valid url_pattern for this route

This allows you to write a route for different templates and only specify the suffix.

@routing.template('admin', priority=2, condition=lambda Globals.is_admin)
class AdminRouter(AdminRouterTemplate):

@routing.template('accounts')
class AccountRouter(AccountRouterTemplate):

@routing.route('/foo', template=["AdminRouter", "AccountRouter"])
class Foo(FooTemplate):

The Foo route will be added for the url_patterns "admin/foo" and "accounts/foo".

Note that the cached version of the Foo form will be added to either templates. If you don’t want to use a cached version for different templates, you should use multiple decorators

@routing.route('/foo', template="AdminRouter")
@routing.route('/foo', template="AccountRouter")
class Foo(FooTemplate):

Form Arguments

It’s usually better to avoid required named arguments for a Form. Something like this is not allowed:

@routing.route('form1', url_keys=['key1'])
class Form1(Form1Template):
  def __init__(self, key1, **properties):
    ...

All the parameters listed in url_keys are required, and the rule is enforced by the routing module. If the Route Form has required url_keys then the routing module will provide a url_dict with the parameters from the url_hash.

This is the correct way:

@routing.route('form1', url_keys=['key1'])
class Form1(Form1Template):
  def __init__(self, **properties):
    key1 = self.url_dict['key1']
    #routing provides self.url_dict

If you need a catch all for arbirtrary url_keys use url_keys=[routing.ANY]. Or combine routing.ANY with required keys url_keys=["search", routing.ANY].

Template Form Callbacks

There are two callbacks available for a TemplateForm.

• on_navigation: called whenever the url_hash changes

• on_form_load: called after a form is loaded into the content_panel

on_navigation example:

To use the Material Design role 'selected' for sidebar links, create an on_navigation method in your TemplateForm.

@routing.default_template
class MainForm(MainFormTemplate):
  def __init__(self, **properties):
    self.init_components(**properties)
    self.links = [self.articles_link, self.blog_posts_link]
    self.blog_posts_link.tag.url_hash = 'blog-posts'
    self.articles_link.tag.url_hash   = 'articles'

  def on_navigation(self, **nav_args):
    # this method is called whenever routing provides navigation behaviour
    # url_hash, url_pattern, url_dict are provided by the template class decorator
    for link in self.links:
      if link.tag.url_hash == nav_args.get('url_hash'):
        link.role = 'selected'
      else:
        link.role = 'default'

Nav Args will look like:

nav_args = {'url_hash':    url_hash,
            'url_pattern': url_pattern,
            'url_dict':    url_dict,
            'unload_form': form_that_will_be_unloaded # could be None if initial call
            }

on_form_load example:

If you want to use animation when a form is loaded you might use the on_form_load method.

def on_form_load(self, **nav_args):
    # this method is called whenever the routing module has loaded a form into the content_panel
    form = nav_args["form"]
    animate(form, fade_in, duration=300)

Note if you wanted to use a fade-out you could also use the on_navigation method.

def on_navigation(self, **nav_args):
    # this method is called whenever the url_hash changes
    form = nav_args["unload_form"]
    if form is not None:
        animate(form, fade_out, duration=300).wait()
        # wait for animation before continuing

Navigation Techniques

redirect=False

It is possible to set a new URL without navigating away from the current form. For example, a form could have this code:

def search_click(self, **event_args):
  if self.search_terms.text:
      routing.set_url_hash(f'?search={self.search_terms.text}',
                           redirect=False
                          )
  else:
      routing.set_url_hash('',
                           redirect=False,
                          )
  self.search(self.search_terms.text)

This way search parameters are added to the history stack so that the user can navigate back and forward, but routing does not attempt to navigate to a new form instance.

Important

Be careful if you use routing.set_url_hash inside the __init__ method or form_show event. You may cause an infinite loop if your url_hash points to the same form and redirect=True! In this case, you will get a warning from the routing.logger and navigation/redirection will be halted.

Navigation will be halted after 5 navigation attempts without loading a form to the content_panel.

replace_current_url=True

It is also possible to replace the current URL in the history stack rather than creating a new entry in the history stack.

In the demo app the ArticleForm creates a new article if the id parameter is empty like: url_hash = "article?id="

@routing.route('article', url_keys=['id'])
class ArticleForm(ArticleFormTemplate):
    def __init__(self, **properties):
        self.init_components(**properties)
        if url_dict['id']:
            self.item = anvil.server.call("get_article_by_id", self.url_dict['id'])
        else:
            # url_dict['id'] is empty
            self.item = anvil.server.call('create_new_article')
            routing.set_url_hash(f"article?id={self.item['id']",
                                 replace_current_url=True,
                                 set_in_history=True,
                                 redirect=False
                                )

See API Docs for a list of valid kwargs for routing.set_url_hash().

Security

Security issue: You log in, open a form with some data, go to the next form, log out, go back 3 steps and you see the cached stuff that was there when you were logged in.

Solution 1: When a form shows sensitive data it should always check for user permission in the form_show event, which is triggered when a cached form is shown.

Solution 2: Call routing.clear_cache() to remove the cache upon logging out.

---

Preventing a Form from Unloading (when navigating within the app)

Create a method in a Route Form called before_unload

To prevent Unloading return a value

def before_unload(self):
  # this method is called when the form is about to be unloaded from the content_panel
  if confirm('are you sure you want to close this form?'):
    pass
  else:
    return 'STOP'

NB: - Only use if you need to prevent unloading. - Otherwise, the form_hide event should work just fine.

NB: - This method does not prevent a user from navigating away from the app entirely. (see the section Leaving the App below)

---

Passing properties to a form

You can pass properties to a form by adding them as keyword arguments to routing.set_url_hash

def article_link_click(self, **event_args):
    routing.set_url_hash(f'article?id={self.item["id"]}', item=self.item)

---

I have a login form how do I work that?

As part of anvil_extras.routing

Login forms are the default form to load if no user is logged in.

You could create a login template. We don’t want the user to navigate back/forward to other routes within our app once the user has logged out.

You can avoid this by raising a routing.NavigationExit() exception in the on_navigation() callback.

@routing.template("", priority=10, condition=lambda: Globals.user is None)
class LoginForm(LoginFormTemplate):
    def on_navigation(self, **url_args):
        raise routing.NavigationExit()
        # prevent routing from changing the content panel based on the hash if the user tries to navigate back to a previous page

    def login_button_click(self, **event_args):
        user = anvil.users.login_with_form()
        if user is not None:
            Globals.user = user
            routing.set_url_hash("")

You may choose to use redirect functions to intercept the navigation.

@routing.redirect("", priority=10, condition=lambda: Globals.user is None)
def redirect():
    return "login"

@routing.redirect("login", priority=10, condition=lambda: Globals.user is not None)
def redirect():
    # we're logged in - don't go to the login form
    return ""

@routing.default_template
class DashboardRouter(DashboardRouterTemplate):
    ...

@routing.template("login", priority=1)
class LoginRouter(LoginRouterTemplate):
    def on_navigation(self, url_hash, **url_args):
        raise routing.NavigationExit
        # prevent routing from changing the content panel

    def login_button_click(self, **event_args):
        Globals.user = anvil.users.login_with_form()
        routing.set_url_hash("", replace_current_url=True)
        # let routing decide which template

Advanced - redirect back to the url hash that was being accessed

@routing.redirect("", priority=10, condition=lambda: Globals.user is None)
def redirect():
    current_hash = routing.get_url_hash()
    routing.set_url_hash("login", current_hash=current_hash, replace_current_url=True, set_in_history=False)
    # the extra property current_hash passed to the form as a keyword argument

@routing.redirect("login", priority=10, condition=lambda: Globals.user is not None)
def redirect():
    # we're logged in - don't go to the login form
    return ""

@routing.default_template
class DashboardRouter(DashboardRouterTemplate):
    ...

@routing.template("login", priority=1)
class LoginRouter(LoginRouterTemplate):
    def __init__(self, current_hash="", **properties):
        self.current = current_hash

    def on_navigation(self, url_hash, **url_args):
        self.current = url_hash
        routing.set_url_hash("login", replace_current_url=True, set_in_history=False, redirect=False)
        raise routing.NavigationExit
        # prevent routing from changing the content panel

    def login_button_click(self, **event_args):
        Globals.user = anvil.users.login_with_form()
        routing.set_url_hash(self.current, replace_current_url=True)
        # let routing decide which template to load

More advanced - to access the current url_hash that is stored in the browser’s history you can use window.history.state.get.url.

@routing.redirect("", priority=10, condition=lambda: Globals.user is None)
def redirect():
    return "login"

@routing.redirect("login", priority=10, condition=lambda: Globals.user is not None)
def redirect():
    return ""

@routing.default_template
class DashboardRouter(DashboardRouterTemplate):
    ...

@routing.template("login", priority=1)
class LoginRouter(LoginRouterTemplate):
    def on_navigation(self, **url_args):
        routing.set_url_hash("login", replace_current_url=True, set_in_history=False, redirect=False)
        raise routing.NavigationExit
        # prevent routing from changing the content panel

    def login_button_click(self, **event_args):
        Globals.user = anvil.users.login_with_form()
        from anvil.js.window import history
        routing.set_url_hash(history.state.url, replace_current_url=True)

Alternatively, you could load the login form as a route form rather than a template.

@routing.default_template
class MainRouter(MainRouterTemplate):
    def __init__(self, **properties):
        if Globals.users is None:
            routing.set_url_hash("login") # this logic could also be in a Startup Module

    def on_navigation(self, url_hash, **url_args):
        if Globals.user is None and url_hash != "login":
            raise routing.NavigationExit()
            # prevent routing from changing the login route form inside the content panel


@routing.route('login')
class LoginForm(LoginFormTemplate):
    def __init__(self, **properties):
        self.init_components(**properties)

  def form_show(self, **event_args):
    """This method is called when the column panel is shown on the screen"""
    user = anvil.users.get_user()
    while not user:
      user = anvil.users.login_with_form()

    routing.remove_from_cache(self.url_hash)  # prevents the login form loading from cache in the future...
    routing.set_url_hash('',
                         replace_current_url=True,
                         redirect=True
                         )
    # '' replaces 'login' in the history stack and redirects to the HomeForm

Separate from anvil_extras.routing

Rather than have the LoginForm be part of the navigation, you could create a startup module that will call open_form("LoginForm") if no user is logged in. The LoginForm should not have any anvil_extras.routing decorators.

Then when the user has signed in you can call open_form('MainForm'). The routing module will return to changing templates and load routes when the url_hash changes.

When the user signs out you can call open_form('LoginForm'). routing will no longer take control of the navigation. There will still be entries when the user hits back/forward navigation (i.e. the url_hash will change but there will be no change in forms…) :smile:

It is a good idea to call routing.clear_cache() when a user logs out.

---

I have a page that is deleted - how do I remove it from the cache?

def trash_link_click(self, **event_args):
  """called when trash_link is clicked removes the """
  self.item.delete()  # table row
  routing.remove_from_cache(self.url_hash) # self.url_hash provided by the @routing.route class decorator
  routing.set_url_hash('articles',
                        replace_current_url=True,
                      )

And in the __init__ method - you will want something like:

@routing.route('article', keys=['id'], title='Article-{id}')
class ArticleForm(ArticleFormTemplate):
  def __init__(self, **properties):
    try:
      self.item = anvil.server.call('get_article_by_id', self.url_dict['id'])
    except:
      routing.set_url_hash('articles', replace_current_url=True)
      raise Exception('This article does not exist or has been deleted')

---

Form Show is important

since the forms are loaded from cache you may want to use the form_show events if there is a state change

Example 1

When that article was deleted in the above example we wouldn’t want the deleted article to show up on the repeating_panel

so perhaps:

@routing.route('articles')
class ListArticlesForm(ListArticlesFormTemplate):
  def __init__(self, **properties):
    # Set Form properties and Data Bindings.
    self.init_components(**properties)
    self.repeating_panel.items = anvil.server.call('get_articles')

    # Any code you write here will run when the form opens.

  def form_show(self, **event_args):
    """This method is called when the column panel is shown on the screen"""
    self.repeating_panel.items = anvil.server.call_s('get_articles')
    # silent call to the server on form show

An alternative approach to the above scenario:

set load_from_cache=False

That way you wouldn’t need to utilise the show event of the ListArticlesForm

@routing.route('article', keys=['id'], title='Article-{id}')
class ArticleForm(ArticleFormTemplate):
  def __init__(self, **properties):
    try:
      self.item = anvil.server.call('get_article_by_id', self.url_dict['id'])
    except:
      routing.set_url_hash('articles', replace_current_url=True, load_from_cache=False)

  def trash_link_click(self, **event_args):
    """called when trash_link is clicked removes the """
    self.item.delete()  # table row
    routing.remove_from_cache(self.url_hash) # self.url_hash provided by the @routing.route class decorator
    routing.set_url_hash('articles',
                         replace_current_url=True,
                         load_from_cache=False)

Example 2

In the search example above the same form represents multiple url_hashs in the cache.

No problem.

Whenever navigation is triggered by clicking the back/forward buttons, the self.url_hash, self.url_dict and self.url_pattern are updated and the form_show event is triggered.

def form_show(self, **event_args):
  search_text = self.url_dict.get('search','')
  self.search_terms.text = search_text
  self.search(search_text)

---

Leaving the app

Routing implements W3 Schools onbeforeunload method.

This warns the user before navigating away from the app using a default browser warning. (This may not work on ios)

By default, this setting is switched off. To switch it on do: routing.set_warning_before_app_unload(True)

To implement this behaviour for all pages change the setting in your Startup Module.

To implement this behaviour only on specific Route Forms toggle the setting like:

def form_show(self, **event_args):
  routing.set_warning_before_app_unload(True)

def form_hide(self, **event_args):
  routing.set_warning_before_app_unload(False)

Or based on a parameter (See the example app ArticleForm code for a working example)

def edit_status_toggle(status):
  routing.set_warning_before_app_unload(status)

NB: When used on a specific Route Form this should be used in conjunction with the before_unload method (see above).