TouchableOpacity and TouchableHighlight in React Native

Introduction

TouchableOpacity and TouchableHighlight let users tap on things in your app. They show feedback so users know their tap worked.

You want a button that fades a bit when tapped.

You want a button that highlights with a color when tapped.

You want to make images or text tappable with visual feedback.

You want simple touch feedback without complex animations.

Syntax

React Native

import { TouchableOpacity, TouchableHighlight, Text } from 'react-native';

<TouchableOpacity onPress={() => {}} activeOpacity={0.7}>
  <Text>Press me</Text>
</TouchableOpacity>

<TouchableHighlight onPress={() => {}} underlayColor="#DDDDDD">
  <Text>Press me</Text>
</TouchableHighlight>

TouchableOpacity fades the child view's opacity when pressed.

TouchableHighlight shows a colored highlight under the child view when pressed.

Examples

This button fades out a bit when tapped and shows an alert.

React Native

<TouchableOpacity onPress={() => alert('Tapped!')}>
  <Text>Tap Opacity</Text>
</TouchableOpacity>

This button shows a red highlight color when tapped and shows an alert.

React Native

<TouchableHighlight onPress={() => alert('Tapped!')} underlayColor="#FFAAAA">
  <Text>Tap Highlight</Text>
</TouchableHighlight>

You can change how much the button fades by adjusting activeOpacity.

React Native

<TouchableOpacity activeOpacity={0.3}>
  <Text>More transparent on tap</Text>
</TouchableOpacity>

You can change the highlight color with underlayColor.

React Native

<TouchableHighlight underlayColor="blue">
  <Text>Blue highlight</Text>
</TouchableHighlight>

Sample App

This app shows two buttons stacked vertically. The first uses TouchableOpacity and fades when tapped. The second uses TouchableHighlight and shows a gray highlight when tapped. Both show alerts on press.

React Native

import React from 'react';
import { View, Text, TouchableOpacity, TouchableHighlight, Alert, StyleSheet } from 'react-native';

export default function App() {
  return (
    <View style={styles.container}>
      <TouchableOpacity
        style={styles.button}
        activeOpacity={0.6}
        onPress={() => Alert.alert('TouchableOpacity pressed!')}
        accessibilityLabel="Opacity button"
      >
        <Text style={styles.text}>TouchableOpacity</Text>
      </TouchableOpacity>

      <TouchableHighlight
        style={styles.button}
        underlayColor="#DDDDDD"
        onPress={() => Alert.alert('TouchableHighlight pressed!')}
        accessibilityLabel="Highlight button"
      >
        <Text style={styles.text}>TouchableHighlight</Text>
      </TouchableHighlight>
    </View>
  );
}

const styles = StyleSheet.create({
  container: {
    flex: 1,
    justifyContent: 'center',
    alignItems: 'center',
    backgroundColor: '#F5FCFF'
  },
  button: {
    backgroundColor: '#2196F3',
    paddingVertical: 12,
    paddingHorizontal: 25,
    marginVertical: 10,
    borderRadius: 5
  },
  text: {
    color: 'white',
    fontSize: 16
  }
});

Important Notes

Use accessibilityLabel to help screen reader users understand the button.

TouchableOpacity is good for subtle feedback, TouchableHighlight is good when you want a colored highlight.

Both components require a single child element.

Summary

TouchableOpacity fades the button on tap.

TouchableHighlight shows a colored highlight on tap.

Use these to give users clear tap feedback in your app.

Practice

1. What is the main visual difference between TouchableOpacity and TouchableHighlight in React Native?

easy

A. Both components fade the button but with different speeds.

B. TouchableOpacity shows a colored highlight, TouchableHighlight fades the button.

C. TouchableOpacity fades the button, TouchableHighlight shows a colored highlight.

D. Both components show a colored highlight but with different colors.

Solution

1. Step 1: Understand TouchableOpacity behavior

   TouchableOpacity reduces the opacity of the button to create a fading effect on tap.

2. Step 2: Understand TouchableHighlight behavior

   TouchableHighlight adds a colored overlay highlight on tap instead of fading.

3. Final Answer:

   TouchableOpacity fades the button, TouchableHighlight shows a colored highlight. -> Option C

4. Quick Check:

   Opacity fade = TouchableOpacity, Highlight color = TouchableHighlight [OK]

Hint: Opacity fade means TouchableOpacity, colored highlight means TouchableHighlight [OK]

Common Mistakes:

• Confusing which component fades vs highlights
• Thinking both behave the same visually
• Assuming TouchableHighlight fades opacity

2. Which of the following is the correct way to import TouchableOpacity in a React Native component?

easy

A. import { TouchableOpacity } from 'react-native';

B. import TouchableOpacity from 'react-native';

C. import TouchableOpacity from 'react-native-touchable';

D. import { TouchableOpacity } from 'react-native-touchable';

Solution

1. Step 1: Check React Native import syntax

   React Native exports TouchableOpacity as a named export, so it must be imported with curly braces.

2. Step 2: Verify package source

   TouchableOpacity is part of the core react-native package, not a separate package.

3. Final Answer:

   import { TouchableOpacity } from 'react-native'; -> Option A

4. Quick Check:

   Named import from 'react-native' = import { TouchableOpacity } from 'react-native'; [OK]

Hint: Use curly braces for named imports from 'react-native' [OK]

Common Mistakes:

• Using default import without braces
• Importing from wrong package name
• Missing curly braces around TouchableOpacity

3. What will happen when the user taps the button in this code snippet?

import React from 'react';
import { TouchableHighlight, Text } from 'react-native';

export default function App() {
  return (
     alert('Pressed!')}>
      Tap me
    
  );
}

medium

A. The button fades out on tap and shows an alert.

B. The button shows a red highlight on tap and shows an alert.

C. Nothing happens on tap because underlayColor is invalid.

D. The button shows a yellow highlight on tap and shows an alert.

Solution

1. Step 1: Identify component behavior

   TouchableHighlight uses the underlayColor prop to show a colored highlight when pressed.

2. Step 2: Check the underlayColor value and onPress

   The underlayColor is set to 'yellow', so the highlight will be yellow. The onPress triggers an alert with 'Pressed!'.

3. Final Answer:

   The button shows a yellow highlight on tap and shows an alert. -> Option D

4. Quick Check:

   TouchableHighlight + underlayColor yellow + alert onPress = The button shows a yellow highlight on tap and shows an alert. [OK]

Hint: TouchableHighlight uses underlayColor for highlight color [OK]

Common Mistakes:

• Confusing fade effect with TouchableOpacity
• Assuming underlayColor changes text color
• Ignoring the alert onPress effect

4. Identify the error in this React Native code using TouchableOpacity:

import React from 'react';
import { TouchableOpacity, Text } from 'react-native';

export default function App() {
  return (
     console.log('Pressed')}
      Click me
    
  );
}

medium

A. Missing closing bracket ">" on TouchableOpacity opening tag.

B. Incorrect import statement for TouchableOpacity.

C. The onPress function should return a value.

D. Text component cannot be a child of TouchableOpacity.

Solution

1. Step 1: Check JSX syntax for TouchableOpacity

   The opening tag for TouchableOpacity is missing the closing ">" before the child Text component.

2. Step 2: Verify other parts

   Imports are correct, onPress does not need to return a value, and Text can be a child of TouchableOpacity.

3. Final Answer:

   Missing closing bracket ">" on TouchableOpacity opening tag. -> Option A

4. Quick Check:

   JSX tags must close properly = Missing closing bracket ">" on TouchableOpacity opening tag. [OK]

Hint: Check JSX tags for missing > or /> [OK]

Common Mistakes:

• Ignoring missing closing bracket errors
• Thinking onPress must return a value
• Believing Text cannot be child of TouchableOpacity

5. You want a button that shows a blue highlight when pressed and also reduces opacity slightly. Which approach correctly combines TouchableHighlight and TouchableOpacity to achieve this effect?

hard

A. Wrap TouchableHighlight inside TouchableOpacity with underlayColor='blue'.

B. Wrap TouchableOpacity inside TouchableHighlight with underlayColor='blue'.

C. Use only TouchableOpacity with underlayColor='blue' prop.

D. Use only TouchableHighlight with activeOpacity={0.5} prop.

Solution

1. Step 1: Understand each component's effect

   TouchableHighlight provides the colored highlight via underlayColor. TouchableOpacity controls opacity fade via activeOpacity.

2. Step 2: Combine effects by nesting

   Wrapping TouchableOpacity inside TouchableHighlight applies the highlight outside and opacity fade inside, combining both effects.

3. Step 3: Check other options

   Wrap TouchableHighlight inside TouchableOpacity with underlayColor='blue'. reverses nesting, which breaks highlight effect. Options C and D misuse props not supported by those components.

4. Final Answer:

   Wrap TouchableOpacity inside TouchableHighlight with underlayColor='blue'. -> Option B

5. Quick Check:

   Nesting TouchableOpacity inside TouchableHighlight = Wrap TouchableOpacity inside TouchableHighlight with underlayColor='blue'. [OK]

Hint: Wrap opacity inside highlight to combine effects [OK]

Common Mistakes:

• Reversing component nesting order
• Using unsupported props on components
• Expecting one component to do both effects alone