How To Set Activeclassname For Wrapper Element Of Link Or Indexlink In React Router

When working with React Router, setting the `activeClassName` for the wrapper element of a link or index link can help enhance the user experience by providing visual feedback on the active route. This feature is especially useful in navigation menus or sidebars to let users know which page they are currently viewing.

To set the `activeClassName`, you need to utilize the React Router's `NavLink` component for links and `Link` component for index links. These components provide a way to style the active link based on the route it matches.

Let's dive into the steps of how you can achieve this in your React application.

Step 1: Install React Router
If you haven't already installed React Router in your project, you can do so by running the following command:

npm install react-router-dom

Step 2: Import the necessary components
In the component where you want to set the `activeClassName`, import `NavLink` for links and `Link` for index links from `react-router-dom`:

import { NavLink, Link } from 'react-router-dom';

Step 3: Set the `activeClassName`
For links, you can use the `NavLink` component and specify the `activeClassName` prop to style the active link. Here's an example:

Home

In this example, the link will be marked as active and styled with the `active` class when the route matches `/home`.

For index links, you can use the `Link` component and set the `activeClassName` prop in a similar way:

About

Step 4: Define the CSS styles
To ensure that the active links are visually distinct, you need to define CSS styles for the `active` class in your stylesheet. Here's an example of how you can style the active link:

.active {
  color: blue;
  font-weight: bold;
}

You can customize the styles according to your design requirements to make the active links stand out.

By following these steps, you can set the `activeClassName` for the wrapper element of a link or index link in React Router. This simple yet effective technique can help improve the navigation experience for users and make your React application more user-friendly and intuitive.