Top Tab Navigator

Possibly the most common style of navigation in mobile apps is tab-based navigation.

The Top Tab Navigator is positioned at the top of your app, and allows users to switch between different screens by clicking.

Video Tutorial

You can watch a video tutorial that explains all of the Navigators here:

Adding Navigators

To add a navigator to your app, click Screens + at the top of your component tree. Select Add Navigator and select the Navigator you want to add.

Top Tab Navigator Properties

You have many options for styling your Top Tab Navigator, such as changing the background color or tint color. Here are the different options for customization:

Property	Description	Data Type
Swipe Enabled	Allow the user to swipe between screens.	True/False
Animation Enabled	Select whether to animate the transitions between screens.	True/False
Lazy	If true, tabs are only loaded once the tab is opened. If false, all tabs are loaded when the Tab Navigator is first opened.	True/False
Background Color	Select a color for the top tab navigator.	Color
Tab Indicator Color	An underline will appear underneath the tab you select. You can select a color for the underline	Color
Active Tint Color	Select a text color for the tab currently in use.	Color
Inactive Tint Color	Select a color for the text of the tabs that are not in use.	Color
Show Label Icon	Select whether to show icons, labels, or both in the Tab Navigator.	Select from menu

Advanced Properties

Property	Description	Data Type
Uppercase Label	Make the text for all the tabs upper case.	True/False
Press Color (Android only)	Color of material ripple as a tab is pressed.	Color
Press Opacity (Android only)	Opacity of material ripple as a tab is pressed.	Number
Tab Indicator Height	An underline will appear underneath the tab you select. This section will allow you to choose how tall the underline is.	Number

Adding Labels and Icons to Your Tabs

When designing a tab, you can use words or images to guide users to different screens.

Using Words

Using Images

Tab-Specific Properties

Click on a tab in your design to access the properties panel for that specific tab.

Screen

Property	Description	Data Type
Navigation Button Name	Text that appears in the top tab navigator.	Text
Scrollable	Select whether your user can scroll on this screen.	True/False
Background Color	Select the tab's background color.	Color
Background Image	The image file to be shown in the tab's background	PNG, JPG, GIF, SVG, etc. Can also use URL that ends in file extension (eg https://thunkable.com/static/media/logo.ba96eb83.png)
Background Image Resize Mode	Set how image is shown if the file and the tab component have different dimensions/aspect ratio	Select from list [cover, contain, stretch, repeat, center]
Orientation (iOS and Android only)	Toggle whether your end user can swipe a list item to the left to view an additional Button. Reveals Left Swipe Button settings if set to true	True/False

Tab Navigation Options

Property	Description	Data Type
Tab Bar Label	Set the Label of this Screen's tab in the Tab Navigator	Text
Active Tab Icon	Set the Icon of this Screen's tab in the Tab Navigator for when the Screen is active	PNG, JPG, GIF, SVG, etc. Can also use URL that ends in file extension (eg https://thunkable.com/static/media/logo.ba96eb83.png)
Inactive Tab Icon	Set the Icon of this Screen's tab in the Tab Navigator for when the Screen is inactive	PNG, JPG, GIF, SVG, etc. Can also use URL that ends in file extension (eg https://thunkable.com/static/media/logo.ba96eb83.png)
Tab Bar Visible	Set whether the Tab Navigator is visible when this Screen is open	True/False

Status Bar

The status bar is located at the top of a phone's screen. The status bar displays information regarding signal strength, battery, and whether or not things like the alarm or wi-fi are enabled.

Property	Description	Data Type
Visibility	Decide whether you want the status bar visible on the screen.	True/False
Style	Default is best practice, but you can select light-content or dark-content to potentially override the user's phone settings.	Select from menu (default, light-content, dark-content)
Color (Android only)	Color of the status bar.	Color
Translucent (Android only)	When translucent is set to true, the app will appear under the status bar.	True/False