Getting started with angular-material2

Remarks#

This section provides an overview of what angular-material2 is, and why a developer might want to use it.

It should also mention any large subjects within angular-material2, and link out to the related topics. Since the Documentation for angular-material2 is new, you may need to create initial versions of those related topics.

Versions#

Installation or Setup with Angular CLI

In this example, we will be using @angular/cli (latest) and the latest version of @angular/material. You should at least know the basics of Angular 2/4 before continuing the steps below.

1. Install angular material module from npm:

   npm install @angular/material --save

This only applies to versions 2.0.0-beta.3 and up.

Install the @angular/animations module:

npm install @angular/animations --save

This only applies to versions 2.0.0-beta.8 and up.

Install the @angular/cdk module:

npm install @angular/cdk --save

2. In your application module import the components which you are going to use:

   import { NgModule } from '@angular/core';
   import { CommonModule } from '@angular/common';
   import { RouterModule } from '@angular/router';
   import { MdButtonModule, MdSnackBarModule, MdSidenavModule } from '@angular/material';
   
   import { AppComponent } from './app.component';
   
   import { BrowserAnimationsModule } from '@angular/platform-browser/animations';
   
   @NgModule({
        imports: [
            BrowserAnimationsModule,
            MdButtonModule,
            MdSnackBarModule,
            MdSidenavModule,
            CommonModule,
            // This is optional unless you want to have routing in your app
            // RouterModule.forRoot([
            //     { path: '', component: HomeView, pathMatch: 'full'}
            // ])
        ],
        declarations: [ AppComponent ],
        boostrap: [ AppComponent ]
   })
   export class AppModule {}

You are now ready to use Angular Material in your components!

Note: The docs for specific components will be coming soon.

Wrapping all modules together

You can also easily wrap all angular modules, which you are going to use, into one module:

import { NgModule } from '@angular/core';
import { MdButtonModule, MdSnackBarModule, MdSidenavModule } from '@angular/material';
 
@NgModule({
    imports: [
        BrowserAnimationsModule,
        MdButtonModule,
        MdSnackBarModule,
        MdSidenavModule
    ],
    exports: [
        MdButtonModule,
        MdSnackBarModule,
        MdSidenavModule
    ]
})
export class MaterialWrapperModule {}

After that simply import your module into the application main module:

import { NgModule } from '@angular/core';
import { CommonModule } from '@angular/common';
import { RouterModule } from '@angular/router';

import { MaterialWrapperModule } from './material-wrapper.module.ts';
import { AppComponent } from './app.component';


@NgModule({
    imports: [
        BrowserAnimationsModule, 
        MaterialWrapperModule,
        CommonModule,
        // This is optional, use it when you would like routing in your app
        // RouterModule.forRoot([
        //     { path: '', component: HomeView, pathMatch: 'full'}
        // ])
    ],
    declarations: [ AppComponent],
    bootstrap: [ AppComponent ]
})
export class AppModule {}

Installation and Setup from master with Angular CLI

This example will be how to install from master and will be using @angular/cli as well.

1. Make a new project with @angular/cli:

   ng new my-master-app

   If you haven’t installed @angular/cli, use this command:

   npm install -g @angular/cli

2. Install from master:

   npm install --save @angular/animations
   npm install --save angular/material2-builds
   npm install --save angular/cdk-builds

3. Follow the same guide as above.

Done!

Set up theme, gesture support and material icons

Theme:

A theme is required for material components to work properly within the application.

Angular Material 2 provides four prebuilt themes:

• deeppurple-amber
• indigo-pink
• pink-bluegrey
• purple-green

If you are using Angular CLI, you can import one of the prebuilt themes in style.css.

@import "~@angular/material/prebuilt-themes/indigo-pink.css";

Theme can be added using <link> in index.html as well.

<link href="node_modules/@angular/material/prebuilt-themes/indigo-pink.css" rel="stylesheet">

HammerJS

Add HammerJS to the application via CDN or npm:

npm install --save hammerjs

In your root module, usually app.module.ts, add the import statement:

import 'hammerjs';

Material Icons:

Unless, custom icons provided, Angular Material 2 <md-icon> expects Material Icons.

In index.html add:

<link href="https://fonts.googleapis.com/icon?family=Material+Icons" rel="stylesheet">