ref react example

Example 1: react.createref()

class CustomTextInput extends React.Component {
  constructor(props) {
    super(props);
    // create a ref to store the textInput DOM element
    this.textInput = React.createRef();    this.focusTextInput = this.focusTextInput.bind(this);
  }

  focusTextInput() {
    // Explicitly focus the text input using the raw DOM API
    // Note: we're accessing "current" to get the DOM node
    this.textInput.current.focus();  }

  render() {
    // tell React that we want to associate the <input> ref
    // with the `textInput` that we created in the constructor
    return (
      <div>
        <input
          type="text"
          ref={this.textInput} />        <input
          type="button"
          value="Focus the text input"
          onClick={this.focusTextInput}
        />
      </div>
    );
  }
}

Example 2: when to use react ref

WHEN TO USE REACT'S REF ATTRIBUTE?
But it is not always a good idea to use the ref attribute. The general rule of thumb is to avoid it. The official React documentation mentions three occasions where you can use it because you have no other choice.

Managing focus, text selection, or media playback.
Integrating with third-party DOM libraries.
Triggering imperative animations.

Example 3: cre&atRefs react js

const node = this.myRef.current;