How to force Vue.js to reload/re-render?

In Vue.js, forcing a component to reload or re-render can be achieved in a few different ways depending on our specific use case:

Changing a Reactive Data Property

If we have a reactive data property that affects the rendering of our component, we can simply modify its value to trigger a re-render.

Vue.js automatically detects changes to reactive data properties and updates the DOM accordingly.

export default {
  data() {
    return {
      reloadFlag: false,
    };
  },
  methods: {
    forceReload() {
      this.reloadFlag = !this.reloadFlag; // Toggle the value
    },
  },
};

In our template, we can bind this method to a button or any other event trigger:

<button @click="forceReload">Reload</button>

Using Key Attribute

We can force Vue.js to treat a component as a completely new instance by providing a unique key attribute.

This will cause Vue.js to destroy the existing instance of the component and create a new one.

<template>
  <div :key="uniqueKey">Component content</div>
</template>

<script>
export default {
  data() {
    return {
      uniqueKey: 0,
    };
  },
  methods: {
    forceReload() {
      this.uniqueKey++; // Increment the key to force a re-render
    },
  },
};
</script>

This method can be useful if we want to reset the state of a component or ensure that it’s completely re-initialized.

Using this.$forceUpdate()

In rare cases where we need to force a component to re-render without modifying any data properties, we can call the $forceUpdate() method. This method forces the component to re-render without affecting its state.

this.$forceUpdate();

However, it’s generally recommended to use reactive data properties or the key attribute approach whenever possible, as they provide a more predictable and Vue-like way of triggering re-renders.

Choose the method that best fits our specific scenario.