[Solved] Unable to access the element when using template refs with v-for in Vue3/Nuxt3 on a custom component – Nuxt3

The Problem:

When using template refs with v-for in Vue 3/Nuxt 3, the DOM elements of custom components are inaccessible. This issue is specific to custom components and doesn’t occur with basic HTML elements like <li>. Despite documentation stating that template refs should be populated after mounting, accessing them results in proxy objects instead of the actual DOM elements.

The Solutions:

Solution 1: Expose The DOM Element To The Parent Using `defineExpose` Macro

1. Inside the child component (ProjectCard), utilize the defineExpose macro to expose the projectRef reference to the parent component. This allows the parent component to access the DOM element of the child component.

2. In the parent component, create a ref to store the references to all child components.

3. Use the v-for directive to iterate through the child components and assign them to the reference array.

4. Inside a click event handler, access the DOM element of the clicked child component using the reference array and the $refs property.

This approach ensures that the parent component can access the DOM elements of its child components, even when using template refs with v-for.

Video Explanation:

The following video, titled "How to Fetch Data with Vue 3 Suspense, Fallbacks & Error ...", provides additional insights and in-depth exploration related to the topics discussed in this post.

The first video in a series on Vue 3 Suspense shares insight on using Vue 3 for asynchronous data loading with UI fallbacks and error ...