App development · lesson 11 of 24 · free

Navigation: tabs and the back button — App development for students

Navigation is how users move around an app. A tab bar at the bottom switches between the main sections, usually 3 to 5 of them. Inside a section, opening a screen puts it on top of the one before, like a stack of cards; the back button takes the top card off and shows the one underneath. Tapping a tab jumps to that tab’s main screen. Follow the stack step by step and you always know where the user is.

▶ Watch how it works

Got it? Practise ↓

Developer's tip

Stack of screens — “open adds a screen on top, Back takes the top one off, a tab starts fresh”

  1. Open a screen → it goes on top of the stack.
  2. Back → the top screen closes; you see the one underneath.
  3. Tap a tab → you jump to that tab’s main screen. Backs needed to get home = screens on the stack − 1.

Use it for: Designing how users move between screens and checking that nobody gets lost.

Worked example: 🧭 The app has tabs Feed, Chat, Settings. You start on Feed, then:
1. open “Map”
2. tap Back
3. open “Match report”
Which screen are you on now? → Match report

  1. Feed → Feed, Map → Back closes Map → Feed.
  2. Then Match report opens on top: Feed, Match report.

Check: One Back from Match report returns to Feed ✓

▶ Watch it animated

✏️ Practice

Work it out in your head or on paper, type the answer and press Check. Stuck? Press “Show me how”.

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🏁 Lesson 11 test

20 questions. Check each answer, then go to the next one. Get 16 or more right to pass.

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🖨️ App Dev Worksheet: Navigation

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