Mongo query slow, data shows before query

Question

I have created two templates ( A and B).

A - Shows up when a user has not created documents in a certain Mongo collection.

B - Shows up if the user has created documents in the collection.

Essentially I am displaying a "Theres nothing here message" when no content exists.

To achieve this I use a helper to query mongo to check if documents exist. It looks like the following:

defaultCheck: function() {
  var offerid = this.offerAccepted;

  var id = Meteor.userId();

  var result = Listing.find({
    $or: [{
      creator_id: Meteor.userId(),
      status: "Completed"
    }, {
      offer_creator: Meteor.userId(),
      status: "Completed"
    }]
  });

  return Boolean(result.count());
}

So this returns a true or false Boolean value.

In my layout template I use #if to check the value of the defaultCheck helper and either hide or show the A or B Template

{{#if defaultCheck}}
{{#each meetup}}
{{> ProfileActiveCard}}
{{/each}}
{{else}}
{{> DefaultProfileActive}}
{{/if}}

The Issue is that the query is too slow and the A template briefly shows up (flickers) before the query completes.

How can I prevent this?

Answer 1

Here's my suggested way to show a spinner while data loads:

Private variables:

var isDataLoaded = false;

Helpers:

dataLoaded: function() {
  return isDataLoaded;
}

defaultCheck: function() {
  var offerid = this.offerAccepted;

  var id = Meteor.userId();

  var result = Listing.find({
    $or: [{
      creator_id: Meteor.userId(),
      status: "Completed"
    }, {
      offer_creator: Meteor.userId(),
      status: "Completed"
    }];
  });

  isDataLoaded = true; // should be set to true only after database query finishes

  return Boolean(result.count());
}

Template:

{{#if !dataLoaded}}
    {{> spinner}}
{{else}}
    {{#if defaultCheck}}
        {{#each meetup}}
            {{> ProfileActiveCard}}
        {{/each}}
    {{else}}
        {{> NoDataFoundTemplate}}
    {{/if}}
{{/if}}

I am not 100% sure this will work as expected or if it's the best way to do it, but it's a start.