How can I manage Jetpack Compose navigation during configuration changes?

Question

I've encountered an issue where I'm using ViewModels for each screen to store inputs and variables. After implementing Jetpack Compose navigation, I noticed that it returns to the startDestination on configuration changes. This renders the use of ViewModel for screens seemingly ineffective since we can't retain data during configuration changes. Interestingly, when I tried without Jetpack Compose navigation, individual screens were surviving configuration changes. Any guidance on resolving this issue would be greatly appreciated as I'm currently stuck in this situation.

Answer 1

 I am not sure about your viewModel code implementation and NavHost code which would be helpful to solve exact issue, but you 
 can correlate with this code to keep your state persist while using the navigation using the viewModel.

       
                    
                    class NavigationViewModel : ViewModel() {
                        // Add properties and methods to hold navigation state and other relevant data
                    }
                
                Use viewModel() to access the ViewModel from your composable functions. Make sure to use the same instance of the ViewModel throughout your navigation graph
            
      
            
            @Composable
            fun ScreenA(navViewModel: NavigationViewModel = viewModel()) {
                // Access and modify the navigation state in navViewModel
            }
            
            @Composable
            fun ScreenB(navViewModel: NavigationViewModel = viewModel()) {
                // Access and modify the navigation state in navViewModel
            }
        
        Utilize SavedStateHandle within your ViewModel to save and restore data across configuration changes.
    
      
    
         class NavigationViewModel(private val savedStateHandle: SavedStateHandle) 
        : ViewModel() {
        // Add properties and methods to hold navigation state and other relevant 
         data
    
         // Example of saving and restoring state
         var count: Int by savedStateHandle.delegate(defaultValue = 0)
         }
    
    
    class NavigationViewModel : ViewModel() {
        // Example navigation state
        private var currentScreen: String by mutableStateOf("ScreenA")
    
        fun navigateTo(screen: String) {
            currentScreen = screen
        }
    }

//Initialize your navigation graph with the custom ViewModel.
val navController = rememberNavController()
val navViewModel: NavigationViewModel = viewModel()
NavHost(navController, startDestination = "ScreenA") {
    composable("ScreenA") {
        ScreenA(navViewModel)
    }
    composable("ScreenB") {
        ScreenB(navViewModel)
    }
}