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Dropdown menu

A menu of actions opened from a button.

Left out of Accessible first Every action here looks like a button people can find. Row actions are a secondary button with a word, not a menu. Use instead: Button

See it live​

Start Storybook to see it live: npm run storybook
Live from StorybookOpen Dropdown menu in StorybookSee it in dark

When to use it​

  • Use it when: More actions than fit, or actions people use now and then.
  • Not when: Choosing a value for a field (select), or the one main action (a button).

Instead:

How Accessible first uses it​

A menu or dialog
Use A strong border and a dimmed page
Not A shadow only
The dimmed page makes the dialog obvious.
An action on one row or item
Use Button secondary with a word
Not An icon on its own
A word says what will happen.

Words​

  • Use common words. Explain any term you must use.
  • One idea per sentence. Put the action first.
  • Never blame the person.
  • Use: Continue, Change, Start, You. Avoid: Invalid, Utilise, Submit, Error code.

The labels components use, from the voice tokens:

  • content.action.commit: Continue
  • content.action.cancel: Go back
  • content.action.destroy: Delete
  • content.action.retry: Try again
  • content.action.empty-action: Start a new application

See Voice and tone for the whole voice.

Accessibility and keyboard​

KeyboardWhat happensNot
undefinedArrows move; Enter runs; Escape closes and returns focus.undefined

Test before you ship:

  • The trigger says it opens a menu and whether it is open. undefined

Use it in code​

npx open-ds add dropdown-menu

The component reads only component keys and semantic tokens, so it follows the brand and mode on <html>.

Tokens it reads​

Dropdown menu reads 17 tokens of its own, each an alias of a semantic token. Each row is one part: its own token, the semantic it aliases, and the value it ends at. Change a semantic and every component that reads it follows; override one of Dropdown menu's tokens to change Dropdown menu alone.

Changes with theme

Accessible first decides what changes when you switch theme. Here a switch changes colors only, so the marked rows differ between light and dark; everything else holds steady.

PartIts token and the semantic it aliasesValue
Shared
Overlay background
Changes with theme		component.overlay.backgroundcolor.surface.raisedvar(--overlay-background)Lightgray.light.0:#FFFFFFDarkgray.dark.100:#222222
Overlay radiuscomponent.overlay.radiusradius.containervar(--overlay-radius)radius.8:0.5rem
Overlay shadowcomponent.overlay.shadowelevation.overlayvar(--overlay-shadow)shadow.none:0px 0px 0px 0px #00000000
Overlay item heightcomponent.overlay.item-heightsize.control.defaultvar(--overlay-item-height)size.52:3.25rem
Content
Paddingcomponent.dropdown-menu.content.paddingcomponent-spacing-map.x1var(--dropdown-menu-content-padding)space.4:0.25rem
Text
Changes with theme		component.dropdown-menu.content.labelcolor.text.primaryvar(--dropdown-menu-content-label)Lightgray.light.900:#141414Darkgray.dark.900:#F7F7F7
Border widthcomponent.dropdown-menu.content.border-widthborder-width.defaultvar(--dropdown-menu-content-border-width)border-width.2:2px
Border
Changes with theme		component.dropdown-menu.content.bordercolor.border.defaultvar(--dropdown-menu-content-border)Lightgray.light.200:#D6D6D6Darkgray.dark.100:#222222
Item
Gapcomponent.dropdown-menu.item.gapspace.gap.defaultvar(--dropdown-menu-item-gap)space.16:1rem
Padding, left and rightcomponent.dropdown-menu.item.padding-xspace.inset.cell-xvar(--dropdown-menu-item-padding-x)space.16:1rem
Cornercomponent.dropdown-menu.item.radiusradius.badgevar(--dropdown-menu-item-radius)radius.4:0.25rem
Text sizecomponent.dropdown-menu.item.font-sizetype.body.font-sizevar(--dropdown-menu-item-font-size)font.size.19:1.1875rem
Sunken
Changes with theme
on focus		component.dropdown-menu.item.sunkencolor.surface.sunkenvar(--dropdown-menu-item-sunken)Lightgray.light.100:#EDEDEDDarkgray.dark.100:#222222
Disabled
when disabled		component.dropdown-menu.item.disabledopacity.disabledvar(--dropdown-menu-item-disabled)opacity.50:0.5
Iconcomponent.dropdown-menu.item.iconsize.iconvar(--dropdown-menu-item-icon)size.20:1.25rem
Dropdown menu
Text
Changes with theme		component.dropdown-menu.labelcolor.status.dangervar(--dropdown-menu-label)Lightred.light.600:#C42B2BDarkred.dark.600:#F28B8B
Fill
Changes with theme		component.dropdown-menu.backgroundcolor.border.defaultvar(--dropdown-menu-background)Lightgray.light.200:#D6D6D6Darkgray.dark.100:#222222