Dropdown

A dropdown is a flexible component that displays a list of actions or options to the user. It should not be confused with Select, which is used in forms as a way for the user to make a selection from a list.

Usage

When to use

• To display a list of actions or links under a single button toggle.
• To allow singular or multiple selection outside of a form, such as within filtering.
• To provide the user with a way to easily switch context within the application.

When not to use

• In forms when providing the user with options to choose from, consider Select.

Toggle

Types

Toggles come in two variant types: button and icon.

Size

ToggleButtons come in two sizes: small and medium. This allows for placement in ButtonSets with buttons of the same size.

ToggleIcons come in two sizes: small and medium.

Chevron usage

Open Toggles use icon chevron-up, while closed Toggles use chevron-down.

ToggleButtons require a visible chevron to indicate interactivity and provide distinction between Dropdowns and standard Buttons.

We strongly recommend providing visible chevrons on most instances of ToggleIcons to indicate interactivity. That said, it’s common to see ToggleIcons that use the more-horizontal icon without chevrons. Their placement, usually in the last column of a Table, is typically indicative of this type of interaction.

List

Placement

Lists can be positioned to the left or right of the Toggle, and above or below the Toggle to fit more appropriately within the UI. Lists do not currently have collision detection.

Size

Width

By default, Lists have a minimum width of 200px and a maximum width of 400px. This means if there’s a long string in a ListItem, the List will automatically expand up to 400px to accommodate the content before it wraps.

If you do not want the width of the List to expand automatically to accommodate the widest ListItem, you can indicate a specific width between 200px–400px.

Height

The height of the ListContainer is automatically determined based on the contents, but the height can also be set manually. We recommend setting the height manually if you know the list will be long. In code, the @height property actually acts as a max-height.

Header

A Header provides a fixed space at the top of the List. Typically, Headers house a search feature that allows the user to search/filter through the available options in the list. This is great for really long lists when filtering on complex datasets.

Footer

A Footer provides a fixed space at the bottom of the List. Typically, Footers house actions related to the ListItems, e.g., when found in a filtering pattern an "Apply" Button can be used to submit the selections.

ListItem

Types

For maximum flexibility, we offer a variety of ListItems options.

Interactive ListItems

Use Interactive ListItems for actions (buttons) or links.

• Use Interactive - Critical for destructive actions.
• Use Interactive - Action for everything else.

Selection ListItems

Selection ListItems allow the user to select one or more options within a Dropdown.

• Use Checkmark for switching context, e.g., organization switchers, project switchers, etc. Use for single selection only, as it doesn't provide enough indication that multi-selection is possible. For multi-selection, use Checkbox.
• Use Checkbox for multi-selection within a form or larger filter pattern.
• Use Radio for single selection within a form or larger filter pattern.

Non-interactive

Non-interactive ListItems help provide structure and context to a Dropdown. Types include: Description, Loading, Separator, and Title.

Generic

The Generic ListItem allows you to add generic content in place of a ListItem. It includes predefined left and right padding to ensure proper alignment with other ListItems in the List.

Icon usage

Icons in ListItems are optional. Generally, we recommend letting the text speak for itself, but icons can add value in the following situations:

• When they reinforce the content, e.g., edit for an edit or rename action.
• When using Interactive ListItems, a trailingIcon can indicate that a link is external.
• When using Critical ListItems; read more about how color blind users see critical actions in our UIs.
• To avoid inconsistent icon use within the same List. Instead use icons in all ListItems. Doing so keeps the text aligned so the eye can scan the list of options more easily.

Badge usage

Badges in Interactive ListItems are optional. We recommend using only the small Badge option to align more closely with the text line height. Badges should be used sparingly and only when their use adds contextual value. Examples of appropriate use of Badge inside an Interactive ListItem include:

• When an item is in beta or behind a feature flag, i.e., a new item that users should be able to locate easily.
• When an item has vital information that users should be able to see at a glance, i.e., a unique status.
• When an item should be distinguished from others in the list, e.g., an item view is Public vs Private.

Refer to the Badge guidelines to help inform choices around color and icon use.

Content

While there are no character limits for ListItems, we recommend keeping them short and concise so the List is easy to scan.

Critical action patterns

We recommend adding a second confirmation layer after the user clicks “Delete” (e.g., showing a confirmation Modal that requires the user to take another action before proceeding). This safeguards against accidental clicks by requiring users to confirm the destructive action.

How to use this component

The component uses the Popover API to display the dropdown list. A third-party library called Floating UI provides anchoring and positioning functionality.

To make the invocation more flexible and intuitive, we provide contextual components for Toggles, ListItems, Header and Footer. For example, <Hds::Dropdown::ListItem::Separator /> would be contextually expressed as <D.Separator />.

<Hds::Dropdown as |D|>
  <D.ToggleButton @text="Menu" />
  <D.Title @text="Title Text" />
  <D.Description @text="Descriptive text goes here." />
  <D.Interactive @href="#">Add</D.Interactive>
  <D.Interactive @href="#">Add More</D.Interactive>
  <D.Interactive @href="#">Add Another Thing Too</D.Interactive>
  <D.Separator />
  <D.Interactive @route="components" @icon="trash" @color="critical">Delete</D.Interactive>
</Hds::Dropdown>

ToggleButton

The basic invocation of ToggleButton requires @text to be passed. By default, it renders a primary button with a chevron icon.

<Hds::Dropdown as |D|>
  <D.ToggleButton @text="Text Toggle" />
  <D.Interactive @route="components">Item One</D.Interactive>
  <D.Interactive @route="components">Item Two</D.Interactive>
  <D.Interactive @route="components">Item Three</D.Interactive>
  <D.Interactive {{on "click" D.close}}>Item Four (closes on click)</D.Interactive>
  <D.Separator />
  <D.Interactive @route="components" @color="critical" @icon="trash">Delete</D.Interactive>
</Hds::Dropdown>

Alternatively, pass secondary to @color to display a secondary button with a chevron icon.

<Hds::Dropdown as |D|>
  <D.ToggleButton @text="Text Toggle" @color="secondary" />
  <D.Interactive @route="components">Item One</D.Interactive>
  <D.Interactive @route="components">Item Two</D.Interactive>
  <D.Interactive @route="components">Item Three</D.Interactive>
  <D.Interactive {{on "click" D.close}}>Item Four (closes on click)</D.Interactive>
  <D.Separator />
  <D.Interactive @route="components" @color="critical" @icon="trash">Delete</D.Interactive>
</Hds::Dropdown>

ToggleIcon

ToggleIcon as overflow menu

Overflow menus are often found in the last column of a Tables. This is the only use case where it is acceptable to use @hasChevron=false. @text is still required, because it supplies the aria-label for ToggleIcon.

<Hds::Dropdown as |D|>
  <D.ToggleIcon @icon="more-horizontal" @text="Overflow Options" @hasChevron={{false}} />
  <D.Interactive @route="components">Create</D.Interactive>
  <D.Interactive @route="components">Read</D.Interactive>
  <D.Interactive @route="components">Update</D.Interactive>
  <D.Separator />
  <D.Interactive @route="components" @icon="trash" @color="critical">Delete</D.Interactive>
</Hds::Dropdown>

ToggleIcon as user menu

@text is still required, because it supplies the aria-label for ToggleIcon.

<Hds::Dropdown as |D|>
  <D.ToggleIcon @icon="user" @text="user menu" />
  <D.Title @text="Signed In" />
  <D.Description @text="email@domain.com" />
  <D.Separator />
  <D.Interactive @route="components">Settings and Preferences</D.Interactive>
  <D.Interactive @route="components" @icon="trash" @color="critical">Delete</D.Interactive>
</Hds::Dropdown>

ToggleIcon with other icons

Pass any icon name to @icon to change the icon used in ToggleIcon. @text is still required, because it supplies the aria-label for ToggleIcon.

<Hds::Dropdown as |D|>
  <D.ToggleIcon @icon="settings" @text="settings menu" />
  <D.Title @text="Signed In" />
  <D.Description @text="email@domain.com" />
  <D.Separator />
  <D.Interactive @route="components">Settings and Preferences</D.Interactive>
  <D.Interactive @route="components" @icon="trash" @color="critical">Delete</D.Interactive>
</Hds::Dropdown>

List placement

By default, the list is positioned below the button, aligned to the right. To change the list position pass bottom-left, top-left, or top-right to @listPosition on the Dropdown component.

<Hds::Dropdown @listPosition="bottom-left" as |D|>
  <D.ToggleButton @text="Text Toggle" />
  <D.Interactive @route="components">Item One</D.Interactive>
  <D.Interactive @route="components">Item Two</D.Interactive>
  <D.Interactive @route="components">Item Three</D.Interactive>
  <D.Interactive {{on "click" D.close}}>Item Four (closes on click)</D.Interactive>
  <D.Separator />
  <D.Interactive @route="components" @icon="trash" @color="critical">Delete</D.Interactive>
</Hds::Dropdown>

In contexts where the Dropdown needs to be inline, to inherit the alignment from a parent, you can use the @isInline argument (and set the @listPosition accordingly to your needs):

<div class="doc-dropdown-mock-text-align-right">
  <Hds::Dropdown @isInline={{true}} @listPosition="bottom-right" as |D|>
    <D.ToggleButton @text="Text Toggle" @color="secondary" />
    <D.Interactive @route="components">Item One</D.Interactive>
    <D.Interactive @route="components">Item Two</D.Interactive>
    <D.Interactive @route="components">Item Three</D.Interactive>
  </Hds::Dropdown>
</div>

Collision detection

Setting the @enableCollisionDetection argument to true will automatically adapt the list position relative to the viewport to avoid collisions with the browser window boundaries. This means that when an end-user scrolls the page, or resizes the browser, the position of the list on the page dynamically adapts to these changes.

<Hds::Dropdown @enableCollisionDetection={{true}} as |D|>
  <D.ToggleButton @text="Text Toggle" />
  <D.Interactive @route="components">Item One</D.Interactive>
  <D.Interactive @route="components">Item Two</D.Interactive>
  <D.Interactive @route="components">Item Three</D.Interactive>
  <D.Interactive {{on "click" D.close}}>Item Four (closes on click)</D.Interactive>
  <D.Separator />
  <D.Interactive @route="components" @icon="trash" @color="critical">Delete</D.Interactive>
</Hds::Dropdown>

List size

You can explicitly control the height or width of a list. Any acceptable value (px, rem, em) can be declared.

<Hds::Dropdown @height="170px" @width="250px" as |D|>
  <D.ToggleButton @text="Text Toggle" />
  <D.Interactive @route="components">Item One</D.Interactive>
  <D.Interactive @route="components">Item Two</D.Interactive>
  <D.Interactive @route="components">Item Three</D.Interactive>
  <D.Interactive @route="components">Item Four</D.Interactive>
  <D.Interactive @route="components">Item Five</D.Interactive>
  <D.Interactive @route="components">Item Six</D.Interactive>
  <D.Interactive @route="components">Item Seven</D.Interactive>
</Hds::Dropdown>

You can also set the width of a list to match the toggle button.

<Hds::Dropdown @matchToggleWidth={{true}} as |D|>
  <D.ToggleButton @text="Text Toggle" />
  <D.Interactive @route="components">Item One</D.Interactive>
  <D.Interactive @route="components">Item Two</D.Interactive>
  <D.Interactive @route="components">Item Three</D.Interactive>
  <D.Interactive @route="components">Item Four</D.Interactive>
</Hds::Dropdown>

When @matchToggleWidth is set, the @width value (if set) is overridden.

List footer

It is possible that you may want to add a list footer for things like a set of buttons for a filter control:

<Hds::Dropdown @height="284px" as |D|>
  <D.ToggleButton @icon="tag" @text="Tags" @color="secondary" />
  <D.Checkbox>access</D.Checkbox>
  <D.Checkbox>homework</D.Checkbox>
  <D.Checkbox>discovery</D.Checkbox>
  <D.Checkbox>memories</D.Checkbox>
  <D.Checkbox>music</D.Checkbox>
  <D.Checkbox>pharell</D.Checkbox>
  <D.Checkbox>punk</D.Checkbox>
  <D.Checkbox>random</D.Checkbox>
  <D.Checkbox>robots</D.Checkbox>
  <D.Checkbox>tag</D.Checkbox>
  <D.Footer @hasDivider={{true}}>
    <Hds::ButtonSet>
      <Hds::Button @text="Apply filters" @isFullWidth={{true}} @size="small" />
      <Hds::Button @text="Cancel" @color="secondary" @size="small" />
    </Hds::ButtonSet>
  </D.Footer>
</Hds::Dropdown>

Content rendering in DOM

By default, the content of the Dropdown is not rendered into the browser when the Dropdown is closed.

To change this behavior, you can use the @preserveContentInDom argument so that the content is rendered in the DOM, regardless of whether the Dropdown is open or closed.

<Hds::Dropdown @preserveContentInDom={{true}} as |D|>
  <D.ToggleButton @text="Text Toggle" />
  <D.Interactive @route="components">This item should always be present in the DOM, regardless of whether the dropdown is open or closed</D.Interactive>
</Hds::Dropdown>

ListItem::Interactive

ListItem::Interactive renders the correct element based on the passing of a @route, @href, or the addition of a click event (e.g., {{on "click" this.myAction}}). Internally, the component uses the Hds::Interactive utility component.

Rendering a button

If you add an event handler (no @href or @route), a <button> element will be rendered:

<ul class="hds-dropdown__list">
  <Hds::Dropdown::ListItem::Interactive {{on "click" this.myAction}}>
    Run command
  </Hds::Dropdown::ListItem::Interactive>
</ul>

You can pass an @icon argument to add a leading icon:

<ul class="hds-dropdown__list">
  <Hds::Dropdown::ListItem::Interactive {{on "click" this.myAction}} @icon="build">
    Run command
  </Hds::Dropdown::ListItem::Interactive>
</ul>

Rendering a link with @href

If you pass an @href argument, a link (<a> element) will be generated:

<ul class="hds-dropdown__list">
  <Hds::Dropdown::ListItem::Interactive @href="https://www.hashicorp.com/request-demo/terraform">
    Request a demo
  </Hds::Dropdown::ListItem::Interactive>
</ul>

To indicate that the link points to an external resource, you can use @trailingIcon and assign it an icon name like external-link, docs-link, guide-link, or learn-link.

<ul class="hds-dropdown__list">
  <Hds::Dropdown::ListItem::Interactive @href="https://www.hashicorp.com/request-demo/terraform" @trailingIcon="external-link">
    Request a demo
  </Hds::Dropdown::ListItem::Interactive>
</ul>

Rendering a LinkTo (with @route)

Pass a @route to render Ember <LinkTo>. If the route is external to your current engine, pass @isRouteExternal=true to use <LinkToExternal> instead of <LinkTo>. For more details see the Hds::Interactive component documentation. All the standard arguments for the <LinkTo/LinkToExternal> components are supported (e.g., models/model/query/current-when/replace).

<ul class="hds-dropdown__list">
  <Hds::Dropdown::ListItem::Interactive @route="my.page.route" @model="my.page.model">
    Activate cluster
  </Hds::Dropdown::ListItem::Interactive>
</ul>

With a loading “interactive” item

There may be use cases when it’s necessary to put an item in a “loading” state while the app performs some operations (e.g., asynchronously checking the user’s permissions to execute a certain operation once the Toggle’s been clicked).

Pass the argument @isLoading=true to the item. This will show a “loading” icon (even if an argument @icon is provided) and sets the item as non-interactive until the value of @isLoading is set to false again.

<Hds::Dropdown as |D|>
  <D.ToggleIcon @icon="more-horizontal" @text="Overflow Options" @hasChevron={{false}} />
  <D.Interactive @route="components" @isLoading={{true}} @color="action" @icon="edit">Edit cluster</D.Interactive>
  <D.Interactive @route="components" @icon="trash" @color="critical">Delete</D.Interactive>
</Hds::Dropdown>

ListItem::CopyItem

To enable users to copy a snippet of code (eg. URLs, secrets, code blocks, etc.) use ListItem::CopyItem.

Using the @isTruncated argument it is possible to constrain the text to one-line and truncate it if it does not fit the available space. Please be aware there are serious accessibility concerns with using this feature.

<Hds::Dropdown as |D|>
  <D.ToggleButton @listPosition="bottom-left" @text="Create run task" @color="secondary" />
  <D.Title @text="Integrate with Terraform Cloud" />
  <D.Description @text="Create a new run task in Terraform using the URL and key below." />
  <D.CopyItem @text="https://api.cloud.hashicorp.com" @copyItemTitle="Endpoint URL" />
  <D.CopyItem @text="91ee1e8ef65b337f0e70d793f456c71d91ee1e8ef65b337f0e70d793f456c71d" @copyItemTitle="HMAC Key" />
  <D.CopyItem @isTruncated={{false}} @text="91ee1e8ef65b337f0e70d793f456c71d91ee1e8ef65b337f0e70d793f456c71d" @copyItemTitle="HMAC Key (without truncation)" />
</Hds::Dropdown>

Using the @isTruncated argument, it is possible to disable the truncation applied to the text. Care should be taken in choosing how to use this feature as there are accessibility concerns.

ListItem::Checkmark

For switching context (e.g., organization switchers, project switchers, etc.) use ListItem::Checkmark.

<Hds::Dropdown @listPosition="bottom-left" as |D|>
  <D.ToggleButton @text="HCP Design Sandbox" @color="secondary" />
  <D.Checkmark>ACME Org</D.Checkmark>
  <D.Checkmark @selected={{true}}>HCP Design Sandbox</D.Checkmark>
  <D.Footer @hasDivider={{true}}>
    <Hds::Link::Standalone @icon="list" @text="All Organizations" @color="secondary" @href="#" />
  </D.Footer>
</Hds::Dropdown>

ListItem::Checkbox

For multi-selection within a form or larger filter pattern use ListItem::Checkbox.

<Hds::Dropdown @listPosition="bottom-left" as |D|>
  <D.ToggleButton @count="2" @text="Status" @color="secondary" />
  <D.Checkbox @count="4">Failing</D.Checkbox>
  <D.Checkbox @count="2" checked>Active</D.Checkbox>
  <D.Checkbox @count="1">Starting</D.Checkbox>
  <D.Checkbox @count="3" checked>Pending</D.Checkbox>
  <D.Footer @hasDivider={{true}}>
    <Hds::Button @text="Apply filters" @isFullWidth={{true}} @size="small" />
  </D.Footer>
</Hds::Dropdown>

ListItem::Radio

For single selection within a form or larger filter pattern use ListItem::Radio.

<Hds::Dropdown @listPosition="bottom-left" as |D|>
  <D.ToggleButton @text="Status" @color="secondary" />
  <D.Radio name="status" @count="4">Failing</D.Radio>
  <D.Radio name="status" @count="2" checked>Active</D.Radio>
  <D.Radio name="status" @count="1">Starting</D.Radio>
  <D.Radio name="status" @count="3">Pending</D.Radio>
  <D.Footer @hasDivider={{true}}>
    <Hds::Button @text="Apply filters" @isFullWidth={{true}} @size="small" />
  </D.Footer>
</Hds::Dropdown>

ListItem::Generic

ListItem::Generic allows you to pass custom elements to the Dropdown.

<Hds::Dropdown @listPosition="bottom-left" as |D|>
  <D.ToggleButton @text="Text Toggle" @color="secondary" />
  <D.Title @text="Integrate with Terraform Cloud" />
  <D.Description @text="Create a new run task in Terraform using the URL and key below." />
  <D.Generic>
    <Hds::Link::Standalone @text="Watch tutorial video" @icon="film" @href="/" />
  </D.Generic>
</Hds::Dropdown>

Component API

The Dropdown component is composed of different child components each with their own APIs:

• The Dropdown component
  • Optional header and footer
• Toggle components to open/close the Dropdown
  • ToggleButton
  • ToggleIcon
• ListItem components, to build the Dropdown’s list items
  • Description
  • Generic
  • Interactive
  • Separator
  • Title

Dropdown

Contextual components

[D].ToggleButton

The Dropdown::Toggle::Button component, yielded as contextual component.

[D].ToggleIcon

The Dropdown::Toggle::Icon component, yielded as contextual component.

[D].Header / [D].Footer

The Dropdown::Header / Dropdown::Footer components, yielded as contextual components.

Note: if the Dropdown content exceeds the height of the container, the header and footer remain fixed while the list of items adjusts its height.

[D].Title

The Dropdown::ListItem::Title component, yielded as contextual component.

[D].Description

The Dropdown::ListItem::Description component, yielded as contextual component.

[D].Separator

The Dropdown::ListItem::Separator component, yielded as contextual component.

[D].Interactive

The Dropdown::ListItem::Interactive component, yielded as contextual component.

It internally uses the Hds::Interactive utility component. For more details about this component API, please refer to its documentation page.

[D].CopyItem

The Dropdown::ListItem::CopyItem component, yielded as contextual component.

It internally uses the Copy::Snippet component. For more details about this component API, please refer to its documentation page.

[D].Checkmark

The Dropdown::ListItem::Checkmark component, yielded as contextual component.

[D].Checkbox

The Dropdown::ListItem::Checkbox component, yielded as contextual component.

[D].Radio

The Dropdown::ListItem::Radio component, yielded as contextual component.

[D].Generic

The Dropdown::ListItem::Generic component, yielded as contextual component.

Anatomy

Dropdown

Toggle

ListItem

States

Toggle

ListItem

Interactive

Checkbox

Checkmark

Radio

Conformance Rating

This component is conditionally conformant.

1. When truncation occurs, a keyboard-only user cannot access the truncated content.
2. The component is no longer conformant if the chevron icon is removed from the ToggleButton.

Known issues

ToggleIcon with no chevron

Setting @hasChevron to false on ToggleIcons doesn’t provide enough affordance; it’s not quickly seen as actionable.

Color blind users and critical actions

Color blind users, specifically those with Achromatopsia, may have a hard time perceiving Critical ListItems within our Dropdown component.

To provide a more accessible experience, we recommend:

• Using strong, clear language for the text (e.g., “Delete…”, “Revoke…”, etc.).
• Adding a relevant icon that indicates the action is destructive (e.g., trash).
• Moving the Critical ListItem to the bottom of the list or the section.
  • If at the bottom of a list, consider adding a separator above the Critical ListItem to help separate it from other ListItems.
• Adding a second confirmation layer after the user clicks “Delete” (e.g., showing a confirmation Modal that requires the user to type “Delete” into a field before proceeding).

Keyboard navigation

Applicable WCAG Success Criteria

This section is for reference only. This component intends to conform to the following WCAG Success Criteria:

Support

If any accessibility issues have been found within this component, let us know by submitting an issue.

4.15.0

Updated

Fixed an issue with the ToggleIcon to make the focus ring visible on mouse click

4.14.0

Updated

Added @matchToggleWidth argument

4.13.0

Updated

Fixed content being preserved in the DOM when closed

Removed the isOpen yielded argument

Added @preserveContentInDom to optionally control rendering of the content

Fixed dropdown content not being preserved when interacted with

Updated the color of the text and icons in the selected state checkmark list item to match the styling of the ListItems (Radio and Checkbox)

4.12.0

Updated

Added the [D].isOpen yielded state, now the content of the Dropdown can be conditionally rendered when it is open.

4.10.0

Updated

The component now yields the Hds::Badge component as a contextual component.

Added @enableCollisionDetection and @isOpen arguments

Replaced the underlying MenuPrimitive with PopoverPrimitive

Deprecated

Deprecated the @text argument. Users are instructed to put text in the yielded block instead.

How to migrate

You can automate this migration using the codemod v4/dropdown-list-item-interactive (see readme file).