An action group is a grouping of action buttons that are related to each other.
An action group can be either horizontal or vertical in its orientation. By default, an action group is horizontal. The vertical option should be reserved for when horizontal space is limited.
Action groups come in 2 densities: regular and compact. The compact density retains the same font and icon sizes, but has tighter spacing. The action buttons also become connected for non-quiet action groups.
An action group can become justified. By default, it is not justified since the action button size depends on the label and/or icon inside each button. When an action group is justified, it takes up the entire available container width, divided equally for each action button that is inside the group.
By default, an action group uses not-quiet action buttons. This style works best in a dense array of controls where the background helps to separate action buttons from the surrounding container, or to give visibility to isolated buttons.
Alternatively, quiet action groups can have no visible background until they’re interacted with. This style works best when a clear layout (vertical stack, table, grid) makes it easy to parse the buttons. Too many quiet components in a small space can be hard to read.
By default, selection is not enabled in an action group. This is used for action groups that offer direct actions, rather than toggling.
Selection can be enabled for an action group to allow for toggling. This can be used to disclose parts of an interface (e.g., showing or hiding panels) or to switch between views (e.g., grid or list views).
When selection is enabled, an action group can allow for single or multiple selection of action buttons.
Like action buttons, action groups are not emphasized by default. This is optimal for when the action group is not the core part of an interface, such as in application panels, where all components are monochrome in order to direct focus to the content.
The emphasized action group has a blue background for its selected state in order to provide a visual prominence that meets the accessible color contrast ratio. This is optimal for when the selection should call attention, such as within a tool bar.
When selection is enabled, an action group's selection behavior can be set to allow for an empty selection, or not.
When space is limited in an action group, there are 2 options for the group's overflow behavior: wrap or collapse. By default, an action group is set to wrap, meaning that the action buttons inside the group wrap to form another line. Alternatively, an action group can be set to collapse inside a More (...) action button.
A action group in a disabled state shows that the action buttons within the group exist, but are not available in that circumstance. This state can be used to maintain layout continuity and to communicate that an action group may become available later.
From the design point of view, each component has a number of options. These options and their names are platform agnostic, and each implementation should adapt these to fit into their framework.
Property | Values | Default Value |
---|---|---|
orientation | horizontal / vertical | horizontal |
density | regular / compact | regular |
is justified | yes / no | no |
is quiet | yes / no | no |
is emphasized | yes / no | no |
enable selection | yes / no | no |
selection mode | single / multiple Only applicable if selection is enabled | single |
allows empty selection | yes / no Only applicable if selection is enabled | no |
overflow mode | wrap / collapse | wrap |
is disabled | yes / no | no |
For RTL (right-to-left) languages, the layout of the action group is mirrored.
Key | Interaction |
---|---|
Tab | Moves focus to the next button in the group. |
Date | Number | Notes |
---|---|---|
Sep 15, 2020 | 1.0.0 |
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Includes all interactive states that are applicable (hover, down, focus, keyboard focus, disabled).
Includes relevant options (variant, style, size, orientation, optional iconography, decorations, selection, error state, etc.)
Works properly across all four color themes (lightest, light, dark, darkest).
Includes a desktop scale (UWP, macOS, web desktop) and a mobile scale (iOS, Android, web mobile).
Includes guidelines for layout (wrapping, truncation, overflow), animation, interactions, etc.
Includes a list of dos and don’ts that highlight best practices and common mistakes.
Follows WCAG 2.0 standards for contrast (AA).
Works properly across various locales and includes guidelines for bi-directionality (RTL).
Follows WCAG 2.0 standards for keyboard accessibility guidelines and includes a description of the keyboard interactions.
All design attributes (color, typography, layout, animation, etc.) are included in Spectrum DNA.
Includes a downloadable XD file that has been generated by code and shows multiple variations, states, color themes, and scales.
Component is included in the Spectrum for Adobe XD plugin.