A radio group is a grouping of radio buttons that are related to each other.
Radio groups should always have a label. In rare cases where context is sufficient and an accessibility expert has reviewed the design, the label could be undefined. These radio groups without a visible label should still include an aria-label in HTML (depending on the context, “aria-label” or “aria-labelledby”).
Labels can be placed either on top or on the side. Top labels are the default and are recommended because they work better with long copy, localization, and responsive layouts. Side labels are most useful when vertical space is limited.
Radio groups can be either horizontal or vertical. By default, radio groups are vertical. Use a horizontal radio group when vertical space is limited.
Radio groups come in four different sizes: small, medium, large, and extra-large. The medium size is the default and most frequently used option. Use the other sizes sparingly; they should be used to create a hierarchy of importance within the page.
The field label, radio buttons, and help text all conform to the same sizing option.
By default, radio buttons are not emphasized (gray). This option is best for when the radio button is not the core part of an interface, such as in application panels, where all visual components are monochrome in order to direct focus to the content.
The emphasized (blue) version provides a visual prominence that is best for forms, settings, lists or grids of assets, and other situations where a radio button needs to be noticed.
Radio groups can be marked as optional or required, depending on the situation. For required radio groups, there are two styling options: a “(required)” label or an asterisk. If you use an asterisk, be sure to include help text to explain what the asterisk means. Optional radio groups are either denoted with text added to the end of the label — “(optional)” — or have no indication at all.
The asterisk used in this component is an icon that has specific spacing from the label text — not part of the label text itself.
A radio group in a disabled state shows that a selection exists, but is not available in that circumstance. This can be used to maintain layout continuity and communicate that an action may become available later. The field label, radio buttons, and help text are all displayed in a disabled state when the radio group is disabled.
A radio group has a read-only option for when it's in the disabled state but still needs to be shown. This allows for content to be copied, but not interacted with or changed.
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 |
---|---|---|
label | text / nothing | - |
label position | top / side | top |
orientation | horizontal / vertical | vertical |
size | small / medium / large / extra-large | medium |
is emphasized | yes / no | no |
necessity indicator | text / icon / nothing | icon |
is required | yes / no | no |
is error | yes / no | no |
is disabled | yes / no | no |
is read-only | yes / no | no |
error message | text / nothing | nothing |
description | text / nothing | nothing |
This area is reserved for radio buttons that represent the selection options for the radio group.
A radio button can be navigated using a keyboard. The keyboard focus state takes the radio button’s visual hover state and adds a blue ring to the radio button in focus.
When a radio button's label is too long for the horizontal space available, it wraps to form another line.
When a radio button group presents multiple values that are not identical, the group should not show a selection. Any subsequent selection should update all values.
In Windows high contrast mode, radio buttons should be displayed using the high contrast theme-specified colors for buttons. By default, borders should be same as the button text color and labels should use default text color. In hover and keyboard focus states, a border should display as the button border color. Selected radio fill should be the same as button border color. In the disabled state, border and text color should display as the disabled color.
Emphasized radio buttons are best for forms, settings, and other scenarios where the radio buttons need to be noticed.
Not emphasized radio buttons are best for application panels where all the visual components are monochrome in order to direct focus to the canvas.
Radio buttons and checkboxes are not interchangeable. Radio buttons are best used for selecting a single option from a list of mutually exclusive options. Checkboxes are best used for selecting multiple options at once (or no options).
Radio groups should always have a label that clearly describes what the list of options represents. This is important for accessibility, since a screen reader will read the label before each option. Make sure to include a label, and don't assume that the options are self-explanatory without one. Write the label in sentence case.
For RTL (right-to-left) languages, the layout of the radio group (and its components) is mirrored. The radio buttons and icons are placed on the right side of the text, and text is aligned to the right.
Key | Interaction |
---|---|
Up or down arrow | Moves selection to previous or next radio button in the radio group. Selection loops when the last or first radio button is reached. |
A theme is an intentional, systematic customization of Spectrum. It has unique visual attributes. For more information, view Theming.
Radio groups in Spectrum for Adobe Express have indigo accents. They are slightly larger compared to the default Spectrum radio groups.
Date | Number | Notes |
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Feb 24, 2023 | 4.0.0 |
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Sep 13, 2022 | 3.0.1 |
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Apr 06, 2022 | 3.0.0 |
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Feb 07, 2022 | 2.0.0 |
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Oct 18, 2021 | 1.0.0 |
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Includes all interactive states that are applicable (hover, down, focus, keyboard focus, disabled).
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).
Color is not used as the only visual means of conveying information (WCAG 2.0 1.4.1).
Text has a contrast ratio of at least 4.5:1 for small text and at least 3:1 for large text (WCAG 2.0 1.4.3).
Visual information required to identify components and states (except inactive components) has a contrast ratio of at least 3:1 (WCAG 2.1 1.4.11).
UI language and information design considerations have been incorporated into component design.
Includes relevant options (variant, style, size, orientation, optional iconography, decorations, selection, error state, etc.)
Includes guidelines for keyboard focus, layout (wrapping, truncation, overflow), animation, interactions, etc.
Includes a list of dos and don'ts that highlight best practices and common mistakes.
Includes content standards or usage guidelines for how to write or format in-product content for the component.
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 available as design tokens.
Includes a downloadable XD file that shows multiple options, states, color themes, and platform scales.
Includes a downloadable XD file, generated by code using design tokens defined in Spectrum DNA, and shows multiple options, states, color themes, and platform scales.
Component is included in the Spectrum for Adobe XD plugin.