Tabs
Tabs make it easy to view and navigate stacked panels of related content. They are especially useful when you need to show a lot of content in a small space.
Installation
npm install @nib-components/tabs
Usage
import {Tabs, Tab, TabList, TabPanel} from '@nib-components/tabs';
This package contains a number of components built on top of the react-tabs library built by React.
Tabs
The wrapping component.
This is an implementation of the react-tabs
Tabs component.
TabList
The list of tabs. If tabs do not fit within the container space on one line, tabs become horizontally scrollable.
Gradients are conditionally added to offer visual affordance.
This component is where we add our own custom props for styling.
This is an implementation of the react-tabs
TabList component.
Tab
The individual tab component.
This is an implementation of the react-tabs
Tab component.
TabPanel
The content related to the tab. Only one is visible at a time.
We do not supply any styling to the TabPanel
component to support a wide range of implementations.
This is an implementation of the react-tabs
TabPanel component.
Interactive demo
Props
Tabs
The following props are in addition to the react-tabs
Tabs props.
Prop | Type | Default | Description |
---|---|---|---|
subtitle | string | A subtitle added below the Tab title. Note: If one Tab uses a subtitle , then all Tab s must use a subtitle. | |
collapseBelow | string | "xs" "sm" "md" "lg" "xl" "xxl" "xxxl" | Tabs will be collapsed to stack view below the breakingpoint. |
collapsed | boolean | false | Toggles the first tab to be expanded on initial page load for mobile breakpoints. Only applies where collapseBelow is set. |
showBorder | boolean | true | Toggles the border on each tab. We recommend enabling this prop on white or nearWhite backgrounds, to ensure users recognize inactive tabs as being interactive. |
multiExpanded | boolean | false | When collapseMode is set,allowing multiple tabs to be expanded at once. It has no impact above the breakpoint. |
TabList
The following props are in addition to the react-tabs
TabList props.
Prop | Type | Default | Description |
---|---|---|---|
center | boolean | false | Above the lg breakpoint, when tabs do not take up the full width of the TabList they are left-aligned. This cannot be used alongside the fill prop. |
fill | boolean | false | Above the lg breakpoint, we can force the tabs to expand to take up the full width of the TabList by setting the fill prop to true . This cannot be used alongside the center prop. |
Tab
The following props are in addition to the react-tabs
Tabs props.
Prop | Type | Default | Description |
---|---|---|---|
truncate | boolean | false | Truncates Tab titles below a max-width (set per breakpoint). A value of ‘false’ will cause Tabs to grow to fit the Title string. Subtitles will always truncate when they exceed the width of the parent tab. |
TabPanel
See react-tabs
documentation for TabPanel props.
Design
By default, tabs are left aligned (note that this refers to the tab itself and not the tab label and supporting text which are left aligned on mobile and centered above the set desktop breakpoint). Tabs can also be set to centre themselves within the TabList, or can be set to fill the entire horizontal space.
To assist user understanding, as a default, there must always be one tab pre-selected, and the panel below it must be visible. Only a single content panel can be shown at a time. Tabs should always be placed above the content they relate to, never underneath. Additionally, the order of the tabs from left to right should never change, only the content panel should change.
You can use a minimum of two tabs at a time, but should be sure to only use a single row of tabs. Each of these things provide the visual cues and context to help a user understand tabs and their related content.
As inactive Tabs are transparent, please consider using the showBorder
prop to increase the visibility of the tabs on a white
or nearWhite
background.
Responsive design
The collapseBelow
prop swaps the Tabs out for an Accordion below the specified breakpoint. By default this is undefined and the Tabs are retained for all screen sizes.
Icons
Tabs should not include icons - we do not currently support adding icons to communicate the type of content a tab represents.
Touch UI
The tap area of the tabs are above the minimum recommended size requirements as referenced in Apple's Human Interface Guidelines.
Labels
Tab labels should provide clear and concise explanations of the content within. They should be no longer than one or two words and should be accurate in their description.
Each tab's content is independently categorised and mutually exclusive of the content of other tabs. Be sure to check your tabs make sense when read in isolation, especially in the context of screen reader usage.
Supporting text
In most cases we discourage the use of supporting text as the label itself should be well considered and provide enough context to the user. However if the supporting text is implemented (using the subtitle
prop), then it should always be used to directly support the context of the label.
Accessibility
If the tabs are partially visible and if it is clicked, it will be scrolled to the centered of the view.
If you are using a screen reader with Javascript turned on, you should be able to navigate the tabs pattern in the following way:
- You can use left/right arrow, or up/down arrow to switch tabs
- You can also use the
TAB
key to focus the tabs
The tab panel should have a heading to reduce confusion for people using screen readers, though this heading can be visually hidden.