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Menu Bar

Source: TypeScript / Java
Menu Bar is a horizontal button bar with hierarchical drop-down menus.

Menu Bar is a horizontal button bar with hierarchical drop-down menus. Menu items can trigger an action, open a menu, or work as a toggle.

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MenuBar menuBar = new MenuBar();
Text selected = new Text("");
ComponentEventListener<ClickEvent<MenuItem>> listener = e -> selected
        .setText(e.getSource().getText());
Div message = new Div(new Text("Clicked item: "), selected);

menuBar.addItem("View", listener);
menuBar.addItem("Edit", listener);

MenuItem share = menuBar.addItem("Share");
SubMenu shareSubMenu = share.getSubMenu();
MenuItem onSocialMedia = shareSubMenu.addItem("On social media");
SubMenu socialMediaSubMenu = onSocialMedia.getSubMenu();
socialMediaSubMenu.addItem("Facebook", listener);
socialMediaSubMenu.addItem("Twitter", listener);
socialMediaSubMenu.addItem("Instagram", listener);
shareSubMenu.addItem("By email", listener);
shareSubMenu.addItem("Get Link", listener);

MenuItem move = menuBar.addItem("Move");
SubMenu moveSubMenu = move.getSubMenu();
moveSubMenu.addItem("To folder", listener);
moveSubMenu.addItem("To trash", listener);

menuBar.addItem("Duplicate", listener);

Styles

Default Variants

The following variants are available to adjust the appearance of the component:

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MenuBar menuWithDefaultTheme = new MenuBar();
addItem(menuWithDefaultTheme, "Default");

MenuBar menuWithTertiaryTheme = new MenuBar();
menuWithTertiaryTheme.addThemeVariants(MenuBarVariant.LUMO_TERTIARY);
addItem(menuWithTertiaryTheme, "Tertiary");

MenuBar menuWithPrimaryTheme = new MenuBar();
menuWithPrimaryTheme.addThemeVariants(MenuBarVariant.LUMO_PRIMARY);
addItem(menuWithPrimaryTheme, "Primary");

MenuBar menuWithSmallTheme = new MenuBar();
menuWithSmallTheme.addThemeVariants(MenuBarVariant.LUMO_SMALL);
addItem(menuWithSmallTheme, "Small");
Variant Usage Recommendation

Tertiary

Corresponds to the tertiary button variant, omitting the background color.

Primary

Corresponds to the primary button variant. Since only one primary action should be presented in the same part of the UI, this should be used only for drop-down button use cases.

Small

Compact variant. Can be combined with Tertiary and Primary.
Tip
Customize Default Menu Button Styles
The standard Menu Button styles can be adjusted using the Lumo style properties. These variants should be used only to differentiate special instances of the component.

Alignment

Top-level items are aligned by default to the start of the Menu Bar. Use instead the end-aligned theme variant to align them to the end.

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MenuBar menuBar = new MenuBar();
menuBar.addThemeVariants(MenuBarVariant.LUMO_END_ALIGNED);

Styling Menu Items

Individual menu items can be styled by applying custom class names to them, and writing CSS style blocks targeting those class names. Notice that root-level menu items in the Menu Bar are wrapped in vaadin-menu-bar-button elements, which inherit the class names from the items within them.

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MenuItem view = menuBar.addItem("View");
view.addClassNames(LumoUtility.Background.PRIMARY,
        LumoUtility.TextColor.PRIMARY_CONTRAST);
;

MenuItem edit = menuBar.addItem("Edit");

MenuItem share = menuBar.addItem("Share");
SubMenu shareSubMenu = share.getSubMenu();

shareSubMenu.addItem("By email").addClassNames(
        LumoUtility.Background.PRIMARY,
        LumoUtility.TextColor.PRIMARY_CONTRAST);
shareSubMenu.addItem("Get Link");
Note
Use Theme Names, Not Class Names pre-V24.3
In versions prior to 24.3, theme names must be used instead of class names (theme property / addThemeNames Java method). The CSS syntax for targeting a theme name is [theme~="custom-theme"]

Menu buttons with sub-menu can be visually identified from items that trigger an action immediately using dropdown-indicators theme variant.

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MenuBar menuBar = new MenuBar();
menuBar.addThemeVariants(MenuBarVariant.LUMO_DROPDOWN_INDICATORS);

Overflow

Items that don’t fit into the current width of the menu bar collapse into an overflow menu at the end.

By default, collapsed items are removed from the end of the menu bar, but the component can be configured to remove items from the start instead.

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MenuBar menuBar = new MenuBar();
addItems(menuBar);
Div div = new Div();
div.setText("Move the splitter to see overflow feature");

SplitLayout splitLayout = new SplitLayout(menuBar, div);

Several features are available for menu items. They’re described in the following sub-sections.

Icons

Menu items can have icons in addition to text — or instead of text.

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MenuBar menuBar = new MenuBar();
menuBar.addThemeVariants(MenuBarVariant.LUMO_ICON);
MenuItem share = createIconItem(menuBar, VaadinIcon.SHARE, "Share",
        null);
SubMenu shareSubMenu = share.getSubMenu();
createIconItem(shareSubMenu, VaadinIcon.SHARE, "By Email", null, true);
createIconItem(shareSubMenu, VaadinIcon.LINK, "Get link", null, true);
createIconItem(menuBar, VaadinIcon.COPY, null, "duplicate");

...

private MenuItem createIconItem(HasMenuItems menu, VaadinIcon iconName,
        String label, String ariaLabel) {
    return createIconItem(menu, iconName, label, ariaLabel, false);
}

private MenuItem createIconItem(HasMenuItems menu, VaadinIcon iconName,
        String label, String ariaLabel, boolean isChild) {
    Icon icon = new Icon(iconName);

    if (isChild) {
        icon.getStyle().set("width", "var(--lumo-icon-size-s)");
        icon.getStyle().set("height", "var(--lumo-icon-size-s)");
        icon.getStyle().set("marginRight", "var(--lumo-space-s)");
    }

    MenuItem item = menu.addItem(icon, e -> {
    });

    if (ariaLabel != null) {
        item.setAriaLabel(ariaLabel);
    }

    if (label != null) {
        item.add(new Text(label));
    }

    return item;
}

Most actions are difficult to represent reliably with icons, so use them sparingly. The benefit of icons in addition to text should be weighed against the visual distractions they may create. Menu items in drop-down menus should always have text labels.

Icon-only menu buttons should be used primarily for common recurring actions with highly standardized, universally understood icons. Menu buttons should include a textual alternative for screen readers using the aria-label attribute or tooltips. Menu Bars with icon-only top-level items can use the Tertiary Inline style variant to reduce the horizontal padding around the icons.

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MenuBar menuBar = new MenuBar();
menuBar.addThemeVariants(MenuBarVariant.LUMO_TERTIARY_INLINE);

createIconItem(menuBar, VaadinIcon.EYE, "View");
createIconItem(menuBar, VaadinIcon.PENCIL, "Edit");

MenuItem share = createIconItem(menuBar, VaadinIcon.SHARE, "Share");
SubMenu shareSubMenu = share.getSubMenu();
MenuItem onSocialMedia = shareSubMenu.addItem("On social media");
SubMenu socialMediaSubMenu = onSocialMedia.getSubMenu();
socialMediaSubMenu.addItem("Facebook");
socialMediaSubMenu.addItem("Twitter");
socialMediaSubMenu.addItem("Instagram");
shareSubMenu.addItem("By email");
shareSubMenu.addItem("Get Link");

MenuItem move = createIconItem(menuBar, VaadinIcon.FOLDER, "Move");
SubMenu moveSubMenu = move.getSubMenu();
moveSubMenu.addItem("To folder");
moveSubMenu.addItem("To trash");

createIconItem(menuBar, VaadinIcon.COPY, "Duplicate");

...

private MenuItem createIconItem(MenuBar menu, VaadinIcon iconName,
        String ariaLabel) {
    Icon icon = new Icon(iconName);
    MenuItem item = menu.addItem(icon);
    item.setAriaLabel(ariaLabel);

    return item;
}
Warning
Other Components in Menu Items
While it’s technically possible to put any UI element in a menu item, this can cause problems for accessibility as it may not be possible to focus them, and they may not be interpreted correctly by assistive technologies.

Disabled Items

Menu items can be disabled to show that they are unavailable currently.

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MenuBar menuBar = new MenuBar();

menuBar.addItem("View");
MenuItem edit = menuBar.addItem("Edit");
edit.setEnabled(false);

MenuItem share = menuBar.addItem("Share");
SubMenu shareSubMenu = share.getSubMenu();
shareSubMenu.addItem("By email").setEnabled(false);
shareSubMenu.addItem("Get Link");

By default, disabled buttons (i.e., root-level items) are not focusable and cannot react to hover events. This can cause accessibility issues by making them entirely invisible to assistive technologies, and prevents the use of Tooltips to explain why the action is not available. This can be addressed by enabling the feature flag accessibleDisabledButtons, which allows focusing and hovering on disabled buttons, while preventing them from being triggered:

# Add this line to src/main/resources/vaadin-featureflags.properties
com.vaadin.experimental.accessibleDisabledButtons=true

Checkable Menu Items

Menu items in drop-down menus can be configured as checkable to toggle options on and off.

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MenuBar menuBar = new MenuBar();
MenuItem options = menuBar.addItem("Options");
SubMenu subItems = options.getSubMenu();

MenuItem saveItem = subItems.addItem("Save automatically");
saveItem.setCheckable(true);
saveItem.setChecked(true);
MenuItem notifyItem = subItems.addItem("Notify watchers");
notifyItem.setCheckable(true);
notifyItem.setChecked(false);

ComponentEventListener<ClickEvent<MenuItem>> listener = event -> {
    // System.out.println(event.getSource().isChecked());
};

saveItem.addClickListener(listener);
notifyItem.addClickListener(listener);
Note
Not a Radio Button Replacement
A Menu Bar with checkable items shouldn’t be used as a replacement for radio buttons in a form.

Dividers

You can use dividers to separate and group related content. However, use dividers sparingly to avoid creating unnecessary visual clutter.

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MenuBar menuBar = new MenuBar();
MenuItem item = menuBar.addItem("Share");
SubMenu subMenu = item.getSubMenu();
subMenu.addItem("Facebook");
subMenu.addItem("Twitter");
subMenu.addItem("Instagram");
subMenu.add(new Hr());
subMenu.addItem("By email");
subMenu.addItem("Get link");
subMenu.add(new Hr());
subMenu.addItem("Set permissions");
Warning
Other Content Not Accessible
While it’s technically possible to put any UI element in a drop-down menu — including interactive components — they’re not accessible by keyboard or assistive technologies.

Open on Hover

A component can be configured to open drop-down menus on hover, instead of on click.

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MenuBar menuBar = new MenuBar();
menuBar.setOpenOnHover(true);
addItems(menuBar);

Tooltips

Tooltips can be configured on top-level items to provide additional information, especially for icon-only items. When a top-level item is disabled, the corresponding tooltip isn’t shown.

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MenuBar menuBar = new MenuBar();
menuBar.addThemeVariants(MenuBarVariant.LUMO_ICON);

createIconItem(menuBar, VaadinIcon.EYE, "View");
createIconItem(menuBar, VaadinIcon.PENCIL, "Edit");
createIconItem(menuBar, VaadinIcon.FOLDER, "Move");
createIconItem(menuBar, VaadinIcon.COPY, "Duplicate");
MenuItem archive = createIconItem(menuBar, VaadinIcon.ARCHIVE,
        "Archive");
archive.setEnabled(false);

...

private MenuItem createIconItem(MenuBar menu, VaadinIcon iconName,
        String tooltipText) {
    Icon icon = new Icon(iconName);
    MenuItem item = menu.addItem(icon, tooltipText);
    return item;
}

See the Tooltips documentation page for details on tooltip configuration.

Keyboard Usage

Top-Level Items

Interaction Keyboard Shortcut

Navigate between top-level items.

Left and Right arrow keys

Open top-level menu.

Down / Space / Enter

Trigger top-level item with a menu.

Space / Enter
Interaction Keyboard Shortcut

Navigate between items in a drop-down menu.

Up and Down arrow keys

Open sub-menu.

Right / Space / Enter

Trigger menu item without a sub-menu.

Space / Enter

Return to previous menu.

Left

Close the drop-down menu.

Esc

A Menu Bar with a single top-level item is essentially a drop-down button. This solution provides a better user experience and better accessibility than a regular Button paired with a Context Menu.

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MenuBar menuBar = new MenuBar();
MenuItem item = menuBar.addItem("John Smith");
SubMenu subMenu = item.getSubMenu();
subMenu.addItem("Profile");
subMenu.addItem("Account");
subMenu.addItem("Preferences");
subMenu.add(new Hr());
subMenu.addItem("Sign out");

So-called combo buttons can be created in a similar way. For example, they can be created to provide a set of variations on an action.

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MenuBar menuBar = new MenuBar();
menuBar.addThemeVariants(MenuBarVariant.LUMO_ICON,
        MenuBarVariant.LUMO_PRIMARY);
menuBar.addItem("Save");
MenuItem item = menuBar.addItem(new Icon(VaadinIcon.CHEVRON_DOWN));
SubMenu subItems = item.getSubMenu();
subItems.addItem("Save as draft");
subItems.addItem("Save as copy");
subItems.addItem("Save and publish");

Internationalization (i18n)

Menu Bar provides an API for localization. Currently, only the accessible label for the overflow menu button can be customized.

MenuBar menuBar = new MenuBar();
MenuBar.MenuBarI18n customI18n = new MenuBar.MenuBarI18n()
        // Provide accessible label for the overflow menu button
        // to screen readers
        .setMoreOptions("More actions");

menuBar.setI18n(customI18n);

Custom Item Data

Menu Bar allows you to associate custom data with menu items. This can be useful for storing additional information about the item, such as an item type or a value. The data can then be used to trigger actions when an item is selected.

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MenuBar menuBar = new MenuBar();
MenuItem copy = menuBar.addItem("Copy");
SubMenu copySubMenu = copy.getSubMenu();

copySubMenu.addItem("Copy as plain text", event -> {
    // Provide a custom value by adding a click listener that holds a reference to that value
    String value = "Menu Bar\n\nMenu Bar is a horizontal button bar with hierarchical drop-down menus.";
    copyToClipboard(value);
});

copySubMenu.addItem("Copy as HTML", event -> {
    String value = "<h1>Menu Bar</h1><p>Menu Bar is a horizontal button bar with hierarchical drop-down menus.</p>";
    copyToClipboard(value);
});

copySubMenu.addItem("Copy as Markdown", event -> {
    String value = "# Menu Bar\n\nMenu Bar is a horizontal button bar with hierarchical drop-down menus.";
    copyToClipboard(value);
});

Best Practices

Menu Bar shouldn’t be used for navigation. Use tabs to switch between content, or anchor elements for regular navigation. It isn’t an input field. Use instead Select, Combo Box, or Radio Button.

Menu Bar is an interactive component. Using other interactive components like Combo Box as menu items is not advised as this may produce conflicts in keyboard navigation and interaction. Although items are children of Menu Bar, it’s not supposed to act as a layout component.

Component Usage Recommendation

Button

Regular Button component for individual actions.

Select

Drop-down input field.

Tabs

Tabs should be used to split content into sections that the user can switch between.

Context Menu

A generic drop-down menu that can be triggered from any component.

Popover

A generic overlay whose position is anchored to an element in the UI.

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