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Context Menu

Context Menu is a component that you can attach to any component to display a context menu. The menu appears on right (default) or left click. On a touch device, a long press opens the context menu.

Important
 Open the Context Menu by right-clicking (mouse) or long-pressing (touch) a Grid row.
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GridContextMenu<Person> menu = grid.addContextMenu();
menu.addItem("View", event -> {});
menu.addItem("Edit", event -> {});
menu.addItem("Delete", event -> {});

Dividers

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

Important
 Open the Context Menu by right-clicking (mouse) or long-pressing (touch) a Grid row.
Open in a
new tab
GridContextMenu<Person> menu = grid.addContextMenu();
menu.addItem("View", event -> {});
menu.add(new Hr());
menu.addItem("Edit", event -> {});
menu.addItem("Delete", event -> {});
menu.add(new Hr());
menu.addItem("Email", event -> {});
menu.addItem("Call", event -> {});

Checkable Menu Items

Checkable Menu Items can be used to toggle a setting on and off.

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assignee = new Span();
menu = new ContextMenu();
menu.setTarget(assignee);

List<Person> people = DataService.getPeople(5);
for (Person person : people) {
  MenuItem menuItem = menu.addItem(person.getFullName(), event -> {
    setAssignee(person);
  });
  menuItem.setCheckable(true);
}

setAssignee(people.get(0));

...

private void setAssignee(Person person) {
  // Update checked state of menu items
  menu.getItems().forEach(
          item -> item.setChecked(item.getText().equals(person.getFullName()))
  );

  assignee.setText(person.getFullName());
}

Hierarchical Menu

Context Menu, like Menu Bar, supports multi-level sub-menus. You can use a hierarchical menu to organize a large set of options and group related items.

Important
 Open the Context Menu by right-clicking (mouse) or long-pressing (touch) a Grid row.
Open in a
new tab
GridContextMenu<File> menu = grid.addContextMenu();
GridMenuItem<File> export = menu.addItem("Export");
GridSubMenu<File> exportSubMenu = export.getSubMenu();
exportSubMenu.addItem("Portable Document Format (.pdf)", event -> {});
exportSubMenu.addItem("Rich Text Format (.rtf)", event -> {});
exportSubMenu.addItem("Plain text (.txt)", event -> {});

Custom Items

You can customize the items to include more than a single line of text.

Important
 Open the Context Menu by right-clicking (mouse) or long-pressing (touch) a Grid row.
Open in a
new tab
GridContextMenu<Person> menu = grid.addContextMenu();
GridMenuItem<Person> assign = menu.addItem("Assign");
assign.addComponentAsFirst(createIcon(VaadinIcon.USER_CHECK));

GridSubMenu<Person> assignSubMenu = assign.getSubMenu();
people.subList(5, 10).forEach(person -> {
  assignSubMenu.addItem(createPersonItem(person), event -> {});
});

...

private Component createPersonItem(Person person) {
  Avatar avatar = new Avatar();
  avatar.setImage(person.getPictureUrl());
  avatar.setName(person.getFirstName());

  Span name = new Span(person.getFullName());
  Span apps = new Span(getApplicationCount());
  apps.getStyle()
    .set("color", "var(--lumo-secondary-text-color)")
    .set("font-size", "var(--lumo-font-size-s)");

  VerticalLayout verticalLayout = new VerticalLayout(
    name,
    apps
  );
  verticalLayout.setPadding(false);
  verticalLayout.setSpacing(false);

  HorizontalLayout horizontalLayout = new HorizontalLayout(
    avatar,
    verticalLayout
  );
  horizontalLayout.setAlignItems(FlexComponent.Alignment.CENTER);
  horizontalLayout.getStyle().set("line-height", "var(--lumo-line-height-m)");
  return horizontalLayout;
}

Disabled Menu Items

You can disable menu items to show that they are unavailable.

Important
 Open the Context Menu by right-clicking (mouse) or long-pressing (touch) a Grid row.
Open in a
new tab
GridContextMenu<File> menu = grid.addContextMenu();

GridMenuItem<File> export = menu.addItem("Export");
GridSubMenu<File> exportSubMenu = export.getSubMenu();
GridMenuItem<File> exportPDF = exportSubMenu.addItem("Portable Document Format (.pdf)", event -> {});
exportPDF.setEnabled(false);

GridMenuItem<File> delete = menu.addItem("Delete", event -> {});
delete.setEnabled(false);

Left-Click

You can use left-click to open Context Menu in situations where left-click does not have any other function, for example a Grid without selection support.

Important
 Open the Context Menu by clicking a Grid row.
Open in a
new tab
GridContextMenu<Person> menu = grid.addContextMenu();
menu.setOpenOnClick(true);
menu.addItem("View", event -> {});
menu.addItem("Edit", event -> {});
menu.addItem("Delete", event -> {});

Best Practices

Context Menu is used to provide shortcuts to the user. You should not use it as the only or primary means to complete a task. The primary way should be accessible elsewhere in the UI.

Important
 Open the Context Menu by right-clicking (desktop) or long-pressing (mobile) a Grid row, or use the Menu Bar in the last column.
Open in a
new tab
grid.addComponentColumn(file -> {
  MenuBar menuBar = new MenuBar();
  menuBar.addThemeVariants(MenuBarVariant.LUMO_TERTIARY_INLINE);
  MenuItem menuItem = menuBar.addItem("•••");
  menuItem.getElement().setAttribute("aria-label", "More options");
  return menuBar;
})
  .setAutoWidth(true)
  .setFlexGrow(0);

GridContextMenu<File> menu = grid.addContextMenu();
menu.addItem("Preview", event -> {});
menu.addItem("Edit", event -> {});
menu.addItem("Delete", event -> {});

Context Menu vs Menu Bar

You should use Context Menu when there is no dedicated button for opening an overlay menu, such as right-clicking a grid row. When there is a dedicated element/component, such as an overflow menu, use Menu Bar.

Icons

Use icons when applicable to help improve recognition. It is recommended to use commonly recognized icons to avoid confusion. Use icons consistently throughout a list of options.

Labelling

Suffix a menu item with “…​” when the associated action won’t be executed, but instead reveal some UI, like a dialog, for completing the action.

Component Usage recommendations

Menu Bar

Component for displaying a horizontal menu with multi-level sub-menus.

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