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Popover

A popover is a layer that pops up over all other elements on a page.

Overview

A popover is a layer that appears above all other content on the page. Only one popover can appear at a time and can contain varying text and interactive elements. Popovers are used as a base layer in some of our components like tooltips, overflow menus, and dropdown menus.

When to use

  • Use when placing interactive elements, like links, buttons, or rich media to make the component more accessible. Disclosures that contain interactive elements use popovers as a base container layer to achieve this accessibility standard. For further guidance on how to display content within a popover, see the disclosure pattern.
  • Use when you need to display additional details for specific elements on a page. If your popover exceeds four columns in width, use a modal instead.

Live demo

<Popover open>
<div className="popover-trigger">
<Checkbox />
</div>
<PopoverContent>
<div className="popover-example-content">
<p className="popover-title">Available storage</p>
<p className="popover-details">
This server has 150 GB of block storage remaining.
</p>
</div>
</PopoverContent>
</Popover>
Popover
Modifiers
align

Variants

By default, a popovers structure is made up of a container with no additional tip. Depending on the use case, caret tips or tab tips can be added to the container to help show the relationship between the popover and where it was triggered from.

VariantPurpose
No tipPopovers without a tip are typically used when the trigger button has a visually defined down state.
Caret tipPopovers with a caret tip should be used to help show the relationship between the popover and where it was triggered from. A caret tip is typically used when the trigger button does not have a visually defined down state and for icon buttons.
Tab tipPopovers can have a tab tip when the popover is connected to a toolbar or header area.
Popover variants

Formatting

Anatomy

Popover anatomy
  1. UI trigger button: An interactive element that triggers the popover to open on click, hover, or focus.
  2. Tip: An indicator that is added to a popover container to help show the relationship between the popover and where it was triggered from.
  3. Content area: An area to place text and interactive elements.
  4. Container: An area to place text and interactive elements.

Sizing

Container

The width and height of a popover container can vary depending on the amount of content placed within it. We recommend to not exceed a popover width size of four columns.

Popover container size
Do keep width between one to four columns.

Do keep width between one to four columns.

Don't exceed width of four columns.

Don't exceed width of four columns.

Trigger button

A popover is controlled by a trigger button. By default, we use an icon button to trigger a popover to open. However, as long as the trigger button is interactive it can visually change its shape and size depending on the usecase.

The trigger button can open the popover on click, hover, or focus depending on what it is being used for. For more information about trigger buttons, see the disclosure pattern.

Content

Main elements

Heading, body, and footer content can vary based on your usecase. To see examples of content used in popovers, see the disclosure pattern.

Overflow content

Scrolling is usually not needed when using a popover. If scrolling is needed, in a dropdown like situation for instance, then the body section should scroll vertically with the header and footer remaining fixed in place if those elements are present. Do not scroll horizontally or let content bleed off the page.

Further guidance

For further content guidance, see Carbon’s content guidelines.

No tip

Popovers without a tip can be used for a wide variety of different use cases. No tip popovers are typically used when the trigger button has a visually defined down state.

Placement

Popover directions by default are set to auto. Upon opening, popovers can detect the edges of the browser to properly be placed in view so the container does not get cutoff. Alternatively, popovers can also specify distinct directions. Direction options vary depending on the popover variant.

When a popover does not have a tip, the trigger button should be flush to the side of the popover. The popover can open from the left, right, bottom, or top of the trigger button.

No tip popover top and bottom directions with left and right alignments.
No tip popover left and right directions with top and bottom alignments.

Alignment

The trigger button should be placed 4px away from the popover container and should always be the same distance away from the popover container regardless of what size button is being used.

No tip popover container and trigger button spacing.
Do flush align the popover edge with the trigger button.

Do flush align the popover edge with the trigger button.

Don't arbitrarily place the popover near the trigger button.

Don't arbitrarily place the popover near the trigger button.

Caret tip

A caret tip should be added to a popover to help show the relationship between the popover and where it was triggered from. A caret tip is typically used when the trigger button does not have a visually defined down state and for icon buttons.

Placement

The popover can open from the left, right, bottom, or top of the trigger button. When using a caret tip, the trigger button and caret tip should be vertically center with eachother.

Alignment

The container of the popover may be aligned to start, center, or end to keep the container from bleeding off the page or covering important information.

Caret tip popover top and bottom directions with left, center, and right alignments.
Caret tip popover left and right directions with top, center, and bottom alignments.

Similarly with no tip popovers, a trigger button paired with a caret tip popover should be placed 4px away from the popover container.

Caret tip popover container and trigger button spacing.
Do align the caret tip center with the trigger button.

Do align the caret tip center with the trigger button.

Don't misalign the caret tip with the trigger button.

Don't misalign the caret tip with the trigger button.

Tab tip

Popovers can have a tab tip when the popover is connected to a toolbar or header area where the trigger button sits within.

Placement

Tab tip popovers nest within another layer on a page. The tab tip can appear on the left and right of the container and the edges should be flush with the layer edges it sits within.

Tab tip popover bottom directions with left and right alignments.

Alignment

Popovers with a tab tip have 0px space between the trigger button and the container because they are connected to eachother.

Tab tip popover container and trigger button spacing.
Do top align the tab tip with the layer behind it.

Do top align the tab tip with the layer behind it.

Don't misalign the tab tip with the layer behind it.

Don't misalign the tab tip with the layer behind it.

Behaviors

Interactions

Mouse

Users trigger a popover to open and close by clicking or hovering on the trigger button depending on the use case.

Click: Open the popover by clicking on the trigger button. Close the popover by clicking on the trigger button again, or anywhere outside of the open popover container.

Hover: Open the popover by hovering over the trigger button. Close the popover by hovering off of the popover or clicking anywhere outside of the open popover container.

Popover close click target area.

Keyboard

Focus: When the popover control has focus Enter or Space activates the popover control and toggles the visibility of the popover content.

Screen readers

VoiceOver: Users can trigger a button to open a popover by pressing Enter or Space while the button has focus.

JAWS: Users can trigger a button to open a popover by pressing Enter or Space while the button has focus.

NVDA: Users can trigger a button to open a popover by pressing Enter or Space while the button has focus.

Modifiers

Colors

Popovers are most commonly used in these three different container colors—$layer-01, $layer-02, and $background-inverse.

Popover container colors.

Corners

A popover container has rounded corners by default and the corner radius is set to 2px. Use straight corners when the popover structure contains a tab tip and is connected to a toolbar or header to keep clean lines between the popover and the layer underneath.

Popover container corner options.

Form components

Form components that have menus, like dropdowns, use popovers as a base layer.

Disclosures

Disclosures use popovers as a base layer. Disclosures are comprised of a popover container, text, and interactive elements. For further guidance, see Carbon’s disclosure pattern.

Overflow menus

Overflow menus use popovers as a base layer. When the overflow menu icon button is triggered, the menu opens and uses a tab tip popover as its base. For further guidance, see Carbon’s overflow menu.

Toggletips

Toggletips use the popovers as a base layer. Toggletips allow interactive elements within the popover container while still being accessible. For further guidance, see Carbon’s toggletip component

Tooltips

Tooltips use popovers as a base layer. Tooltips are comprised of a trigger button, popover container and text. For further guidance, see Carbon’s tooltip component.

References

Popup,Component research, (OpenUI)

Disclosure, W3C WAI-ARIA practices, (W3C Working Group Note)

Feedback

Help us improve this component by providing feedback, asking questions, and leaving any other comments on GitHub.