Segmented Button¶

The Segmented button component is group of controls that can be used to quickly switch between two and up to five views, options or states. By default this component will always have one selected or active item.

Usage ---¶

There are two types of segmented buttons: Single-select and Multi-select.

Single-select segmented buttons are used to select a single option, switch between views or sort elements, while Multi-select ones are used to select multiple options from a group of options.

When to use¶

Use segmented buttons to provide closely related choices that affect an object, state, or view. E.g. segmented buttons can help user to switch between different application views.
To narrow down large groups of content. E.g. in a messaging application to divide messages into three different views such as All, Read and Unread.

When not to use¶

For Multi-select cases, if you have unrelated options to choose from, it's better to use a checkbox-component.
When navigating between distinct content areas like sub-pages, use tabs-component instead.
For binary options, such as yes/no or on/off use a switch-component instead.
If there are more than five options or not enough horizontal space, then use the select-component.

Dos and don'ts¶

Avoid using the segmented button component to offer actions, such as adding, removing, or editing content.
Avoid crowding the control with too many segments, optimally 2 or 3 items but not more than 5.
Try to size the content within each view similarly, so that users don’t encounter pages that are significantly different in each section.

Design ---¶

Variations¶

There are three different visual representations: Text, Text + Icon and Icon.

Be consistent with the way visual cues are used in each button. Use either all icons, all text labels, or all text labels with icons. If you can't find a meaningful icon for all segments, don’t use icons at all. Keep the segment width consistent. Only when all segments have and identical width, segmented buttons feel balanced.

Elements¶

Active state, 2. Inactive state, 3. Icon, 4. Label

Segmented button labels should be nouns or noun phrases that succinctly describe the choice. Button labels shall not wrap over multiple lines.

States¶

The component supports different button states: Active, Hover, Default and Focus.

Sizes¶

There are two sizes to choose from, Regular or Small. If there is a concern regarding vertical space, use the Small version.

Responsive Behavior¶

The segmented button component has by nature a horizontal-layout and can't be wrapped or stacked. Therefore, it is recommended to keep the number of segments low to avoid overflowing on smaller screens. Secondly, if there is still not enough space, this component can be replaced by a select, radio or checkboxes-component.