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Widget: iconList

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iconList

IconList is a ListBox where the items (options) in the list are arranged in a grid; across then down. All the items in the list must be the same size; height and width set with CSS. Arrow key movement is naturally extended to two dimensions. The number of columns depends on the width of the iconList element and the items within it. The iconList does not handle scrolling the item contents but it can be put inside a container that does scroll. It can be used from tableModelView to support pagination including scroll paging over a model.

The primary purpose of an itemList is to allow the user to select one or more items. It also supports type to select, copy to clipboard, context menus, and item activation. Items are activated with double click (single click in navigation mode) or the Enter key. When activated the activate callback is called. This can be used to perform an action such as opening a dialog or navigating.

The expected markup (for best accessibility) is a <ul> (or <ol>) containing <li> elements, however it only depends on a single parent element where all the children are the items. The initially selected item(s) can be indicated by giving the item(s) a class of is-selected. The contents of the item is mostly of no concern to this widget but typically include an icon and a label. The contents must not overflow (spill outside of) the item. The item content typically does not have interactive elements such as inputs or buttons. To include interactive elements use the iconList#tabbableContent and iconList#noNavKeyContent options.

As an alternative to selection an iconList has a navigation mode where the list items are essentially links. A single click on the item will activate it. This is controlled with the iconList#navigation option. If the item is or contains an anchor the default behavior for activation is to navigate to the href value. (only one anchor per item is allowed.) When used for navigation the widget should be wrapped in an element with role navigation.

Selection

An iconList can support single or multiple selection. See option iconList#multiple.

It is also possible to include a checkbox for multiple selection using the iconList#itemSelector option. The item markup can include <span class="u-selector"></span> if checkbox selection is desired. Must also set option itemSelector to true. If the markup doesn't contain this u-selector span then it can be added for you if option iconList#addItemSelector is true.

On a touch enabled device where the user has interacted with touch a multi select iconList will automatically enable checkbox selection.

Like options in a select element the option items can have a value using the data-value attribute.

Context Menus

The iconList has easy integration with the menu widget to provide context menu support. The iconList#contextMenu option is used to provide a menu widget options object. When the contextMenu option is used the menu#event:beforeOpen event/callback ui argument has these additional properties:

  • menuElement: The menu jQuery object.
  • iconList: This iconList jQuery object.
  • selection: A jQuery object with the selected items at the time the menu was opened.

Also the menu#event:afterClose event/callback will automatically focus the iconList if the menu action didn't take the focus and the ui argument has these additional properties:

  • menuElement: The menu jQuery object.
  • iconList: This iconList jQuery object.

If using the contextMenu option the iconList#contextMenuId option can be used to give the menu element an ID. This is useful if other code must refer to the menu element or widget.

You can reference an already existing menu widget by specifying the iconList#contextMenuId in place of the iconList#contextMenu option.

If for any reason you don't want to use the menu widget, the iconList#contextMenuAction option allows you to respond to mouse or keyboard interactions that typically result in a context menu. Specifically Right Mouse click (via contextmenu event), Shift-F10 key (via keydown event) and the Windows context menu key (via contextmenu event). The original event is passed to the iconList#contextMenuAction function. The event object can be used to position the menu. If you implement your own menu it is best if you put focus back on the iconList using the iconList#focus method when the menu closes (unless the menu action directs focus elsewhere).

Only one of iconList#contextMenuAction and iconList#contextMenu or iconList#contextMenuId can be specified. The iconList#contextMenu and iconList#contextMenuId options can only be set when the iconList is initialized and it can't be changed. The iconList#contextMenuAction cannot be set if the iconList#contextMenu or iconList#contextMenuId options were given when the iconList was created.

Accessibility

For accessibility the iconList should be labeled by using the aria-labelledby attribute to point to an element that contains the label. The widget will append text for screen readers only that indicates the number of rows and columns. For best accessibility when used for navigation the markup should be a <div> with anchor (<a>) children as shown in second example in the initializer section.

For accessibility make sure that any images or icons used in the items have a text alternative if appropriate.

Keyboard End User Information

List of keyboard shortcuts
KeyAction
Up Arrow Move focus to the item in the current column of the previous row.
Down Arrow Move focus to the item in the current column of the next row.
Right Arrow Move focus to the next item in the current row wrapping to the next row at the end.
Left Arrow Move focus to the previous item in the current row wrapping to the previous row at the start.
Home Move focus to the first item.
End Move focus to the last item.
Space Selects the focused item.
Enter Activates the selected items.
printable characters Sets focus to the next item with a label that starts with the typed character(s).

Typically when an item receives focus it is also selected. For a multiple selection iconList the Shift and Ctrl modifier keys can be used in combination with the home, end, and arrow keys to affect the selection. The Shift key extends the selection to include the items between the anchor item (the first single item selected) and the current focused item. The Ctrl key moves the focus without affecting the selection. The Space key can then be used to select the focused item or Ctrl+Space to toggle the item selection.

Initializer

$(".selector").iconList(options)

Creates an iconList widget.
Parameters:
Name Type Description
options Object A map of option-value pairs to set on the widget.
Since:
  • 5.0
Examples

Create a simple iconList for selecting multiple items.

HTML:
<h3 id="iconsLabel">My Icons</h3>
<ul id="icons1" aria-labelledby="iconsLabel">
    <li data-value="b"><span class="fa fa-bus"></span><span class="label">Bus</span></li>
    <li class="is-selected" data-value="c"><span class="fa fa-car"></span><span class="label">Car</span></li>
    <li data-value="t"><span class="fa fa-taxi"></span><span class="label">Taxi</span></li>
    ...
</ul>
JavaScript:
$("#icons1").iconList({
    multiple: true
});

This example creates an iconList for navigation. In this example #navList is the element that becomes the iconList widget.

HTML:
<h2 id="mainNav">Main Site Navigation</h2>
<div role="navigation">
  <div id="navList" aria-labelledby="mainNav">
      <a href="...">...</a>
      ...
  </div>
</div>
JavaScript:
$("#navList").iconList({
    navigation: true
});

Options

addItemSelector :boolean

If iconList#itemSelector option is true and the initial iconList markup does not include the markup needed to show the selector then this option should be set to true so that the markup is automatically added.

This is ignored if iconList#itemSelector is false.

The markup to show the checkbox selector is:
<span class="u-selector"></span>
The markup to show the radio button selector (used when multiple is false) is:
<span class="u-selector u-selector--single"></span>

Type:
  • boolean
Default Value:
  • true
Examples

Initialize the iconList with the addItemSelector option specified.

$( ".selector" ).iconList( {
    addItemSelector: false
} );

Get or set option addItemSelector after initialization.

// get
var value = $( ".selector" ).iconList( "option", "addItemSelector" );
// set
$( ".selector" ).iconList( "option", "addItemSelector", false );

allowCopy :boolean

If true the selection can be copied to the clipboard using the browsers copy event.

Type:
  • boolean
Default Value:
  • true
Examples

Initialize the iconList with the allowCopy option specified.

$( ".selector" ).iconList( {
    allowCopy: false
} );

Get or set option allowCopy after initialization.

// get
var value = $( ".selector" ).iconList( "option", "allowCopy" );
// set
$( ".selector" ).iconList( "option", "allowCopy", false );

contextMenu :Object

A menu widget options object use to create the context menu.

Only specify one of contextMenu or contextMenuId and contextMenuAction. If none of contextMenu, contextMenuId or contextMenuAction are specified there is no context menu.

This option cannot be set or changed after the widget is initialized.

Type:
  • Object
Default Value:
  • null
Example

Initialize the iconList with the contextMenu option specified.

$( ".selector" ).iconList( {
    contextMenu: {
    items:[
        { type:"action", label: "Action 1", action: function() { alert("Action 1"); } },
        { type:"action", label: "Action 2", action: function() { alert("Action 2"); } }
    ]
}
} );

contextMenuAction :function

A callback function that is called when it is time to display a context menu. function( event ) The function is responsible for showing the context menu. It is given the event that caused this callback to be called.

In most cases it is simpler and more consistent to use the contextMenu option. Only specify one of contextMenu or contextMenuId and contextMenuAction. If none of contextMenu, contextMenuId or contextMenuAction are specified there is no context menu.

Type:
  • function
Default Value:
  • null
Example

Initialize the iconList with the contextMenuAction option specified.

$( ".selector" ).iconList( {
    contextMenuAction: function( event ) {
    // do something to display a context menu
 }
} );

contextMenuId :string

If option contextMenu is given then this is the element id to give the context menu created. This allows other code to interact with the created context menu widget.

If option contextMenu is not given then this is the element id of an existing menu widget.

This option cannot be set or changed after the widget is initialized.

Type:
  • string
Default Value:
  • null
Example

Initialize the iconList with the contextMenuId option specified.

$( ".selector" ).iconList( {
    contextMenuId: "myContextMenu"
} );

itemSelector :boolean

If true a selector control is added before the item icon and label. The selector is a checkbox if multiple is true and a radio button if multiple is false. The iconList markup must include the necessary markup for the checkbox selector if iconList#addItemSelector is false. See iconList#addItemSelector for the needed markup.

Type:
  • boolean
Default Value:
  • false
Examples

Initialize the iconList with the itemSelector option specified.

$( ".selector" ).iconList( {
    itemSelector: true
} );

Get or set option itemSelector after initialization.

// get
var value = $( ".selector" ).iconList( "option", "itemSelector" );
// set
$( ".selector" ).iconList( "option", "itemSelector", true );

label :boolean|string

This option only applies to the type to select feature. It is a jQuery selector for finding the label text of an item or true to use the text of the item or false to disable type to search.

Type:
  • boolean | string
Default Value:
  • true
Examples

Initialize the iconList with the label option specified.

$( ".selector" ).iconList( {
    label: "myIconLabel"
} );

Get or set option label after initialization.

// get
var value = $( ".selector" ).iconList( "option", "label" );
// set
$( ".selector" ).iconList( "option", "label", false );

multiple :boolean

If true multiple items can be selected. If false at most one item can be selected.

Must be false when navigation option is true.

Type:
  • boolean
Default Value:
  • false
Examples

Initialize the iconList with the multiple option specified.

$( ".selector" ).iconList( {
    multiple: true
} );

Get or set option multiple after initialization.

// get
var value = $( ".selector" ).iconList( "option", "multiple" );
// set
$( ".selector" ).iconList( "option", "multiple", true );

When true changes the mode of widget to navigation otherwise the mode is selection. This option can't be changed after create.

Type:
  • boolean
Default Value:
  • false
Examples

Initialize the iconList with the navigation option specified.

$( ".selector" ).iconList( {
    navigation: true
} );

Get or set option navigation after initialization.

// get
var value = $( ".selector" ).iconList( "option", "navigation" );
// set
$( ".selector" ).iconList( "option", "navigation", true );

noNavKeyContent :string

A jQuery selector that identifies item content that uses navigation keys or contains elements that use navigation keys. Navigation keys are used to change the focus or selection state, they include the arrow keys, Home, End, Space and Enter as well as keys used in the type to select feature. When the iconList contains tabbable content (iconList#tabbableContent is a valid selector) that can also take keyboard input, such as an <input> element this option is used to allow the specified elements to use the navigation keys usually used by the iconList. This is ignored when iconList#navigation is true.

Type:
  • string
Default Value:
  • null
Examples

Initialize the iconList with the noNavKeyContent option specified.

$( ".selector" ).iconList( {
    noNavKeyContent: "input"
} );

Get or set option noNavKeyContent after initialization.

// get
var value = $( ".selector" ).iconList( "option", "noNavKeyContent" );
// set
$( ".selector" ).iconList( "option", "noNavKeyContent", "input" );

tabbableContent :string

A jQuery selector that identifies item content that can be a tab stop when an item has focus. This is ignored when iconList#navigation is true.

Type:
  • string
Default Value:
  • null
Examples

Initialize the iconList with the tabbableContent option specified.

$( ".selector" ).iconList( {
    tabbableContent: "a,button"
} );

Get or set option tabbableContent after initialization.

// get
var value = $( ".selector" ).iconList( "option", "tabbableContent" );
// set
$( ".selector" ).iconList( "option", "tabbableContent", "a,button" );

Events

activate

Triggered when item(s) are activated with Enter key or double click (single click in navigation mode).
Properties:
Name Type Description
event Event jQuery event object.
data object Additional data for the event.
Properties
Name Type Description
values Array.<string> An array of selected values. See iconList#getSelectionValues
Examples

Initialize the iconList with the activate callback specified:

$( ".selector" ).iconList({
    activate: function( event, data ) {}
});

Bind an event listener to the iconlistactivate event:

$( ".selector" ).on( "iconlistactivate", function( event, data ) {} );

selectionchange

Triggered when the selection state changes. It has no additional data.
Properties:
Name Type Description
event Event jQuery event object.
Examples

Initialize the iconList with the selectionChange callback specified:

$( ".selector" ).iconList({
    selectionChange: function( event ) {}
});

Bind an event listener to the iconlistselectionchange event:

$( ".selector" ).on( "iconlistselectionchange", function( event ) {} );

Methods

focus()

Set focus to the iconList. The item that last had focus is focused or if no item had focus the first item is focused.

Example

Focus the iconList.

$( ".selector" ).iconList( "focus" );

getColumns() → {number}

Returns the number of columns in the iconList.

Returns:
The number of columns.
Type
number
Example

Get the number of columns currently displayed by the iconList.

var columns = $( ".selector" ).iconList( "getColumns" );

getRows() → {number}

Returns the number of rows in the iconList.

Returns:
The number of rows.
Type
number
Example

Get the number of rows currently displayed by the iconList.

var rows = $( ".selector" ).iconList( "getRows" );

getSelection() → {jQuery}

Returns the set of selected items. If there is no selection the empty set is returned.

Returns:
jQuery object with the set of selected items.
Type
jQuery
Example

Get the currently selected items.

var selection$ = $( ".selector" ).iconList( "getSelection" );

getSelectionValues() → {Array.<string>}

Returns the values, from the data-value attributes, of all the selected items. If there is no selection an empty array is returned.

Returns:
Array of selected values.
Type
Array.<string>
Example

Get the currently selected values and convert them to a ":" separated string.

var values = $( ".selector" ).iconList( "getSelectionValues" ),
    result = values.join( ":" );

refresh()

Call refresh if the contents of the list changes or if the size of the container changes.

Example

Call the refresh method.

$( ".selector" ).iconList( "refresh" );

resize()

This method must be called if the size of the container changes so that the rows and columns can be recalculated.

Example

Call the resize method.

$( ".selector" ).iconList( "resize" );

setSelection(pItems$, pFocusopt, pNoNotifyopt)

Sets the iconList selection.

Parameters:
Name Type Attributes Description
pItems$ jQuery A jQuery object with the items to select. An empty jQuery set will clear the selection.
pFocus boolean <optional>
 If true the first item in pItems$ will be focused.
pNoNotify boolean <optional>
 If true the selection change event will be suppressed.
Example

This example selects the items with values "a", "b", and "c".

$( ".selector" ).iconList( "setSelection", $( "a:b:c".split( ":" ).map( function(v) {
    return "[data-value='" + v + "']";
} ).join( "," ) ) );