Dropdowns

Dropdowns are toggleable, contextual overlays for displaying lists of links and more. They're made interactive with the included Athena dropdown JavaScript plugin. They're toggled by clicking, not by hovering; this is an intentional design decision.

Examples

Wrap the dropdown's toggle (your button or link) and the dropdown menu within .dropdown, or another element that declares position: relative;. Dropdowns can be triggered from <a> or <button> elements to better fit your potential needs.

Single button dropdowns

Any single .btn can be turned into a dropdown toggle with some markup changes. Here's how you can put them to work with either <button> elements:


<div class="dropdown">
  <button class="btn btn-default dropdown-toggle" type="button" id="dropdownMenuButton" data-toggle="dropdown" aria-haspopup="true" aria-expanded="false">
    Dropdown button
  </button>
  <div class="dropdown-menu" aria-labelledby="dropdownMenuButton">
    <a class="dropdown-item" href="#">Action</a>
    <a class="dropdown-item" href="#">Another action</a>
    <a class="dropdown-item" href="#">Something else here</a>
  </div>
</div>

And with <a> elements:


<div class="dropdown show">
  <a class="btn btn-default dropdown-toggle" href="#" role="button" id="dropdownMenuLink" data-toggle="dropdown" aria-haspopup="true" aria-expanded="false">
    Dropdown link
  </a>

  <div class="dropdown-menu" aria-labelledby="dropdownMenuLink">
    <a class="dropdown-item" href="#">Action</a>
    <a class="dropdown-item" href="#">Another action</a>
    <a class="dropdown-item" href="#">Something else here</a>
  </div>
</div>

The best part is you can do this with any button variant, too:


<!-- Example single danger button -->
<div class="btn-group">
  <button type="button" class="btn btn-danger dropdown-toggle" data-toggle="dropdown" aria-haspopup="true" aria-expanded="false">
    Action
  </button>
  <div class="dropdown-menu">
    <a class="dropdown-item" href="#">Action</a>
    <a class="dropdown-item" href="#">Another action</a>
    <a class="dropdown-item" href="#">Something else here</a>
    <div class="dropdown-divider"></div>
    <a class="dropdown-item" href="#">Separated link</a>
  </div>
</div>

Split button dropdowns

Similarly, create split button dropdowns with virtually the same markup as single button dropdowns, but with the addition of .dropdown-toggle-split for proper spacing around the dropdown caret.

We use this extra class to reduce the horizontal padding on either side of the caret by 25% and remove the margin-left that's added for regular button dropdowns. Those extra changes keep the caret centered in the split button and provide a more appropriately sized hit area next to the main button.


<!-- Example split danger button -->
<div class="btn-group">
  <button type="button" class="btn btn-danger">Action</button>
  <button type="button" class="btn btn-danger dropdown-toggle dropdown-toggle-split" data-toggle="dropdown" aria-haspopup="true" aria-expanded="false">
    <span class="sr-only">Toggle Dropdown</span>
  </button>
  <div class="dropdown-menu">
    <a class="dropdown-item" href="#">Action</a>
    <a class="dropdown-item" href="#">Another action</a>
    <a class="dropdown-item" href="#">Something else here</a>
    <div class="dropdown-divider"></div>
    <a class="dropdown-item" href="#">Separated link</a>
  </div>
</div>

Sizing

Button dropdowns work with buttons of all sizes, including default and split dropdown buttons.


<!-- Large button groups (default and split) -->
<div class="btn-group">
  <button class="btn btn-default btn-lg dropdown-toggle" type="button" data-toggle="dropdown" aria-haspopup="true" aria-expanded="false">
    Large button
  </button>
  <div class="dropdown-menu">
    ...
  </div>
</div>
<div class="btn-group">
  <button class="btn btn-default btn-lg dropdown-toggle" type="button" data-toggle="dropdown" aria-haspopup="true" aria-expanded="false">
    Large button
  </button>
  <button type="button" class="btn btn-lg btn-default dropdown-toggle dropdown-toggle-split" data-toggle="dropdown" aria-haspopup="true" aria-expanded="false">
    <span class="sr-only">Toggle Dropdown</span>
  </button>
  <div class="dropdown-menu">
    ...
  </div>
</div>

<!-- Small button groups (default and split) -->
<div class="btn-group">
  <button class="btn btn-default btn-sm dropdown-toggle" type="button" data-toggle="dropdown" aria-haspopup="true" aria-expanded="false">
    Small button
  </button>
  <div class="dropdown-menu">
    ...
  </div>
</div>
<div class="btn-group">
  <button class="btn btn-default btn-sm dropdown-toggle" type="button" data-toggle="dropdown" aria-haspopup="true" aria-expanded="false">
    Small button
  </button>
  <button type="button" class="btn btn-sm btn-default dropdown-toggle dropdown-toggle-split" data-toggle="dropdown" aria-haspopup="true" aria-expanded="false">
    <span class="sr-only">Toggle Dropdown</span>
  </button>
  <div class="dropdown-menu">
    ...
  </div>
</div>

Dropup variation

Trigger dropdown menus above elements by adding .dropup to the parent element.


<!-- Default dropup button -->
<div class="btn-group dropup">
  <button type="button" class="btn btn-default">Dropup</button>
  <button type="button" class="btn btn-default dropdown-toggle" data-toggle="dropdown" aria-haspopup="true" aria-expanded="false">
    <span class="sr-only">Toggle Dropdown</span>
  </button>
  <div class="dropdown-menu">
    <!-- Dropdown menu links -->
  </div>
</div>

<!-- Split dropup button -->
<div class="btn-group dropup">
  <button type="button" class="btn btn-default">
    Split dropup
  </button>
  <button type="button" class="btn btn-default dropdown-toggle" data-toggle="dropdown" aria-haspopup="true" aria-expanded="false">
    <span class="sr-only">Toggle Dropdown</span>
  </button>
  <div class="dropdown-menu">
    <!-- Dropdown menu links -->
  </div>
</div>

Athena provides the option of using <button> elements in your dropdowns instead of just <a>s.


<div class="dropdown">
  <button class="btn btn-default dropdown-toggle" type="button" id="dropdownMenu2" data-toggle="dropdown" aria-haspopup="true" aria-expanded="false">
    Dropdown
  </button>
  <div class="dropdown-menu" aria-labelledby="dropdownMenu2">
    <button class="dropdown-item" type="button">Action</button>
    <button class="dropdown-item" type="button">Another action</button>
    <button class="dropdown-item" type="button">Something else here</button>
  </div>
</div>

By default, a dropdown menu is automatically positioned 100% from the top and along the left side of its parent. Add .dropdown-menu-right to a .dropdown-menu to right align the dropdown menu.

Heads up! Dropdowns are positioned only with CSS and may need some additional styles for exact alignment.


<div class="btn-group">
  <button type="button" class="btn btn-default dropdown-toggle" data-toggle="dropdown" aria-haspopup="true" aria-expanded="false">
    This dropdown's menu is right-aligned
  </button>
  <div class="dropdown-menu dropdown-menu-right">
    <button class="dropdown-item" type="button">Action</button>
    <button class="dropdown-item" type="button">Another action</button>
    <button class="dropdown-item" type="button">Something else here</button>
  </div>
</div>

Add a header to label sections of actions in any dropdown menu.


<div class="dropdown-menu">
  <h6 class="dropdown-header">Dropdown header</h6>
  <a class="dropdown-item" href="#">Action</a>
  <a class="dropdown-item" href="#">Another action</a>
</div>

Separate groups of related menu items with a divider.


<div class="dropdown-menu">
  <a class="dropdown-item" href="#">Action</a>
  <a class="dropdown-item" href="#">Another action</a>
  <a class="dropdown-item" href="#">Something else here</a>
  <div class="dropdown-divider"></div>
  <a class="dropdown-item" href="#">Separated link</a>
</div>

Add .disabled to items in the dropdown to style them as disabled.


<div class="dropdown-menu">
  <a class="dropdown-item" href="#">Regular link</a>
  <a class="dropdown-item disabled" href="#">Disabled link</a>
  <a class="dropdown-item" href="#">Another link</a>
</div>

Accessibility

The WAI ARIA standard defines an actual role="menu" widget, but this is specific to application-like menus which trigger actions or functions. ARIA menus can only contain menu items, checkbox menu items, radio button menu items, radio button groups, and sub-menus.

Athena's dropdowns, on the other hand, are designed to be generic and applicable to a variety of situations and markup structures. For instance, it is possible to create dropdowns that contain additional inputs and form controls, such as search fields or login forms. For this reason, Athena does not expect (nor automatically add) any of the role and aria- attributes required for true ARIA menus. Authors will have to include these more specific attributes themselves.

However, Athena does add built-in support for most standard keyboard menu interactions, such as the ability to move through individual .dropdown-item elements using the cursor keys and close the menu with the ESC key.

Usage

Dropdown menu content is toggled by toggling the .show class on the parent list item, via data attributes or JavaScript.

On mobile devices, opening a dropdown adds a .dropdown-backdrop as a tap area for closing dropdown menus when tapping outside the menu, a requirement for proper iOS support. This means that switching from an open dropdown menu to a different dropdown menu requires an extra tap on mobile.

Note: The data-toggle="dropdown" attribute is relied on for closing dropdown menus at an application level, so it's a good idea to always use it.

Via data attributes

Add data-toggle="dropdown" to a link or button to toggle a dropdown.


<div class="dropdown">
  <button id="dLabel" type="button" data-toggle="dropdown" aria-haspopup="true" aria-expanded="false">
    Dropdown trigger
  </button>
  <div class="dropdown-menu" aria-labelledby="dLabel">
    ...
  </div>
</div>

Via JavaScript

Call the dropdowns via JavaScript:


$('.dropdown-toggle').dropdown()

`data-toggle="dropdown"` still required

Regardless of whether you call your dropdown via JavaScript or instead use the data-api, data-toggle="dropdown" is always required to be present on the dropdown's trigger element.

Options

-None.

Methods

Method	Description
`$().dropdown('toggle')`	Toggles the dropdown menu of a given navbar or tabbed navigation.

Events

All dropdown events are fired at the .dropdown-menu's parent element and have a relatedTarget property, whose value is the toggling anchor element.

Event	Description
`show.bs.dropdown`	This event fires immediately when the show instance method is called.
`shown.bs.dropdown`	This event is fired when the dropdown has been made visible to the user (will wait for CSS transitions, to complete).
`hide.bs.dropdown`	This event is fired immediately when the hide instance method has been called.
`hidden.bs.dropdown`	This event is fired when the dropdown has finished being hidden from the user (will wait for CSS transitions, to complete).


$('#myDropdown').on('show.bs.dropdown', function () {
  // do something…
})

Contents

Examples

Single button dropdowns

Split button dropdowns

Sizing

Dropup variation

Menu items

Menu alignment

Menu headers

Menu dividers

Disabled menu items

Accessibility

Usage

Via data attributes

Via JavaScript

Options

Methods

Events

Contents

Examples

Single button dropdowns

Split button dropdowns

Sizing

Dropup variation

Menu items

Menu alignment

Menu headers

Dropdown header

Menu dividers

Disabled menu items

Accessibility

Usage

Via data attributes

Via JavaScript

data-toggle="dropdown" still required

Options

Methods

Events

`data-toggle="dropdown"` still required