Combobox

Combobox is an accessible autocomplete input that enables merchants to filter a list of options and select one or more values.

Combobox component examples

Use when merchants can select one option from a predefined or editable list.

import {Listbox, Combobox, Icon} from '@shopify/polaris';
import {SearchIcon} from '@shopify/polaris-icons';
import {useState, useCallback, useMemo} from 'react';

function ComboboxExample() {
  const deselectedOptions = useMemo(
    () => [
      {value: 'rustic', label: 'Rustic'},
      {value: 'antique', label: 'Antique'},
      {value: 'vinyl', label: 'Vinyl'},
      {value: 'vintage', label: 'Vintage'},
      {value: 'refurbished', label: 'Refurbished'},
    ],
    [],
  );

  const [selectedOption, setSelectedOption] = useState<string | undefined>();
  const [inputValue, setInputValue] = useState('');
  const [options, setOptions] = useState(deselectedOptions);

  const escapeSpecialRegExCharacters = useCallback(
    (value: string) => value.replace(/[.*+?^${}()|[\]\\]/g, '\\$&'),
    [],
  );

  const updateText = useCallback(
    (value: string) => {
      setInputValue(value);

      if (value === '') {
        setOptions(deselectedOptions);
        return;
      }

      const filterRegex = new RegExp(escapeSpecialRegExCharacters(value), 'i');
      const resultOptions = deselectedOptions.filter((option) =>
        option.label.match(filterRegex),
      );
      setOptions(resultOptions);
    },
    [deselectedOptions, escapeSpecialRegExCharacters],
  );

  const updateSelection = useCallback(
    (selected: string) => {
      const matchedOption = options.find((option) => {
        return option.value.match(selected);
      });

      setSelectedOption(selected);
      setInputValue((matchedOption && matchedOption.label) || '');
    },
    [options],
  );

  const optionsMarkup =
    options.length > 0
      ? options.map((option) => {
          const {label, value} = option;

          return (
            <Listbox.Option
              key={`${value}`}
              value={value}
              selected={selectedOption === value}
              accessibilityLabel={label}
            >
              {label}
            </Listbox.Option>
          );
        })
      : null;

  return (
    <div style={{height: '225px'}}>
      <Combobox
        activator={
          <Combobox.TextField
            prefix={<Icon source={SearchIcon} />}
            onChange={updateText}
            label="Search tags"
            labelHidden
            value={inputValue}
            placeholder="Search tags"
            autoComplete="off"
          />
        }
      >
        {options.length > 0 ? (
          <Listbox onSelect={updateSelection}>{optionsMarkup}</Listbox>
        ) : null}
      </Combobox>
    </div>
  );
}

Props

interface ComboboxProps
activatorReact.ReactElement< & ( | | ) & ( | )>

The text field component to activate the Popover.

allowMultiple?boolean

Allows more than one option to be selected.

children?any

The content to display inside the popover.

preferredPosition?'above' | 'below' | 'mostSpace' | 'cover'

The preferred direction to open the popover.

willLoadMoreOptions?boolean

Whether or not more options are available to lazy load when the bottom of the listbox reached. Use the hasMoreResults boolean provided by the GraphQL API of the paginated data.

height?string

Height to set on the Popover Pane.

onScrolledToBottom?() => void

Callback fired when the bottom of the lisbox is reached. Use to lazy load when listbox option data is paginated.

onClose?() => void

Callback fired when the popover closes.

Anatomy

A diagram of the Combobox component showing the smaller primitive components it is composed of.

A combobox is made up of the following:

  1. TextField: A text input that activates a popover displaying a list of options. As merchants type in the text field, the list of options is filtered by the input value. Options replace or add to the input value when selected.
  2. Popover: An overlay containing a list of options.
  3. Listbox: A list of options to filter and select or deselect.
  4. Listbox.Option: The individual options to select or deselect. Check out the listbox component documentation to learn how to compose it with various content.

Best practices

The Combobox component should:

  • Be clearly labeled so the merchant knows what kind of options will be available
  • Not be used within a popover
  • Indicate a loading state to the merchant while option data is being populated
  • Order items in an intentional way so it’s easy for the merchant to find a specific value

Content guidelines

The input field for Combobox should follow the content guidelines for text fields.


Sorting and filtering

Sorting

Item order should be intentional. Order them so it’s easy for the merchant to find a specific value. Some ways you can do this:

  • Sort options in alphabetical order
  • Display options based on how frequently the merchant selects an option

If multiple options can be selected, move selected items to the top of the list. If this doesn’t work for your context, you can override this behavior.

Filtering

  • By default, menu items are filtered based on whether or not they match the value of the textfield.
  • Filters are not case-sensitive by default.
  • You can apply custom filtering logic if the default behavior doesn’t make sense for your use case.

Patterns

Tags autocomplete

The tag multi-select input enables merchants to efficiently add or remove tags from a resource, like a product or an order. It uses the inline autocomplete combobox pattern to present merchants with an editable list of tags to browse and select from.



Accessibility

Structure

The Combobox component is based on the ARIA 1.2 combobox pattern. It is a combination of a single-line TextField and a Popover. The current implementation expects a Listbox component to be used.

The Combobox popover displays below the text field or other control by default so it is easy for merchants to discover and use. However, you can change the position with the preferredPosition prop.

Combobox features can be challenging for merchants with visual, motor, and cognitive disabilities. Even when they’re built using best practices, these features can be difficult to use with some assistive technologies. Merchants should always be able to search, enter data, or perform other activities without relying on the combobox.

Do
  • Use combobox as progressive enhancement to make the interface easier to use for most merchants.
Don't
  • Require that merchants make a selection from the combobox to complete a task.

Keyboard support

  • Give the combobox's text input keyboard focus with the tab key (or shift + tab when tabbing backwards)

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