Exception list

Use exception lists to help merchants notice important, standout information that adds extra context to a task. Exception lists often consist of a title and description. Each item in the list either has a bullet or icon at the front.

Exception list component examples

Use icons to add clarity or assist in visualizing the meaning

import {ExceptionList} from '@shopify/polaris';
import {NoteIcon} from '@shopify/polaris-icons';
import React from 'react';

function ExceptionListExample() {
  return (
    <ExceptionList
      items={[
        {
          icon: NoteIcon,
          description:
            'This customer is awesome. Make sure to treat them right!',
        },
      ]}
    />
  );
}

Props

interface ExceptionListProps
items[]

Collection of items for list.

Best practices

The exception list component should:

  • Be attached to another component
  • Inform merchants about extra context that will help them make better decisions
  • Only surface noteworthy, actionable content, like a high risk order or out of stock item
  • Used sparingly, so that it has more impact and doesn’t add clutter
  • Only use an icon if it adds clarity to the content or helps merchants visualize the meaning

Content guidelines

Exception lists should:

  • Highlight an exceptional state that helps merchants make a decision
  • Use the appropriate color to suit the tone of the message
  • Have a description (a title is optional)
  • Be concise

For error states, exception lists should:

  • Either tell merchants how to solve the problem or be attached to an item that lets merchants fix the problem

If placed next to an item in a resource list, exceptions lists should:

  • Make the entire list item clickable because the exception list itself isn’t clickable

  • To display an error at the top of a page, or to indicate multiple errors in a form, use the banner component
  • Exceptions lists are often used in the resource list component to display conditional content

Accessibility

Items in an exception list are organized as list items (<li>) in an unordered list wrapper (<ul>), so they’re conveyed as a group of related elements to assistive technology users.

Icons displayed with exception list items are meant to visually reinforce the adjacent information, not to convey information on their own. They are skipped by screen readers using aria-hidden="true".

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