Forms
Form controls have global styling defined at the HTML element level.
Most labels and controls are 100% the width of the <form> parent element, unless you specify inline layout.
Single-line text field
<input type="text"> is a single-line text field.
Vanilla also styles HTML’s other single-line field types: password, datetime, datetime-local, date, month, time, week, number, email, url, search and tel. For the search type, see Search box.
Multi-line text field
<textarea> is a multi-line text field.
Note: The attribute readonly disables the input but it still retains a default cursor.
Checkbox
Use the checkbox component to select one or more options. To provide fully featured Vanilla style and behaviour of the checkbox a specific markup structure is needed around the checkbox input (see example below).
To disable the checkbox component, add the disabled attribute to the respective <input type='checkbox'> element.
Inline checkbox
When placing the checkbox component in padded containers (table cells, some list items), use the .p-checkbox--inline variant. It ensures the checkbox and the label text are properly aligned with other inline text.
Heading checkbox
To use checkbox component in headings use the .p-checkbox--heading variant of the component to make sure the checkbox and the label text are properly aligned.
Indeterminate state checkbox
When a checkbox requires a state between checked and unchecked, checkbox.indeterminate = true; can be set via JavaScript, which will cause the checkbox appear in an "indeterminate" state.
In cases when JavaScript can't be used for that, set aria-checked="mixed" on checkbox to show "indeterminate" state. Please note that it will only change the visual look of the checkbox, it will not affect its state available to the browser via JavaScript.
Radio button
Use radio buttons to select one of the given set of options. To provide fully featured Vanilla style and behaviour of the radio button a specific markup structure is needed around the radio button input (see example below).
To disable the radio component, add the disabled attribute to the respective <input type='radio'> element.
Inline radio button
When placing the radio component in padded containers (table cells, some list items), use the .p-radio--inline variant of the component to make sure the radio button and the label text are properly aligned with other inline text.
Heading radio button
To use radio component in headings use the .p-checkbox--heading variant of the component to make sure the radio button and the label text are properly aligned.
Select
Use the <select> element to create a drop-down list.
Use the multiple attribute to create a multiple select control.
Datalist
Use the <datalist> element to create drop-down list with text input.
Range
The <input type="range"> allows a user to select from a specified range of values, where the precise value is not considered important.
Fieldset
You can use the <fieldset> element to divide the form into different logical sections.
Inline
By applying the class .p-form--inline and wrapping any form control in .p-form__group you can change the layout style of any form to be inline.
Stacked
By applying the class .p-form--stacked and wrapping any form control in .p-form__group you can change the layout style of any form to be stacked.
Disabled
Adding the disabled attribute to an input will prevent user interaction.
Note:
Help text
Supplementary help text can be provided for the form fields by adding an element with .p-form-help-text class name. If the help text follows a checkbox or radio button use an additional is-tick-element class name to align help text with the label.
Validation
To use form validation feedback - which includes feedback messages, icons and border colours - wrap individual input elements in a p-form-validation and additionally apply the .is-error, .is-caution or .is-success to the wrapper as appropriate.
If your form uses select elements then you will additionally need to wrap only the <select> element in a wrapper with the class p-form-validation__select-wrapper to mitigate some of the quirks of this specific HTML element across browsers.
Descriptive text relating to the element's validation status should use the class p-form-validation__message.
Required
Apply the class .is-required to mandatory input fields. You should also add a legend to the form to be explicit about the meaning of the asterisk.
Dense form elements
In contexts where vertical space is limited, e.g. inside a table row, you might prefer form elements with reduced vertical padding. Add class .is-dense to achieve that:
Password toggle
When using a password field, use this pattern to allow the user to toggle the password visibility.
Note:
Accessibility
Validated form input elements should indicate errors with aria-invalid attribute.
See WCAG Success Criterion 3.3.1 - Using Aria-Invalid to Indicate An Error Field for further information.
Import
To import just this base element into your project, copy the snippet below and include it in your main Sass file.
@import 'patterns_forms';To add form help text or validation into your project, copy either or both snippets below and include it in your main Sass file.
@import 'patterns_form-help-text';
@import 'patterns_form-validation';
For more information see Customising Vanilla in your projects, which includes overrides and importing instructions.
React
You can use forms in React by installing our react-component library and importing Form and Input component.