Figuration v4.4 is now available!

Tab tab.js

Add quick, dynamic tab functionality to transition through panes of content.

Notices

Incompatible Widgets

For accessibility reasons, do not mix use of the Tab widget and Dropdown widget in the same nav item. This will cause navigation and usability issues. One or the other, but not both.

From a usability perspective, the example where the currently displayed tab's trigger element might not immediately visible (as it could be inside a closed dropdown menu) would cause confusion. From an accessibility point of view, there is currently no sensible way to map this sort of construct to a standard WAI ARIA pattern, meaning that it cannot be easily made understandable to users of assistive technologies.

As a best practice, we recommend using <button> elements for the tabs, as these are controls that trigger a dynamic change, rather than links that navigate to a new page or location.

However, if you choose to use the historical method using anchors, be sure to abide by the recommendations for disabled links.

Disabling Anchors

Please refer to the Accessiblity notes about disabled anchors.

Examples

The tab widget can be used with the following semantic structures: ul, ol, and nav. In order to support more use-cases, the following classes will also allowed for tabs when used on the wrapping container: .nav, .list, and .btn-group. For even more flexibility, the custom class .is-tablist is also available.

Tabs

The tab widget works with tab style navigation.

Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Curabitur pulvinar ligula ac sapien auctor viverra. Aliquam elit tortor, consequat at ultrices sit amet, vehicula eu leo. In fermentum lacus purus, ac dictum orci placerat ut. Integer magna lacus, adipiscing sed justo ut, sollicitudin rhoncus libero. Pellentesque accumsan pretium sem eu euismod? Nunc id facilisis sem? Quisque quis laoreet mi.

Phasellus at nisl et arcu tincidunt sagittis et nec nunc. Fusce ultrices venenatis felis, in faucibus mauris egestas nec. Etiam malesuada dictum nisi, at pulvinar orci. Aenean venenatis metus in pharetra aliquam. Mauris ac odio tortor! Maecenas eget orci in ipsum ullamcorper malesuada. Nunc interdum lobortis velit sed accumsan.

Praesent laoreet augue sed mauris vulputate, ut commodo justo malesuada. Pellentesque adipiscing; lorem vel convallis dignissim, leo est condimentum sapien, nec viverra dui risus at metus! Phasellus tellus magna, hendrerit eget tempor quis, fringilla id sem.

Duis pharetra suscipit felis, id congue purus tempus sed. Nunc porttitor nec arcu at interdum. Nulla placerat odio luctus malesuada dapibus. Suspendisse et auctor metus. Suspendisse fringilla commodo cursus. Suspendisse sodales vitae enim ut commodo. Nunc ut nibh quis tellus varius fermentum at et nibh. Nulla nisl leo, hendrerit ut rutrum faucibus, ullamcorper ut lectus. Donec tristique justo justo, nec imperdiet leo porttitor non. Donec vehicula purus dapibus hendrerit ornare.

<ul class="nav nav-tabs">
<li class="nav-item"><button type="button" class="nav-link" data-cfw="tab" data-cfw-tab-target="#tab1">Tab 1</button></li>
<li class="nav-item"><button type="button" class="nav-link active" data-cfw="tab" data-cfw-tab-target="#tab2">Tab 2</button></li>
<li class="nav-item"><button type="button" class="nav-link" data-cfw="tab" data-cfw-tab-target="#tab3">Tab 3</button></li>
<li class="nav-item"><button type="button" class="nav-link" data-cfw="tab" data-cfw-tab-target="#tab4" disabled>Tab 4</button></li>
</ul>
<div class="tab-content">
<div class="tab-pane" id="tab1">...</div>
<div class="tab-pane" id="tab2">...</div>
<div class="tab-pane" id="tab3">...</div>
<div class="tab-pane" id="tab4">...</div>
</div>

Pills

The tab widget also works with pill style navigation.

Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Curabitur pulvinar ligula ac sapien auctor viverra. Aliquam elit tortor, consequat at ultrices sit amet, vehicula eu leo. In fermentum lacus purus, ac dictum orci placerat ut. Integer magna lacus, adipiscing sed justo ut, sollicitudin rhoncus libero. Pellentesque accumsan pretium sem eu euismod? Nunc id facilisis sem? Quisque quis laoreet mi.

Phasellus at nisl et arcu tincidunt sagittis et nec nunc. Fusce ultrices venenatis felis, in faucibus mauris egestas nec. Etiam malesuada dictum nisi, at pulvinar orci. Aenean venenatis metus in pharetra aliquam. Mauris ac odio tortor! Maecenas eget orci in ipsum ullamcorper malesuada. Nunc interdum lobortis velit sed accumsan.

Praesent laoreet augue sed mauris vulputate, ut commodo justo malesuada. Pellentesque adipiscing; lorem vel convallis dignissim, leo est condimentum sapien, nec viverra dui risus at metus! Phasellus tellus magna, hendrerit eget tempor quis, fringilla id sem.

Duis pharetra suscipit felis, id congue purus tempus sed. Nunc porttitor nec arcu at interdum. Nulla placerat odio luctus malesuada dapibus. Suspendisse et auctor metus. Suspendisse fringilla commodo cursus. Suspendisse sodales vitae enim ut commodo. Nunc ut nibh quis tellus varius fermentum at et nibh. Nulla nisl leo, hendrerit ut rutrum faucibus, ullamcorper ut lectus. Donec tristique justo justo, nec imperdiet leo porttitor non. Donec vehicula purus dapibus hendrerit ornare.

<ul class="nav nav-pills">
<li class="nav-item"><button type="button" class="nav-link" data-cfw="tab" data-cfw-tab-target="#pill1">Pill 1</button></li>
<li class="nav-item"><button type="button" class="nav-link active" data-cfw="tab" data-cfw-tab-target="#pill2">Pill 2</button></li>
<li class="nav-item"><button type="button" class="nav-link" data-cfw="tab" data-cfw-tab-target="#pill3">Pill 3</button></li>
<li class="nav-item"><button type="button" class="nav-link" data-cfw="tab" data-cfw-tab-target="#pill4" disabled>Pill 4</button></li>
</ul>
<div class="tab-content">
<div class="tab-pane" id="pill1">...</div>
<div class="tab-pane" id="pill2">...</div>
<div class="tab-pane" id="pill3">...</div>
<div class="tab-pane" id="pill4">...</div>
</div>

And with vertical pills.

Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Curabitur pulvinar ligula ac sapien auctor viverra. Aliquam elit tortor, consequat at ultrices sit amet, vehicula eu leo. In fermentum lacus purus, ac dictum orci placerat ut. Integer magna lacus, adipiscing sed justo ut, sollicitudin rhoncus libero. Pellentesque accumsan pretium sem eu euismod? Nunc id facilisis sem? Quisque quis laoreet mi.

Phasellus at nisl et arcu tincidunt sagittis et nec nunc. Fusce ultrices venenatis felis, in faucibus mauris egestas nec. Etiam malesuada dictum nisi, at pulvinar orci. Aenean venenatis metus in pharetra aliquam. Mauris ac odio tortor! Maecenas eget orci in ipsum ullamcorper malesuada. Nunc interdum lobortis velit sed accumsan.

Praesent laoreet augue sed mauris vulputate, ut commodo justo malesuada. Pellentesque adipiscing; lorem vel convallis dignissim, leo est condimentum sapien, nec viverra dui risus at metus! Phasellus tellus magna, hendrerit eget tempor quis, fringilla id sem.

Duis pharetra suscipit felis, id congue purus tempus sed. Nunc porttitor nec arcu at interdum. Nulla placerat odio luctus malesuada dapibus. Suspendisse et auctor metus. Suspendisse fringilla commodo cursus. Suspendisse sodales vitae enim ut commodo. Nunc ut nibh quis tellus varius fermentum at et nibh. Nulla nisl leo, hendrerit ut rutrum faucibus, ullamcorper ut lectus. Donec tristique justo justo, nec imperdiet leo porttitor non. Donec vehicula purus dapibus hendrerit ornare.

<div class="d-flex align-items-start">
<ul class="nav nav-pills me-1">
<li class="nav-item"><button type="button" class="nav-link" data-cfw="tab" data-cfw-tab-target="#pillV1">Vertical Pill 1</button></li>
<li class="nav-item"><button type="button" class="nav-link active" data-cfw="tab" data-cfw-tab-target="#pillV2">Vertical Pill 2</button></li>
<li class="nav-item"><button type="button" class="nav-link" data-cfw="tab" data-cfw-tab-target="#pillV3">Vertical Pill 3</button></li>
<li class="nav-item"><button type="button" class="nav-link" data-cfw="tab" data-cfw-tab-target="#pillV4" disabled>Vertical Pill 4</button></li>
</ul>
<div class="tab-content">
<div class="tab-pane" id="pillV1">...</div>
<div class="tab-pane" id="pillV2">...</div>
<div class="tab-pane" id="pillV3">...</div>
<div class="tab-pane" id="pillV4">...</div>
</div>
</div>

List

The tab widget even works with the .list component.

Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Curabitur pulvinar ligula ac sapien auctor viverra. Aliquam elit tortor, consequat at ultrices sit amet, vehicula eu leo. In fermentum lacus purus, ac dictum orci placerat ut. Integer magna lacus, adipiscing sed justo ut, sollicitudin rhoncus libero. Pellentesque accumsan pretium sem eu euismod? Nunc id facilisis sem? Quisque quis laoreet mi.

Phasellus at nisl et arcu tincidunt sagittis et nec nunc. Fusce ultrices venenatis felis, in faucibus mauris egestas nec. Etiam malesuada dictum nisi, at pulvinar orci. Aenean venenatis metus in pharetra aliquam. Mauris ac odio tortor! Maecenas eget orci in ipsum ullamcorper malesuada. Nunc interdum lobortis velit sed accumsan.

Praesent laoreet augue sed mauris vulputate, ut commodo justo malesuada. Pellentesque adipiscing; lorem vel convallis dignissim, leo est condimentum sapien, nec viverra dui risus at metus! Phasellus tellus magna, hendrerit eget tempor quis, fringilla id sem.

Duis pharetra suscipit felis, id congue purus tempus sed. Nunc porttitor nec arcu at interdum. Nulla placerat odio luctus malesuada dapibus. Suspendisse et auctor metus. Suspendisse fringilla commodo cursus. Suspendisse sodales vitae enim ut commodo. Nunc ut nibh quis tellus varius fermentum at et nibh. Nulla nisl leo, hendrerit ut rutrum faucibus, ullamcorper ut lectus. Donec tristique justo justo, nec imperdiet leo porttitor non. Donec vehicula purus dapibus hendrerit ornare.

<div class="row">
<div class="col-md-4">
<nav>
<div class="list list-spaced list-ruled">
<button type="button" class="list-item list-item-action" data-cfw="tab" data-cfw-tab-target="#list1">List Item 1</button>
<button type="button" class="list-item list-item-action active" data-cfw="tab" data-cfw-tab-target="#list2">List Item 2</button>
<button type="button" class="list-item list-item-action" data-cfw="tab" data-cfw-tab-target="#list3">List Item 3</button>
<button type="button" class="list-item list-item-action" data-cfw="tab" data-cfw-tab-target="#list4" disabled>List Item 4</button>
</div>
</nav>
</div>
<div class="col-md-8">
<div class="tab-content">
<div class="tab-pane" id="list1">...</div>
<div class="tab-pane" id="list2">...</div>
<div class="tab-pane" id="list3">...</div>
<div class="tab-pane" id="list4">...</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>

Button Group

Control tab panels using a button group.

Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Curabitur pulvinar ligula ac sapien auctor viverra. Aliquam elit tortor, consequat at ultrices sit amet, vehicula eu leo. In fermentum lacus purus, ac dictum orci placerat ut. Integer magna lacus, adipiscing sed justo ut, sollicitudin rhoncus libero. Pellentesque accumsan pretium sem eu euismod? Nunc id facilisis sem? Quisque quis laoreet mi.

Phasellus at nisl et arcu tincidunt sagittis et nec nunc. Fusce ultrices venenatis felis, in faucibus mauris egestas nec. Etiam malesuada dictum nisi, at pulvinar orci. Aenean venenatis metus in pharetra aliquam. Mauris ac odio tortor! Maecenas eget orci in ipsum ullamcorper malesuada. Nunc interdum lobortis velit sed accumsan.

Praesent laoreet augue sed mauris vulputate, ut commodo justo malesuada. Pellentesque adipiscing; lorem vel convallis dignissim, leo est condimentum sapien, nec viverra dui risus at metus! Phasellus tellus magna, hendrerit eget tempor quis, fringilla id sem.

Duis pharetra suscipit felis, id congue purus tempus sed. Nunc porttitor nec arcu at interdum. Nulla placerat odio luctus malesuada dapibus. Suspendisse et auctor metus. Suspendisse fringilla commodo cursus. Suspendisse sodales vitae enim ut commodo. Nunc ut nibh quis tellus varius fermentum at et nibh. Nulla nisl leo, hendrerit ut rutrum faucibus, ullamcorper ut lectus. Donec tristique justo justo, nec imperdiet leo porttitor non. Donec vehicula purus dapibus hendrerit ornare.

<div class="btn-group mb-0_5">
<button type="button" class="btn" data-cfw="tab" data-cfw-tab-target="#btngroup1">Button 1</button>
<button type="button" class="btn active" data-cfw="tab" data-cfw-tab-target="#btngroup2">Button 2</button>
<button type="button" class="btn" data-cfw="tab" data-cfw-tab-target="#btngroup3" disabled>Button 3</button>
<button type="button" class="btn" data-cfw="tab" data-cfw-tab-target="#btngroup4">Button 4</button>
</div>
<div class="tab-content">
<div class="tab-pane" id="btngroup1">...</div>
<div class="tab-pane" id="btngroup2">...</div>
<div class="tab-pane" id="btngroup3">...</div>
<div class="tab-pane" id="btngroup4">...</div>
</div>

Customized

Here is a tab example using a customized layout, an .is-tablist wrapping container, and some Font Awesome icons.

Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Curabitur pulvinar ligula ac sapien auctor viverra. Aliquam elit tortor, consequat at ultrices sit amet, vehicula eu leo. In fermentum lacus purus, ac dictum orci placerat ut. Integer magna lacus, adipiscing sed justo ut, sollicitudin rhoncus libero. Pellentesque accumsan pretium sem eu euismod? Nunc id facilisis sem? Quisque quis laoreet mi.

Phasellus at nisl et arcu tincidunt sagittis et nec nunc. Fusce ultrices venenatis felis, in faucibus mauris egestas nec. Etiam malesuada dictum nisi, at pulvinar orci. Aenean venenatis metus in pharetra aliquam. Mauris ac odio tortor! Maecenas eget orci in ipsum ullamcorper malesuada. Nunc interdum lobortis velit sed accumsan.

Praesent laoreet augue sed mauris vulputate, ut commodo justo malesuada. Pellentesque adipiscing; lorem vel convallis dignissim, leo est condimentum sapien, nec viverra dui risus at metus! Phasellus tellus magna, hendrerit eget tempor quis, fringilla id sem.

Anchors

For reference, this is a 'historical' example, using anchors, as shown in earlier iterations of Figuration. As previously mentioned, we recommend using <button> elements for the tabs, as seen in the examples above. Regardless, this alternative may be helpful for some situations.

Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Curabitur pulvinar ligula ac sapien auctor viverra. Aliquam elit tortor, consequat at ultrices sit amet, vehicula eu leo. In fermentum lacus purus, ac dictum orci placerat ut. Integer magna lacus, adipiscing sed justo ut, sollicitudin rhoncus libero. Pellentesque accumsan pretium sem eu euismod? Nunc id facilisis sem? Quisque quis laoreet mi.

Phasellus at nisl et arcu tincidunt sagittis et nec nunc. Fusce ultrices venenatis felis, in faucibus mauris egestas nec. Etiam malesuada dictum nisi, at pulvinar orci. Aenean venenatis metus in pharetra aliquam. Mauris ac odio tortor! Maecenas eget orci in ipsum ullamcorper malesuada. Nunc interdum lobortis velit sed accumsan.

Praesent laoreet augue sed mauris vulputate, ut commodo justo malesuada. Pellentesque adipiscing; lorem vel convallis dignissim, leo est condimentum sapien, nec viverra dui risus at metus! Phasellus tellus magna, hendrerit eget tempor quis, fringilla id sem.

Duis pharetra suscipit felis, id congue purus tempus sed. Nunc porttitor nec arcu at interdum. Nulla placerat odio luctus malesuada dapibus. Suspendisse et auctor metus. Suspendisse fringilla commodo cursus. Suspendisse sodales vitae enim ut commodo. Nunc ut nibh quis tellus varius fermentum at et nibh. Nulla nisl leo, hendrerit ut rutrum faucibus, ullamcorper ut lectus. Donec tristique justo justo, nec imperdiet leo porttitor non. Donec vehicula purus dapibus hendrerit ornare.

<ul class="nav nav-tabs">
<li class="nav-item"><a href="#tabOld1" class="nav-link" data-cfw="tab">Tab 1</a></li>
<li class="nav-item"><a href="#tabOld2" class="nav-link active" data-cfw="tab">Tab 2</a></li>
<li class="nav-item"><a href="#tabOld3" class="nav-link" data-cfw="tab">Tab 3</a></li>
<li class="nav-item"><a href="#tabOld4" class="nav-link disabled" data-cfw="tab" tabindex="-1" aria-disabled="true">Tab 4</a></li>
</ul>
<div class="tab-content">
<div class="tab-pane" id="tabOld1">...</div>
<div class="tab-pane" id="tabOld2">...</div>
<div class="tab-pane" id="tabOld3">...</div>
<div class="tab-pane" id="tabOld4">...</div>
</div>

Usage

Tabs need to be activated individually, and require the use of a ul, ol, or nav as an ancestor item of all tab triggers, especially if they are to be grouped together.

Via Data Attributes

Add data-cfw="tab" to each tab element. The target tab pane can be specified either by the data attribue data-cfw-tab-target="#tabPane0" or from the <a href="#tabPane0">, where the target pane has an id="tabPane0".

To set a default active tab, add the class .active to the trigger item.

<!-- Nav tabs -->
<ul class="nav nav-tabs">
<li class="nav-item"><a href="#home" class="nav-link active" data-cfw="tab">Home</a></li>
<li class="nav-item"><a href="#profile" class="nav-link" data-cfw="tab">Profile</a></li>
<li class="nav-item"><button type="button" class="nav-link" data-cfw="tab" data-cfw-tab-target="#messages">Messages</button></li>
<li class="nav-item"><button type="button" class="nav-link" data-cfw="tab" data-cfw-tab-target="#settings">Settings</button></li>
</ul>

<!-- Tab panes -->
<div class="tab-content">
<div class="tab-pane" id="home">...</div>
<div class="tab-pane" id="profile">...</div>
<div class="tab-pane" id="messages">...</div>
<div class="tab-pane" id="settings">...</div>
</div>

Via JavaScript

You can activate individual tabs in several ways:

$('#myTab button[data-cfw-tab-target="#profile"]').CFW_Tab('show');  // Select tab by data attribute
$('#myTab button:first').CFW_Tab('show'); // Select first tab
$('#myTab button:last').CFW_Tab('show'); // Select last tab
$('#myTab button:nth-child(3)').CFW_Tab('show'); // Select third tab

Options

Options can be passed via data attributes or JavaScript. For data attributes, append the option name to data-cfw-tab, as in data-cfw-tab-animate="false".

Name Type Default Description
animate boolean true If the tab pane target should fade in and out.
$('#myTab button').CFW_Tab({
animate: false
});

Methods

Methods calls should be made on the toggle/trigger element.

Method Name Description
show Shows the tab-pane for a given tab, and hides all sibling tab-pane items.
dispose Will disable the listen events for the given tab, but leave it otherwise unchanged.
$('#myTabControl').CFW_Tab('show');

Events

Event callbacks happen on the toggle/trigger element.

When showing a new tab, the events fire in the following order:

  • beforeHide.cfw.tab (on the current active tab)
  • beforeShow.cfw.tab (on the to-be-shown tab)
  • afterHide.cfw.tab (on the previous active tab, the same one as for the beforeHide.cfw.tab event)
  • afterShow.cfw.tab (on the newly-active just-shown tab, the same one as for the beforeShow.cfw.tab event)
Event Type Description
init.cfw.tab This event fires after the tab item is initialized.
beforeShow.cfw.tab This event fires on tab show, but before the new tab has been shown. Use event.target and event.relatedTarget to target the active tab and the previous active tab (if available) respectively.
afterShow.cfw.tab This event fires on tab show after a tab has been shown. Use event.target and event.relatedTarget to target the active tab and the previous active tab (if available) respectively.
beforeHide.cfw.tab This event fires when a new tab is to be shown (and thus the previous active tab is to be hidden). Use event.target and event.relatedTarget to target the current active tab and the new soon-to-be-active tab, respectively.
afterHide.cfw.tab This event fires after a new tab is shown (and thus the previous active tab is hidden). Use event.target and event.relatedTarget to target the previous active tab and the new active tab, respectively.
$('button[data-cfw="tab"]').on('afterShow.cfw.tab', function(event) {
event.target // newly activated tab
event.relatedTarget // previous active tab
});

Accessibility

Keyboard Navigation

tab
When the tab list if recieving focus, the active tab element becomes focused. When the tab list has the focus, moves the focus to the next focusable item on the page.
/
Moves focus to the next tab and activates it, displaying the related tabpanel content.
/
Moves focus to the previous tab and activates it, displaying the related tabpanel content.

ARIA and Role Attributes

Dynamic tabbed interfaces, as described in the ARIA Authoring Practices Guide tabs pattern, require role="tablist", role="tab", role="tabpanel", and additional aria- attributes in order to convey their structure, functionality and current state to users of assistive technologies (such as screen readers).

All of these requirements are automatically added by the Tab widget, and will update automatically as the user interacts with the tabbed interface.

The aria-current attribute is not necessary on dynamic tabbed interfaces since our JavaScript handles the selected state by adding aria-selected="true" on the active tab.

Using a Nav Element

If you are using <nav>, the role="tablist" will not be automatically added to it, as this would override the <nav>'s native role as a navigation landmark. Instead, switch to an alternative element (such as <div>) and wrap the <nav> around that. Refer to the tab widget using a list example for a better look.