Description

Tag inputs allow multiple metadata tags to be added to a piece of content from a pre-defined set. Categorising content with tags can make it easier to find, instigate workflows, or define access permissions.

Common tagsets include department, region, product, and personal information such as email addresses.

Note: Where tags are subsequently being used to filter content, use the Filter Pane.

Types

Type	Usage	Image
Browsable list	Users may not know what the options are, and need to browse the entire list of available tags. Users may not know the exact terminology used for the tag labels. For small-to-medium size tagsets.
Auto-complete	Users know what they are looking for, and do not need to browse the entire list of available tags. Users are likely to know the exact labels for the tags they’re looking for. For large tagsets.

Usage & Behavior

General guidelines

Each tagset should have its own tag input.

Structure

Browsable list

A browsable list tag input consists of:

the tag field, containing:
- applied tag pills, showing the tags already selected.
- a trigger button to open the tag menu, shown to the right of the applied tag pills.
a tag menu, containing:
- a Search field.
- a list of all available tags, each including:
  - a Checkbox and
  - a label.
- a scrollbar, where needed.

Auto-complete

An auto-complete tag input consists of:

the tag field, containing:
- applied tag pills, showing the tags already selected.
- a text insertion point, to the right of any applied tags.
a tag menu, containing:
- a list of up to 20 tags.
- a scrollbar, where needed.
- a View All Tags link after the last tag (optional).

Default State

Where appropriate, tags may be pre-applied by default.

Internal Logic

Search

For both input types, search should follow the logic and behavior of Live Search.

Tag field

The width of each pill will depend on its content, within minimum and maximum limits.
The trigger button should move as tags are applied, always being shown to the right of the last applied tag pill. (Browsable list only).
The tag field may optionally expand as more tags are applied. A limit may be set to the field height.
Where there is no more space for additional pills, a Scrollbar should be added to the field to show additional rows of pills.
Pills should be arranged left-to-right, top to bottom, in the order in which the tags were added.

Tag menu ordering

Browsable list:
- The list of tags should be in a logical order to make them easy to scan, such as alphabetically, numerically, or by frequency of use.
- The tag order should remain the same when a search is applied.
Auto-complete:
- When the tag field is first selected, the tags should be ordered by frequency or recency.
- After search, the results should be ordered by relevance.

States

For the states of the tag menu list items, follow:

Multi-select Checkbox List (Browsable list).
List (Auto-complete).

State	Browsable list tag field	Auto-complete tag field	Applied tag pill
Regular
Hover			On hover over Close icon button:
Active
Disabled
Error			N/A
Warning			N/A
Focused

Interaction

Browsable list

The tag menu will be opened when the user clicks on either:

the trigger button, or
any blank space in the tag field.

Tag menu

The search field will be focused by default when the menu is first opened.

In the search field:
- entering characters filters the tags using Live Search.
- pressing Enter:
  - selects the top tag, and
  - clears the search field, ready for another search. The tag selector remains open.
Within the tag list:
- clicking anywhere on the tag label or checkbox selects and applies the tag. The tag selector remains open.
Clicking outside of the tag menu closes it.

Auto-complete

Tag field

When the tag field is selected:
- the tag menu is opened.
- the most frequently or recently selected tags are shown.
As characters are entered, the tags are filtered using Live Search.
Pressing Enter while focus is on the tag field:
- applies the first tag in the tag menu,
- clears the current search, and
- closes the tag menu.
Where no matching tags are shown, pressing Enter while focus is on the tag field:
- keeps the existing search string, and
- keeps the tag menu open.

Tag menu

Clicking on a tag will:
- apply the focused tag,
- clear the current search,
- close the tag menu, and
- return the focus to the tag field, ready to search again.
Clicking outside of the tag menu closes it. The existing search string should be kept.

Applied tag pills

Tags can be removed by:
- clicking the X button on the right-hand side of a pill.
- clicking on a pill to select it and pressing the Delete key.
- pressing the Delete key when there are no search characters applied (Auto-complete only).
When a pill is removed, the remaining pills will move to the left to close the gap.
Clicking or hovering on a pill label may open a Popover showing further details, where relevant. (Optional).

Validation and Errors

The tag menu should show an empty state when a search has no matching tags.

Best practices

General

Where content is shown in a table, allow multiple items to be tagged at the same time.

Use:

a browsable list for smaller tagsets where the user is unlikely to know which tags are available.
auto-complete for larger tagsets where the user is likely to know the exact label for the tag(s) they’re looking for.

Don’t use:

to apply filters when searching for content → use the Filter Pane instead.
where only one tag can be applied to an item → use a Drop-down Menu instead.

Accessibility Compliance

Unless otherwise specified, see our general compliance information in Fundamentals - Accessibility.

Focus management

Browsable list

When the trigger button is first selected, screen readers should state how many tags are currently applied.

Keyboard	Tag field trigger button	Applied tag pills	~~Tag menu~~ Take from https://kanasoftware.jira.com/wiki/spaces/UserExp/pages/659358568/Drop-down+Menu#Focus-management
			Bits not covered in the drop-down menu page
Tab	From a previous component, moves focus to the trigger button. From the trigger button, navigates to the next component.	Navigates to the next component.	From the search bar, moves focus to the first tag checkbox.
Shift + Tab	Reverse tab	Reverse tab
Space	Selects the trigger button to open the tag menu.	N/A
Enter	Selects the trigger button to open the tag menu.	Removes the pill, de-selecting the tag. Focus moves to the pill or trigger button immediately to its right.
Delete	N/A	Removes the pill, de-selecting the tag. Focus moves to the pill or trigger button immediately to its right.	On the search bar - acts as text input.
Esc	N/A	N/A	Drop-down says “Closes the menu without updating the selection”, but doesn’t cover the search field.
Arrows	Left/Right: moves between the pills and trigger button. Up/Down: single pill row: N/A multiple pill rows: moves between rows.	Left/Right: moves between the pills and trigger button. Up/Down: single pill row: N/A multiple pill rows: moves between rows.

Auto-complete tag field

Keyboard	Description
Tab	From a previous component, moves focus to the first pill in the list. Moves between the pills. After the last pill, moves to the text field. From the text field, navigates to the next component.
Shift + Tab	Reverse tab
Space	On a pill: focuses the pill (for tooltips) On the text area: as text input.
Enter	On a pill: focuses the pill (for tooltips). On the text area: opens the tag menu.
Esc	Removes the pill, de-selecting the tag.
Delete	On a pill: removes the pill, de-selecting the tag. On the text area: as text input. After all text deleted, removes the last added pill.
Arrows	Left/Right: move between the pills and text area.
a-z, A-Z	Automatically moves focus/cursor to right of the last pill and starts to search.

Auto-complete tag menu

Follow https://kanasoftware.jira.com/wiki/spaces/UserExp/pages/1273110308/List#Focus-management

Design

Zeplin link	Screen thumbnail
<<Short Zeplin link. YouUse this >>	<<Screen with 200 width>>

Code

<<a box containing the code - discuss with Femi>>