<tab-container> element

A accessible tab container element with keyboard support. Follows the ARIA best practices guide on tabs.

Installation

$ npm install @github/tab-container-element

Usage

import '@github/tab-container-element'

<tab-container>
  <button type="button" id="tab-one" role="tab" aria-selected="true">Tab one</button>
  <button type="button" id="tab-two" role="tab" tabindex="-1">Tab two</button>
  <button type="button" id="tab-three" role="tab" tabindex="-1">Tab three</button>
  <div role="tabpanel" aria-labelledby="tab-one">
    Panel 1
  </div>
  <div role="tabpanel" aria-labelledby="tab-two" hidden>
    Panel 2
  </div>
  <div role="tabpanel" aria-labelledby="tab-three" hidden>
    Panel 3
  </div>
</tab-container>

If none of the tabs have aria-selected=true, then the first tab will be selected automatically. You can also add the default-tab=N attribute to avoid having to set aria-selected=true on the desired tab, where N is the 0-based tab index:

<!-- The _second_ tab will be selected -->
<tab-container default-tab="1">
  <button type="button" id="tab-one" role="tab">Tab one</button>
  <button type="button" id="tab-two" role="tab">Tab two</button>
  <button type="button" id="tab-three" role="tab">Tab three</button>
  <!-- ... -->
</tab-container>

Events

tab-container-change (bubbles, cancelable): fired on <tab-container> before a new tab is selected and visibility is updated. event.tab is the tab that will be focused, event.tabIndex is the 0-based index of the tab and tab.panel is the panel that will be shown if the event isn't cancelled.
tab-container-changed (bubbles): fired on <tab-container> after a new tab is selected and visibility is updated. event.tab is the tab that is now active (and will be focused right after this event), event.tabIndex is the 0-based index of the tab and event.panel is the newly visible tab panel.

Parts

::part(tablist-wrapper) is the wrapper which contains before-tabs, tablist and after-tabs.
::part(tablist) is the container which wraps all tabs. This element appears in ATs as it is role=tablist.
::part(panel) is the container housing the currently active tabpanel.
::part(before-tabs) is the container housing any elements that appear before the first role=tab. This also can be directly slotted with slot=before-tabs. This container lives outside the element with role=tablist to adhere to ARIA guidelines.
::part(after-tabs) is the container housing any elements that appear after the last role=tab. This also can be directly slotted with slot=after-tabs. This container lives outside the element with role=tablist to adhere to ARIA guidelines.
::part(after-panels) is the container housing any elements that appear after the last role=tabpanel. This can be useful if you want to add a visual treatment to the container but have content always appear visually below the active panel.

When tab panel contents are controls

When activated, the whole tab panel will receive focus. This may be undesirable, in the case where the tab panel is itself composed of interactive elements, such as an action list or radio buttons.

In those cases, apply data-tab-container-no-tabstop to the tabpanel element.

<tab-container>
  <button type="button" id="tab-one" role="tab" aria-selected="true">Tab one</button>
  <button type="button" id="tab-two" role="tab" tabindex="-1">Tab two</button>
  <div role="tabpanel" aria-labelledby="tab-one" data-tab-container-no-tabstop>
    <ul role="menu" aria-label="Branches">
      <li tabindex="0">branch-one</li>
      <li tabindex="0">branch-two</li>
    </ul>
  </div>
  <div role="tabpanel" aria-labelledby="tab-two" data-tab-container-no-tabstop hidden>
    <ul role="menu" aria-label="Commits">
      <li tabindex="0">Commit One</li>
      <li tabindex="0">Commit Two</li>
    </ul>
  </div>
</tab-container>

Vertical tabs

If <tab-container> is given the vertical attribute it will apply the aria-orientation=vertical attribute to the tablist. This will present to ATs as a vertical tablist, and you can use the attribute to style the tabs accordingly.

In those cases, apply data-tab-container-no-tabstop to the tabpanel element.

<tab-container vertical>
  <button type="button" id="tab-one" role="tab" aria-selected="true">Tab one</button>
  <button type="button" id="tab-two" role="tab" tabindex="-1">Tab two</button>
  <div role="tabpanel" aria-labelledby="tab-one" data-tab-container-no-tabstop>
    <ul role="menu" aria-label="Branches">
      <li tabindex="0">branch-one</li>
      <li tabindex="0">branch-two</li>
    </ul>
  </div>
  <div role="tabpanel" aria-labelledby="tab-two" data-tab-container-no-tabstop hidden>
    <ul role="menu" aria-label="Commits">
      <li tabindex="0">Commit One</li>
      <li tabindex="0">Commit Two</li>
    </ul>
  </div>
</tab-container>

Unmanaged slots

<tab-container> aims to simplify complex markup away in the ShadowDOM, so that the HTML you end up writing is overall less. However sometimes it can be useful to have full control over the markup. Each of the ::part selectors are also <slot>s, this means you can take any part and slot it, overriding the built-in ShadowDOM.

Unmanaged `tablist`

You are able to provide your own role=tablist and <tab-container> will accommodate. This can be useful if you need extra presentational markup in the tablist. But remember:

You must ensure that all child elements are role=tab or role=presentational.
The element will still slot contents before and after this element, in order to correctly present the tablist.

<tab-container>
  <div role="tablist">
      <my-icon name="tabs" role="presentational"></my-icon>
      <button type="button" role="tab">Tab one</button>
      <button type="button" role="tab">Tab two</button>
  </div>
  <div role="tabpanel"></div>
  <div role="tabpanel"></div>
</tab-container>

Unmanaged `tablist-tab-wrapper`

You are able to slot the tablist-tab-wrapper part. This slot manages the tabs but not the before or after elements. In this way, you can put custom HTML inside the tab list. Bear in mind if you're supplying this element that:

You must also supply a role=tablist as a child.
You must ensure that all child elements are role=tab or role=presentational.
The element will still slot contents before and after this element, in order to correctly present the tablist.

<tab-container>
  <div slot="tablist-tab-wrapper">
    <div role="tablist">
        <button type="button" role="tab">Tab one</button>
        <button type="button" role="tab">Tab two</button>
    </div>
  </div>
  <div role="tabpanel"></div>
  <div role="tabpanel"></div>
</tab-container>

Unmanaged `tablist-wrapper`

If you want to take full control over the entire tab region, including managing the content before and after the tabs, then you can slot the tablist-wrapper element. Bear in mind if you're supplying this element that:

<tab-container> will only manage slotting of role=panel. It won't manage elements before or after the tabs or panels.
You won't be able to also slot the tablist-tab-wrapper. You can chose to omit this element though.
You must also supply a role=tablist as a descendant.
You must ensure that all child elements of the tablist role=tab or role=presentational.
The element will still slot contents before and after this element, in order to correctly present the tablist.

<tab-container>
  <div slot="tablist-wrapper">
    <div role="tablist">
        <button type="button" role="tab">Tab one</button>
        <button type="button" role="tab">Tab two</button>
    </div>
  </div>
  <div role="tabpanel"></div>
  <div role="tabpanel"></div>
</tab-container>

Browser support

Browsers without native custom element support require a polyfill.

Chrome
Firefox
Safari
Microsoft Edge

Development

npm install
npm test

License

Distributed under the MIT license. See LICENSE for details.