User Interface Reference¶
Accordions¶
CiviCRM uses accordions throughout its UI to minimize the visual weight of the page (hiding less used pieces of content). There are two types of accordions in use in CiviCRM:
- The more commonly used accordion widget which hides content already in the rendered page
- The more advanced widget that uses ajax to render content when the accordion header has been clicked
HTML accordion¶
Since CiviCRM 5.69, the format for a normal accordion widget is:
<details>
<summary>
A title
</summary>
<div class="crm-accordion-body">
A body.
</div>
</details>
This method produces a closed accessible accordion, which can be controlled by mouse, keyboard or screen reader, and doesn't require JQueryUI or other javascript, instead using the HTML <details>
element. Further points:
- Use
<details open>
if you want the accordion body to be open when the page loads. - use
<details class="crm-accordion-light">
to match the transparent background, normal weight appearance seen on, for e.g., the contacts dashboard custom fields. - use
<details class="crm-accordion-bold">
to match the darkened background, light-foreground header, with a bordered main body region appearance, seen on, for e.g. Advanced Search fieldsets.
Before 5.69¶
Before CiviCRM 5.69 CiviCRM used an accordion widget, triggered with the following markup.
<div class="crm-accordion-wrapper collapsed">
<div class="crm-accordion-header">
Accordion Title here
</div>
<div class="crm-accordion-body">
<div class="crm-block crm-form-block crm-form-title-here-form-block">
Accordion Body here
</div>
</div>
</div>
.crm-container .open .crm-accordion-header
- applied whencrm-accordion-body
is visible.crm-container .collapsed .crm-accordion-header
- applied whencrm-accordion-body
is hidden.crm-accordion-header:hover
- css pseudo-class
crmAccordions
function is automatically included in common.js
and does not need to be added to templates that already include that file.
Ajax accordion¶
To make an ajax accordion work automatically (including opening and loading accordions on page load):
{literal}
// Example from templates/CRM/Contribute/Form/Contribution.tpl
// bind first click of accordion header to load crm-accordion-body with snippet
// everything else taken care of by cj().crm-accordions()
CRM.$(function($) {
cj('#adjust-option-type').hide();
cj('.crm-ajax-accordion .crm-accordion-header').one('click', function() {
loadPanes(cj(this).attr('id'));
});
cj('.crm-ajax-accordion:not(.collapsed) .crm-accordion-header').each(function(index) {
loadPanes(cj(this).attr('id'));
});
});
// load panes function calls for snippet based on id of crm-accordion-header
function loadPanes( id ) {
var url = "{/literal}{crmURL p='civicrm/contact/view/contribution' q='snippet=4&formType=' h=0}{literal}" + id;
{/literal}
{if $contributionMode}
url = url + "&mode={$contributionMode}";
{/if}
{if $qfKey}
url = url + "&qfKey={$qfKey}";
{/if}
{literal}
if (! cj('div.'+id).html()) {
var loading = '<img src="{/literal}{$config->resourceBase}i/loading.gif{literal}" alt="{/literal}{ts escape='js'}loading{/ts}{literal}" /> {/literal}{ts escape='js'}Loading{/ts}{literal}...';
cj('div.'+id).html(loading);
cj.ajax({
url : url,
success: function(data) { cj('div.'+id).html(data).trigger('crmLoad'); }
});
}
}
Buttons¶
Buttons initiate an immediate action.
If you need to offer two opposing functions, such as Edit and Save, consider using two separate buttons instead of one dual-purpose button that changes state.
CiviCRM provides a pre-themed button element, to be used for buttons throughout the system. Button elements may contain any of the Font Awesome icons (detailed below) provided by CiviCRM.
A Smarty function {crmButton}
helps automate and standardize button creation.
-
Create a button with an icon:
{crmButton href="#" class="button-name" title="Explanatory text" icon="icon-class-name"}Button Text{/crmButton}
-
Create a button without an icon:
{crmButton href="#" class="button-name" title="Explanatory text" icon=0}Button Text{/crmButton}
Note that text should normally be translated with {ts}
, which is omitted above for clarity.
For example, create an "Edit" button from the Contact View page:
{crmButton title="Edit this item" icon="fa-pencil" class="edit" href="#"}Edit{/crmButton}
Parameters for {crmButton}
The {crmButton}
function's parameters relate to a mix of the URL, the link itself, and the icon.
First, parameters available for {crmURL}
apply to the link that is formed.
Next, the icon
parameter picks the icon.
Finally, any remaining parameters are added as attributes on the <a>
element.
Date-picker¶
crmDatepicker
is a jQuery widget with bindings for AngularJS and Quickform.
Usage:
$('[name=my_field]').crmDatepicker();
With no options passed in this will create a date/time combo field that displays according to locale preferences and saves in ISO format.
Options can be passed as a plain object. In addition to the options accepted by the jQuery UI datepicker widget, the following CiviCRM-specific options are available:
Option | Type | Description |
---|---|---|
allowClear |
bool | provide a button to clear the contents. This defaults to true unless the field has the class or attribute "required" |
date |
string|bool | date display format (e.g. "m/d/y") or true to use the locale default, or false for no date entry. Default: true . |
time |
number|bool | time display format (12 or 24) or true to use the locale default, or false for no time entry. Default: true . |
jQuery example of a date-only field in a custom display format:
$('[name=my_field]').crmDatepicker({time: false, date: 'dd-mm-yy'});
Angular example using the same options with data model binding:
<input crm-ui-datepicker="{time: false, date: 'dd-mm-yy'}" ng-model="myobj.datefield"/>
From a php class extending CRM_Core_Form
:
// Use default settings
$this->add('datepicker', 'field_name', ts('Field Label'));
// Make it required, customize datepicker and remove time field
$this->add(
'datepicker',
'field_2',
ts('Field 2'),
array('class' => 'some-css-class'),
TRUE,
array('time' => FALSE, 'date' => 'mm-dd-yy', 'minDate' => '2000-01-01')
);
Help text (pop-up)¶
To add help text to a form field or other element that needs explanation, first add the text that will appear in the pop-up to templatename.hlp
which corresponds to templatename.tpl
, in the same folder. The hlp file should contain:
{htxt id="id-field_name"}
{ts}Your help text goes here.{/ts}
{/htxt}
Then, in the tpl file, add {help id="id-field_name"}
and the question mark icon will appear for your pop-up. If you need to refer to a help text in another file, just use {help id="id-field_name" file="path within the templates folder"}
.
By default, the title of the pop-up and the hover text will use the field's title from the schema. If you want to specify the title instead, add the following to your hlp file, just above the help text above:
{htxt id="id-field_name-title"}
{ts}Your Title{/ts}
{/htxt}
Icons¶
The primary goal of using icons should be to help the user absorb and process information more efficiently. Icons can be used throughout the site whenever it would useful to give users a quick visual cue.
CiviCRM's primary icon system is Font Awesome, an
open-source icon font. Font Awesome version 4.7 is shipped with CiviCRM
and any of the Font Awesome icons
can be included with an element with the classes crm-i
and the
fa-...
class corresponding to the icon.
For example, to insert a bullhorn icon, use the following:
<div><i class="crm-i fa-bullhorn" aria-hidden="true"></i> Create new announcement</div>
See the Screen reader text section below for including text necessary to convey information that icons otherwise indicate visually. Not all icons need screen reader text, but an icon on its own might be visually efficient but require verbal explanation for visually-impaired users.
Why crm-i
?
Many websites use Font Awesome, and a site's implementation of the fa
class might differ from CiviCRM's Font Awesome implementation. The version might be different, or other styling might be associated with the class.
To avoid this, CiviCRM uses the crm-i
class alongside the fa-...
class for the specific icon.
Icon helper functions¶
The construction of icons with text can be repetitive and prone to mistakes or minor inconsistencies. To help with this, a few helper functions are included.
CRM_Core_Page::crmIcon()¶
Language: PHP
Usage:
// The Font Awesome icon class to use
$icon = 'fa-birthday-cake';
// Text to appear in the `title` (when hovering) and for screen readers
$text = ts('This contact is celebrating a birthday');
// Whether to display the icon at all (optional)
$condition = birthdayIsToday($contact['birth_date']);
$cake = CRM_Core_Page::crmIcon($icon, $text, $condition);
The $condition parameter is optional. It's a useful tool in the context of a loop where the icon displays an attribute on only some rows. For example, the same code can be used on the "Default?" column of results but only show a check mark when an item is the default.
{icon}¶
Language: Smarty
Usage:
{icon icon="fa-birthday-cake" condition=$row.is_birthday}{ts}This contact is celebrating a birthday{/ts}{/icon}
This is a wrapper around CRM_Core_Page::crmIcon()
and the above example will produce identical results to the PHP example.
CRM.utils.formatIcon¶
Language: Javascript
Usage:
var cake = CRM.utils.formatIcon('fa-birthday-cake', ts('This contact is celebrating a birthday'), row.isBirthday);
This is the same as the two above functions, but for Javascript.
{copyIcon}¶
Language: Smarty
Usage:
{copyIcon name=$field.name title=$field.title}
This is a special-purpose helper for batch edit screens where you can click the copy icon to copy the value from the first row down through an entire column.
{privacyFlag}¶
Language: Smarty
Usage:
{privacyFlag field=do_not_phone condition=$row.do_not_phone}
This is a special-purpose helper to flag records for a communication type that the contact prefers not to receive. Similarly to others, the condition parameter allows the code to be identical for each row, only displaying an icon if the condition is true.
Icon meaning and consistency¶
it's helpful to use icons consistently–to help new users understand the purpose of an option and to help experienced users navigate quickly. Here are some brief descriptions of the ways that various icons are used:
Class | Meaning within CiviCRM | Compare with |
---|---|---|
.fa-arrows |
move something (anywhere) | .fa-chevron-left and .fa-chevron-right to advance through a series |
.fa-ban |
indicate something shouldn't be done | .fa-trash to get rid of something.fa-times to cancel what you're doing.fa-exclamation-triangle to indicate something isn't working |
.fa-bars |
open a menu of options | .fa-chevron-right to advance to the next thing.fa-expand to make something full-screen |
.fa-bell-o |
sound alarms | .fa-paper-plane to send an email notification.fa-exclamation-triangle to highlight something dangerous |
.fa-bell-slash-o |
hush alarms | .fa-times to cancel something.fa-user-secret to cloak identity |
.fa-bolt |
execute something forcefully | .fa-floppy-o to save something normally.fa-check to agree to something innocuous.fa-chevron-right to advance to the next step.fa-trash to delete something.fa-undo to revert to something |
.fa-check |
complete something | .fa-times to close out without doing anything.fa-chevron-right to advance to the next step.fa-flag-checkered to complete something major.fa-rocket to agree to start something big.fa-bolt to execute something bold |
.fa-chevron-right |
advance to the next thing | .fa-check to complete something.fa-rocket to start an epic journey |
.fa-chevron-left |
go back | .fa-times to cancel the process.fa-undo to revert what was done |
.fa-clipboard |
paste something, or file onto a case | |
.fa-clock-o |
schedule something | .fa-history to roll back the clock.fa-calendar to display dates.fa-birthday-cake to schedule a celebration |
.fa-compress |
make a UI element smaller, or merge two things together | |
.fa-envelope |
do something about email other than actually sending it (use judiciously when within CiviMail, where everything is about email) | .fa-paper-plane to actually send an email.fa-pencil to edit a value |
.fa-exclamation-triangle |
provide a warning | .fa-info-circle to give information.fa-lightbulb-o to highlight a tip or suggestion.fa-ban to prohibit something |
.fa-expand |
make a UI element bigger | |
.fa-flag-checkered |
complete a multi-step action | .fa-trophy to award a prize.fa-check to finish something quick |
.fa-floppy-o |
save without advancing | .fa-check to save and complete.fa-pencil to start editing a value |
.fa-info-circle |
highlight information | .fa-lightbulb-o to highlight a tip or suggestion.fa-exclamation-triangle to highlight a danger |
.fa-lightbulb-o |
an idea to consider | .fa-bolt to execute something bold.fa-info-circle to provide normative information.fa-exclamation-triangle to highlight a danger |
.fa-list-alt |
display the details of something | .fa-television to preview something.fa-expand and .fa-compress to make something full-screen or a window |
.fa-paper-plane |
send something | .fa-envelope to do something else about email.fa-check , .fa-chevron-right , .fa-bolt , .fa-rocket or others if you are doing an action that does not send a message immediately.fa-fax to send something on curly paper |
.fa-pencil |
edit a value | .fa-wrench to edit configuration.fa-floppy-o to save a value |
.fa-plus-circle |
add a new item | if you have several of these side-by-side, try to provide more illustrative icons for what you're adding.fa-bolt to force a new thing |
.fa-print |
print something | |
.fa-random |
swap places | |
.fa-rocket |
embark upon an adventure | .fa-chevron-right to advance to something less exciting and/or fraught with danger.fa-check to agree to something that is already a done deal.fa-flag-checkered to finish a long process.fa-space-shuttle if you need to access your payload with the Canada Arm |
.fa-search |
search for things | .fa-list-alt to display details.fa-search-plus to zoom in |
.fa-television |
preview something | .fa-search to search for things.fa-list-alt to view the details of something.fa-times to close the edit dialog and see the thing itself |
.fa-times |
close something without saving anything, or remove something that hasn't yet been saved | .fa-trash to delete something that has been saved already.fa-check to complete something (that has just been saved or that is to be saved upon clicking the icon).fa-undo to roll something back.fa-chevron-left to return to the previous step.fa-ban to indicate something shouldn't be done |
.fa-trash |
delete something that's already been saved | .fa-times to cancel something that hasn't been saved yet.fa-undo to roll back a bigger process |
.fa-trophy |
award something a prize | .fa-check to confirm something |
.fa-undo |
undo (or revert) things | .fa-chevron-left to move backwards in a process (revert things in accounting).fa-trash to delete something.fa-times to remove something (that hasn't yet been saved) or to exit without saving |
.fa-wrench |
modify options | .fa-pencil to edit values.fa-bolt to do something drastic |
Special effects¶
Font Awesome includes a number of icon features, including spinners,
orientation options, and stacking. Just replace the fa
class in the
examples
with crm-i
.
Older icon system¶
Deprecated icons
Do not use these icons! You should use Font Awesome instead and replace any use of sprites/image icons. Prior to 4.7, icons were included in CiviCRM using the jQuery UI icon set as well as custom-developed icons. Those use sprites, which limit the size and color options for icons.
To use an existing icon simply find the one you want from the list below
and use the following code (in this example we are using the
delete-icon
):
<div class="icon delete-icon"></div>
Tip
CiviCRM uses image sprites (more info) for its two icon sets.
The following CRM-specific icons are available:
Individual-icon
Group-icon
Household-icon
Individual-subtype-icon
Household-subtype-icon
Organization-subtype-icon
Organization-icon
Activity-icon
Case-icon
Grant-icon
Contribution-icon
Pledge-icon
Membership-icon
Participant-icon
Note-icon
Relationship-icon
The following non CRM-specific icons are available:
Icon | Replacement |
---|---|
edit-icon |
fa-edit |
delete-icon |
fa-trash |
dashboard-icon |
fa-th |
user-record-icon |
fa-id-card |
inform-icon |
fa-info-circle |
tip-icon |
fa-lightbulb-o |
Non CRM-specific icons can be altered to use one of 4 possible colors:
Class | Resulting color |
---|---|
light-icon |
#888888 |
dark-icon |
#222222 |
red-icon |
#cd0a0a |
blue-icon |
#2e83ff |
The default icon color is light-icon
. To change the color,
simply add the color class to the icon <div>
. In the example below the
delete icon will be red:
<div class="icon red-icon delete-icon"></div>
Non CRM-specific icons used inside of a button will change to "dark-icons" when you hover over the button (with the exception of the delete icon, which turns red)
In-Place Field Editing¶
This is implemented using:
- The AJAX API
- The Jeditable plugin for jQuery
Jeditable EOL
The Jeditable plugin is outdated and unmaintained. A suitable replacement will need to be found.
Wrapper (Entity) Properties¶
Property | Default if Omitted | Possible Values | As Markup | As Data |
---|---|---|---|---|
Declaration | required | Wrapper must have class .crm-entity |
class="crm-entity" |
- |
Entity Name | required | Any API entity | id="contact-123" |
data-entity="contact" |
Entity ID | required | Numeric id of existing entity or "new" to add an entity | id="contact-123" |
data-id="123" |
Default Action | "setvalue" | Any api action | - | data-action="create" |
Item (Field) Properties¶
Property | Default if Omitted | Possible Values | As Markup | As Data |
---|---|---|---|---|
Declaration | required | Item must have class .crm-editable |
class="crm-editable" |
- |
Field Name | required | Any field for this entity | class="crmf-field_name" |
data-field="field_name" |
Action | (entity default) | Any api action (overrides default set at entity level) | - | data-action="update" |
Widget Type | text | text, textarea, select, boolean | - | data-type="textarea" |
Empty Option | - | A string to label the "null" option if the field is of type select and the user should be allowed to choose nothing. | data-empty-option="{ts}- none -{/ts}" |
|
Tooltip | "Click to edit" | Any text | data-tooltip="{ts}Help text{/ts}" |
|
Placeholder | (standard edit icon) | Any markup | data-placeholder="<span>Click to edit</span>" |
|
Select Options | (automatic) | JSON-encoded options (Note: this is rarely needed as option lists are automatically fetched from the api by crmEditable) | ||
Refresh | false | Boolean | data-refresh="true" |
|
Params | JSON-encoded parameters to add to the api call when saving updates | data-params='{"key":"value"}' |
Use With Checkboxes¶
If a field is marked-up as <input type="checkbox">
then the
"widget type" property will be ignored and the checkbox will save via
ajax whenever the user clicks it.
Example Markup¶
<table>
<tr class="crm-entity" id="contact-123">
<!-- textfield (default type) -->
<td class="crm-editable crmf-first_name">Fred</td>
<!-- select list with empty option -->
<!-- (note: options will be fetched automatically by the api) -->
<td class="crm-editable crmf-prefix_id"
data-type="select"
data-empty-option="{ts}- none -{/ts}">Mr.</td>
<!-- yes/no select -->
<td class="crm-editable crmf-is_deceased" data-type="boolean">
No
</td>
</tr>
</table>
Notifications and Confirmations¶
Popup Notifications¶
Popup notifications are the main way of alerting a message to the user in CiviCRM.
Javascript¶
$.crmError
opens an alert as well as changing the form element to be in
an error state. The alert will be cleared automatically when the input
is changed.
$('#form_element').crmError(ts('Wrong input'));
CRM.alert
opens a CiviCRM-themed alert.
CRM.alert(message, title, type, options);
See below for the details of the type and options parameters.
Note
CRM.alert()
is generally preferred to javascript's built-in alert()
function to maintain CiviCRM's consistent UI.
PHP¶
CRM_Core_Session::setStatus($message, $title, $type, $options);
Message Types¶
The "type" parameter affects the css class of the notification. Although it accepts any value, the 4 options supported by CiviCRM's css icons are:
- alert (default)
- success
- info
- error
Additional Options¶
The optional $options
parameter is passed as an array (for PHP) or object (for JavaScript) with one or both of the following elements:
- unique: (default: true) Check if this message was already set before adding
- expires: how long to display this message before fadeout (in ms) set to 0 for no expiration defaults to 10 seconds for most messages, 5 if it has a title but no body, or 0 for errors or messages containing links
Confirmations¶
To open a dialog to display a message and give the user 1 or more choices:
CRM.confirm(options)
.on('crmConfirm:yes', function() {
// Do something
})
.on('crmConfirm:no', function() {
// Don't do something
});
The options object takes any params accepted by jQuery UI dialog (e.g. 'title') plus a few others:
- message: defaults to "Are you sure you want to continue?
- url: load content from the server (overrides 'message' param)
- options: associative list of buttons keyed by the name of the
event they will trigger. Defaults to
{no: "Cancel", yes: "Continue"}
. You could add another button e.g.{maybe: ts('Not sure yet')}
and when clicked it would trigger a crmConfirm:maybe event. Note: in your event handler you can callevent.preventDefault()
to stop the dialog from closing.
Note
CRM.confirm()
is generally preferred to javascript's built-in window.confirm()
function to maintain CiviCRM's consistent UI.
Also, unlike window.confirm()
, CRM.confirm
is non-blocking and relies on callbacks rather than interrupting script execution.
Unobtrusive Notifications¶
These small messages tell the user the status of an api call, form submission, or other asynchronous operation without getting in the way.
Basic Async Usage
CRM.status(messages, request);
- Messages is an object containing start, success, and error keys. Each message can be a string, function returning a string, or null to suppress output.
- Message defaults are {start: "Saving...", success: "Saved", error: (no message, displays an alert warning the user that their information was not saved)}
- Request is a jQuery deferred object. If you don't pass one in it will be created for you and returned
Simple Non-Async Usage
CRM.status(message, type);
- For simple usage without async operations you can pass in a string as the first param. 2nd param is optional string 'error' if this is not a success msg.
Chaining With CRM.api3
CRM.api3(entity, action, params, messages);
- Unfortunately jQuery deferred objects are not extendable so we can't chain CRM.status to an api call. Instead CRM.api3 provides an optional 4th param messages which will be passed into CRM.status. Pass true instead of an object to accept the default messages (defaults are set based on action, e.g. "Saving" for create or "Loading" for get).
Static Messages¶
To display a static alert box in the document:
From Smarty
{capture assign=infoMessage}{ts}This is just a yellow box with a message.{/ts}{/capture}
{include file="CRM/common/info.tpl" infoType="no-popup"}
From PHP
CRM_Core_Session::setStatus(ts(This is just a yellow box with a message.), '', 'no-popup');
Screen reader text¶
A well-designed interface will be immediately apparent visually without too many written instructions, but users accessing the site with a screen reader will not have the benefit of visual elements. It's often useful to provide text that is hidden visually but will be picked up by screen readers.
Don't rely on titles
The title
attribute on elements is not enough. You can't count on screen readers picking that up, as a title
isn't designed to be immediately visible in a browser anyway.
In fact, icons should generally be given the attribute aria-hidden="true"
in order to hide the icon from screen readers.
A class sr-only
is included to provide text that will be picked up by a screen reader but won't appear visually. For the simplest example, you might state the same thing that an icon conveys visually:
<i class="crm-i fa-heart" aria-hidden="true"></i><span class="sr-only">This contact is a favorite</span>
You don't need to explain every icon: many icons exist to highlight text that already explains enough. However, there are many places where the icon itself tells the story, and those need screen reader text.
There is no limit on the size and scale of screen reader text. If you have a substantial bit of media that conveys information visually, you could have a whole section of replacement text for screen readers. This allows more advanced content than what an alt
attribute would provide.
<img src="gaul-diagram.png"/>
<div class="sr-only">
All Gaul is divided into three parts:
<ul>
<li>one of which the <em>Belgae</em> inhabit</li>
<li>the <em>Aquitani</em> another</li>
<li>those who in their own language are called <em>Celts</em>, in ours <em>Gauls</em>, the third</li>
</ul>
</div>
Section elements¶
This element is to be used in the case that you have a number of elements that can be broken down into small groups of information. A good example of its use is in the contribution page template.
Here each logical grouping of related form elements are wrapped by a "section" div:
<div class="section amount_other-section">
<div class="label">
<label for="amount_other">Other Amount</label>
</div>
<div class="content">
$
<input
type="text"
class="form-text"
id="amount_other"
name="amount_other"
onfocus="useAmountOther();"
maxlength="10"
size="10"/>
</div>
<div class="clear"/>
</div>
The abstraction of this for elements with a label is as follows:
<div class="section unique_section_name-section">
<div class="label">
<label>Section Label</label>
</div>
<div class="content">
Section Content
</div>
<div class="clear"/>
</div>
You can generate the above by using the following .tpl
syntax:
<div class="section {$form.element_name.name}-section">
<div class="label">{$form.element_name.label}</div>
<div class="content">{$form.element_name.html}</div>
<div class="clear"></div>
</div>
The abstraction of this for elements without a label is as follows (this will keep the content in line with content from other section's that are using labels):
<div class="section unique_section_name-section">
<div class="content">Section Content</div>
<div class="clear"/>
</div>
The abstraction of this for elements without a label is as follows (this allow the content to take up the space normally reserved for labels):
<div class="section unique_section_name-section nolabel-section">
<div class="content">Section Content</div>
<div class="clear"/>
</div>