Menus

Drop-down menus let users click an icon, text field, or other component, and then select from a list of options on a temporary surface. This guide describes how to create both basic menus and more complex menus with dividers and icons.

A dropdown menu with two options displayed. An icon with three vertical dots indicates that clicking it opens the menu.
Figure 1. A basic drop-down menu with two items listed.

API surface

Use DropdownMenu, DropdownMenuItem, and the IconButton components to implement a custom drop-down menu. The DropdownMenu and DropdownMenuItem components are used to display the menu items, while the IconButton is the trigger to display or hide the drop-down menu.

The key parameters for the DropdownMenu component include the following:

  • expanded: Indicates whether the menu is visible.
  • onDismissRequest: Used to handle menu dismissal.
  • content: The composable content of the menu, typically containing DropdownMenuItem composables.

The key parameters for DropdownMenuItem include the following:

  • text: Defines the content displayed in the menu item.
  • onClick: Callback to handle interaction with the item in the menu.

Create a basic drop-down menu

The following snippet demonstrates a minimal DropdownMenu implementation:

@Composable
fun MinimalDropdownMenu() {
    var expanded by remember { mutableStateOf(false) }
    Box(
        modifier = Modifier
            .padding(16.dp)
    ) {
        IconButton(onClick = { expanded = !expanded }) {
            Icon(Icons.Default.MoreVert, contentDescription = "More options")
        }
        DropdownMenu(
            expanded = expanded,
            onDismissRequest = { expanded = false }
        ) {
            DropdownMenuItem(
                text = { Text("Option 1") },
                onClick = { /* Do something... */ }
            )
            DropdownMenuItem(
                text = { Text("Option 2") },
                onClick = { /* Do something... */ }
            )
        }
    }
}
Menus.kt

Key points about the code

  • Defines a basic DropdownMenu containing two menu items.
  • The expanded parameter controls the menu's visibility as expanded or collapsed.
  • The onDismissRequest parameter defines a callback that executes when the user closes the menu.
  • The DropdownMenuItem composable represents selectable items in the drop-down menu.
  • An IconButton triggers the expansion and collapse of the menu.

Result

A dropdown menu triggered by an icon with three vertical dots. The menu displays two selectable options, Option 1 and Option 2.
Figure 2. A minimal drop-down menu with only two options.

Create a longer drop-down menu

DropdownMenu is scrollable by default if all the menu items can't be displayed at once. The following snippet creates a longer, scrollable drop-down menu:

@Composable
fun LongBasicDropdownMenu() {
    var expanded by remember { mutableStateOf(false) }
    // Placeholder list of 100 strings for demonstration
    val menuItemData = List(100) { "Option ${it + 1}" }

    Box(
        modifier = Modifier
            .padding(16.dp)
    ) {
        IconButton(onClick = { expanded = !expanded }) {
            Icon(Icons.Default.MoreVert, contentDescription = "More options")
        }
        DropdownMenu(
            expanded = expanded,
            onDismissRequest = { expanded = false }
        ) {
            menuItemData.forEach { option ->
                DropdownMenuItem(
                    text = { Text(option) },
                    onClick = { /* Do something... */ }
                )
            }
        }
    }
}
Menus.kt

Key points about the code

  • The DropdownMenu is scrollable when the total height of its content exceeds the available space. This code creates a scrollable DropdownMenu that displays 100 placeholder items.
  • The forEach loop dynamically generates DropdownMenuItem composables. The items are not lazily created, which means that all 100 drop-down items are created and exist in the composition.
  • The IconButton triggers the expansion and collapse of the DropdownMenu when clicked.
  • The onClick lambda within each DropdownMenuItem lets you define the action performed when the user selects a menu item.

Result

The preceding code snippet produces the following scrollable menu:

A dropdown menu with many options, requiring scrolling to view all items.
Figure 3. A long, scrollable drop-down menu.

Create a longer drop-down menu with dividers

The following snippet shows a more advanced implementation of a drop-down menu. In this snippet, leading and trailing icons are added to menu items, and dividers separate groups of menu items.

@Composable
fun DropdownMenuWithDetails() {
    var expanded by remember { mutableStateOf(false) }

    Box(
        modifier = Modifier
            .fillMaxWidth()
            .padding(16.dp)
    ) {
        IconButton(onClick = { expanded = !expanded }) {
            Icon(Icons.Default.MoreVert, contentDescription = "More options")
        }
        DropdownMenu(
            expanded = expanded,
            onDismissRequest = { expanded = false }
        ) {
            // First section
            DropdownMenuItem(
                text = { Text("Profile") },
                leadingIcon = { Icon(Icons.Outlined.Person, contentDescription = null) },
                onClick = { /* Do something... */ }
            )
            DropdownMenuItem(
                text = { Text("Settings") },
                leadingIcon = { Icon(Icons.Outlined.Settings, contentDescription = null) },
                onClick = { /* Do something... */ }
            )

            HorizontalDivider()

            // Second section
            DropdownMenuItem(
                text = { Text("Send Feedback") },
                leadingIcon = { Icon(Icons.Outlined.Feedback, contentDescription = null) },
                trailingIcon = { Icon(Icons.AutoMirrored.Outlined.Send, contentDescription = null) },
                onClick = { /* Do something... */ }
            )

            HorizontalDivider()

            // Third section
            DropdownMenuItem(
                text = { Text("About") },
                leadingIcon = { Icon(Icons.Outlined.Info, contentDescription = null) },
                onClick = { /* Do something... */ }
            )
            DropdownMenuItem(
                text = { Text("Help") },
                leadingIcon = { Icon(Icons.AutoMirrored.Outlined.Help, contentDescription = null) },
                trailingIcon = { Icon(Icons.AutoMirrored.Outlined.OpenInNew, contentDescription = null) },
                onClick = { /* Do something... */ }
            )
        }
    }
}
Menus.kt

This code defines a DropdownMenu within a Box.

Key points about the code

  • The leadingIcon and trailingIcon parameters add icons to the start and end of a DropdownMenuItem.
  • An IconButton triggers the menu's expansion.
  • The DropdownMenu contains several DropdownMenuItem composables, each representing a selectable action.
  • HorizontalDivider composables insert a horizontal line to separate groups of menu items.

Result

The preceding snippet produces a drop-down menu with icons and dividers:

A dropdown menu with sections for Profile, Settings, Send Feedback, About, and Help. Each option has an icon, such as a person icon for Profile.
Figure 4. A drop-down menu divided into sections with leading and trailing icons.

Additional resources