Overview
Use SidePanel for focused workflows or inspection that benefit from retaining visual context from the underlying workspace.
Edit project details
Close and reopen the panel to inspect the contextual overlay behavior.
Anatomy
SidePanel combines a named header, dismissal and header actions, scrollable content, persistent footer, and placement edge.
Maya Chen
StatusActive
- 1Header
Names the task or inspected object and adds concise context.
- 2Header actions
Contains dismissal and optional contextual controls.
- 3Scrollable body
Holds the primary form, details, or supporting workflow.
- 4Footer
Keeps completion and cancellation actions persistently available.
- 5Placement edge
Anchors the panel at the logical start or end of its context.
When to use
Use SidePanel when people need focused detail or editing while preserving awareness of the source workspace.
Recommended
- Edit contextual details
Use for record editing, assignment, filters, settings, and supporting workflows.
- Inspect without navigating away
Keep a table, board, or dashboard visible behind the task.
- Provide persistent inspection
Use inline mode for metadata or tools that remain beside the main workspace.
When not to use
Prefer other surfaces when the task needs full attention, little content, or simple confirmation.
Avoid
- Do not use for critical confirmation
Use Dialog for short decisions that must interrupt the workflow.
- Do not compress complex pages
Navigate to a full page when content requires broad layout or several sections.
- Do not use as primary navigation
Use Navbar or Sidebar for persistent destinations.
Variants
Mode, placement, and width adapt SidePanel to transient tasks and persistent enterprise inspectors.
Overlay
Creates a modal layer with backdrop, scroll lock, and focus containment.
Inline
Renders a persistent region within the application layout.
Start or end
Uses logical placement for left-to-right and right-to-left layouts.
Widths
Small, medium, and large balance context with task space.
States
SidePanel communicates visibility, progress, dismissal policy, and content overflow while preserving its structural regions.
| State | Trigger | Visual response | Interaction |
|---|---|---|---|
| Closed | Panel is inactive | Panel and backdrop absent | Trigger remains available |
| Open overlay | Contextual task starts | Backdrop and edge panel | Focus is trapped |
| Open inline | Inspector is part of layout | Contained side region | Normal page focus order |
| Loading | Content or save is updating | Header progress indicator | Context remains visible |
| Scrollable | Body exceeds available height | Header and footer stay fixed | Only body scrolls |
| Non-dismissible | Workflow requires explicit completion | No close action | Backdrop and Escape do not close |
Behavior
Overlay mode owns focus containment, page scroll lock, dismissal, and return focus; inline mode participates in the normal layout.
Initial focus
Moves to a supplied target, the first control, or the panel container.
Focus trap
Tab and Shift+Tab wrap through overlay controls.
Focus return
Closing restores focus to the supplied trigger or previously active element.
Scroll ownership
Overlay locks the page while its body manages internal overflow.
Accessibility
Overlay SidePanel behaves as a named modal dialog; inline SidePanel is a named region in the page focus order.
| Key | Action |
|---|---|
| Tab | Moves forward through panel controls and wraps in overlay mode. |
| ShiftTab | Moves backward and wraps from the first control. |
| Esc | Closes a dismissible overlay when enabled. |
| EnterSpace | Activates focused native controls. |
- Use a concise title that identifies the task or object.
- Link supporting description to the panel.
- Move focus into modal overlays and trap it there.
- Return focus to the opening trigger after dismissal.
- Give close and icon-only actions accessible labels.
- Keep the main body independently scrollable without hiding actions.
Content guidelines
Panel content should stay contextual, focused, and short enough to complete without becoming a page inside a page.
Name the task
Use a verb-object title for editing workflows.
Edit migration project
Preserve context
Use the description to identify the affected object.
Migration program
Use explicit actions
Name the outcome in the footer.
Save changes
Keep dismissal familiar
Use Cancel when changes can be discarded.
Cancel
Examples
Inline mode supports persistent inspectors that do not need a backdrop, focus trap, or page scroll lock.
Contextual editing overlay
The preview models a compact project editing workflow.
Props / API
SidePanel extends div attributes and composes application-owned content into header, scrollable body, and footer regions.
Props