Concisely Displaying Multiple Tags with Mat-Chip-List: The Ellipsis Solution
Problem: You're using Angular Material's mat-chip-list to display a list of tags or labels, but when there are too many, they overflow the container. This can clutter the layout and hinder user experience.
Solution: Introducing the elegant solution of ellipsis to neatly manage the overflow. This article will guide you through implementing ellipsis on your mat-chip-list in Angular Material.
Scenario and Original Code
Let's imagine you have a component displaying tags related to a product. Your current HTML might look like this:
<mat-chip-list>
<mat-chip *ngFor="let tag of productTags">
{{ tag }}
</mat-chip>
</mat-chip-list>
This works fine for a few tags, but when productTags becomes extensive, the chips will simply push past the container boundaries.
The Ellipsis Fix: Mastering CSS
To achieve the ellipsis effect, we'll employ a combination of CSS properties:
-
overflow: hidden: This will prevent content from spilling outside the container's defined boundaries. -
text-overflow: ellipsis: This crucial property tells the browser to display an ellipsis (...) whenever text overflows its containing block. -
white-space: nowrap: This prevents words from breaking onto multiple lines, ensuring the entire text is displayed on a single line.
Here's how to integrate these styles into your existing HTML:
<mat-chip-list style="overflow: hidden; white-space: nowrap; text-overflow: ellipsis;">
<mat-chip *ngFor="let tag of productTags">
{{ tag }}
</mat-chip>
</mat-chip-list>
By applying these CSS styles directly to your mat-chip-list, you'll effectively truncate the display when exceeding the container width, while maintaining a clean and informative visual.
Further Considerations
-
Responsive Behavior: For optimal user experience, consider adding media queries to adjust the ellipsis behavior based on different screen sizes. This allows you to display more tags on larger screens while maintaining the ellipsis functionality on smaller displays.
-
User Interaction: In some cases, you might want to allow users to see all tags when they hover over the chip list. You can achieve this by removing the
text-overflowproperty using CSS pseudo-classes:
mat-chip-list:hover {
text-overflow: clip;
}
- Accessibility: While ellipsis provides a visual solution, be mindful of screen readers. Consider providing alternative mechanisms, like a "Show More" button or a modal popup, to reveal the full list of tags for accessibility purposes.
Conclusion
Using ellipsis with Angular Material's mat-chip-list offers a simple yet effective approach to handle overflow. It ensures your UI remains visually appealing and informative, even when dealing with a large number of tags. Remember to prioritize accessibility, and you'll create a user-friendly and robust experience!
