Menus

Menus display a list of choices on temporary surfaces.

Menu hero example

Contents

Design and API Documentation
Using menus
Dropdown menus
Exposed dropdown menus
Theming

Design and API Documentation

Using menus

A menu displays a list of choices on a temporary surface. They appear when users interact with a button, action, or other control.

Before you can use Material menus, you need to add a dependency to the Material Components for Android library. For more information, go to the Getting started page.

A typical menu resource looks like this:

xml

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<menu xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android">
    <item android:id="@+id/option_1"
          android:title="@string/option_1" />
    <item android:id="@+id/option_2"
          android:title="@string/option_2" />
    <item android:id="@+id/option_3"
          android:title="@string/option_3" />
</menu>

A typical exposed dropdown menu looks like this:

xml

<com.google.android.material.textfield.TextInputLayout
    android:id="@+id/menu"
    style="@style/Widget.Material3.TextInputLayout.FilledBox.ExposedDropdownMenu"
    android:layout_width="match_parent"
    android:layout_height="wrap_content"
    android:hint="@string/label">

    <AutoCompleteTextView
        android:layout_width="match_parent"
        android:layout_height="wrap_content"
        android:inputType="none"
    />

</com.google.android.material.textfield.TextInputLayout>

See the dropdown menus and exposed dropdown menus sections for detailed usage information.

Making menus accessible

Menus are readable by most screen readers, such as TalkBack. Text rendered in menus is automatically provided to accessibility services. Additional content labels are usually unnecessary.

Android's exposed dropdown menu component APIs support both label text and helper text, which tell the user what information is requested for a menu. While optional, their use is strongly encouraged. For more information about this component's accessibility, check out the text field's a11y section.

Types

Menus allow users to make a selection from multiple options. They are less prominent and take up less space than selection controls, such as a set of radio buttons.

There are two types of menus: 1. Dropdown menus (overflow, context, popup, and list popup window menus), 2. Exposed dropdown menus.

Composite image of example dropdown and exposed dropdown menu types

Dropdown menus display a list of options, triggered by an icon, button, or action. Their placement varies based on the element that opens them.

API and source code:

Menu
- Class definition
MenuInflater
- Class definition
ContextMenu
- Class definition
PopupMenu
- Class definition
ListPopupWindow
- Class definition

Overflow menus

The following example shows an overflow menu.

Composite image: purple "Menus" bar, and purple "Menus" bar with white menu
and 3 options

In code:

override fun onCreateOptionsMenu(menu: Menu): Boolean {
    val inflater: MenuInflater = menuInflater
    inflater.inflate(R.menu.overflow_menu, menu)
    return true
}

In res/menu/overflow_menu.xml:

xml

<menu xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android">
    <item android:id="@+id/option_1"
          android:title="@string/option_1" />
    <item android:id="@+id/option_2"
          android:title="@string/option_2" />
    <item android:id="@+id/option_3"
          android:title="@string/option_3" />
</menu>

Context menus

The following example shows a context menu that appears when a TextView is pressed for a designated amount of time.

White menu window with two options floating over a white background with grey
text

In code:

override fun onCreate(savedInstanceState: Bundle?) {
    ...
    val contextMenuTextView = view.findViewById<TextView>(R.id.context_menu_tv)
    // Register context menu for TextView
    registerForContextMenu(contextMenuTextView)
}

override fun onCreateContextMenu(menu: ContextMenu, v: View, menuInfo: ContextMenu.ContextMenuInfo?) {
    val contextMenuTextView = v as TextView
    val context = context
    // Add menu items via menu.add
    menu.add(R.string.option_1)
        .setOnMenuItemClickListener { item: MenuItem? ->
            // Respond to item click.
      }
    menu.add(R.string.option_2)
        .setOnMenuItemClickListener { item: MenuItem? ->
            // Respond to item click.
      }
}

override fun onContextMenuClosed(menu: Menu) {
    // Respond to context menu being closed.
}

In the layout:

xml

<TextView
    android:id="@+id/context_menu_tv"
    android:layout_width="match_parent"
    android:layout_height="wrap_content"
    android:padding="16dp"
    android:text="@string/menu_context_menu_description"/>

Alternatively, you can inflate a context menu in onCreateContextMenu (as with the overflow menu):

override fun onCreateContextMenu(menu: ContextMenu, v: View, menuInfo: ContextMenu.ContextMenuInfo?) {
  super.onCreateContextMenu(menu, v, menuInfo)
  val inflater: MenuInflater = menuInflater
  inflater.inflate(R.menu.context_menu, menu)
}

// Then, to handle clicks:
override fun onContextItemSelected(item: MenuItem): Boolean {
  val info = item.menuInfo as AdapterView.AdapterContextMenuInfo
  return when (item.itemId) {
    R.id.option_1 -> {
      // Respond to context menu item 1 click.
      true
    }
    R.id.option_2 -> {
      // Respond to context menu item 2 click.
      true
    }
    else -> super.onContextItemSelected(item)
  }
}

with a res/menu/context_menu.xml:

xml

<menu xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android">
    <item android:id="@+id/option_1"
          android:title="@string/option_1" />
    <item android:id="@+id/option_2"
          android:title="@string/option_2" />
</menu>

The following example shows a popup menu that displays when a button is clicked.

White menu container with 3 options open below a purple "Show menu" button

In code:

override fun onCreate(savedInstanceState: Bundle?) {
    ...
    val button = view.findViewById<Button>(R.id.menu_button)
    button.setOnClickListener { v: View ->
        showMenu(v, R.menu.popup_menu)
    }
}

private fun showMenu(v: View, @MenuRes menuRes: Int) {
    val popup = PopupMenu(context!!, v)
    popup.menuInflater.inflate(menuRes, popup.menu)

    popup.setOnMenuItemClickListener { menuItem: MenuItem ->
        // Respond to menu item click.
    }
    popup.setOnDismissListener {
        // Respond to popup being dismissed.
    }
    // Show the popup menu.
    popup.show()
}

In the layout:

xml

<Button
    android:id="@+id/menu_button"
    android:layout_width="match_parent"
    android:layout_height="wrap_content"
    android:text="@string/show_menu"/>

In res/menu/popup_menu.xml:

xml

<menu xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android">
    <item android:id="@+id/option_1"
          android:title="@string/option_1" />
    <item android:id="@+id/option_2"
          android:title="@string/option_2" />
    <item android:id="@+id/option_3"
          android:title="@string/option_3" />
</menu>

Currently, there is no public API to add icons to popup menus. The following workaround is for API 21+, and uses library-only APIs, and is not guaranteed to work in future versions.

The following example shows a popup menu with icons.

White menu window with 3 options open below a purple "Show menu" button. Each
option has an icon.

In code:

//In the showMenu function from the previous example:
private fun showMenu(v: View, @MenuRes menuRes: Int) {
    val popup = PopupMenu(context!!, v)
    popup.menuInflater.inflate(menuRes, popup.menu)
    ...
    if (popup.menu is MenuBuilder) {
        val menuBuilder = popup.menu as MenuBuilder
        menuBuilder.setOptionalIconsVisible(true)
        for (item in menuBuilder.visibleItems) {
            val iconMarginPx =
                TypedValue.applyDimension(
                    TypedValue.COMPLEX_UNIT_DIP, ICON_MARGIN.toFloat(), resources.displayMetrics)
                .toInt()
            if (item.icon != null) {
              if (Build.VERSION.SDK_INT > Build.VERSION_CODES.LOLLIPOP) {
                  item.icon = InsetDrawable(item.icon, iconMarginPx, 0, iconMarginPx,0)
              } else {
                  item.icon =
                      object : InsetDrawable(item.icon, iconMarginPx, 0, iconMarginPx, 0) {
                          override fun getIntrinsicWidth(): Int {
                              return intrinsicHeight + iconMarginPx + iconMarginPx
                      }
                }
              }
          }
      }
    }
    ...
    popup.show()
}

In res/menu/popup_menu.xml:

xml

<menu xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android">
    <item android:id="@+id/option_1"
          android:icon="@drawable/ic_3d_rotation_24dp"
          android:title="@string/option_1" />
    <item android:id="@+id/option_2"
          android:icon="@drawable/ic_accelerator_24dp"
          android:title="@string/option_2" />
    <item android:id="@+id/option_3"
          android:icon="@drawable/ic_favorite_24dp"
          android:title="@string/option_3" />
</menu>

The following example shows a list popup window menu that appears when a button is clicked.

White menu container with 3 options below a purple "Show menu" button

In code:

val listPopupWindowButton = view.findViewById<Button>(R.id.list_popup_button)
val listPopupWindow = ListPopupWindow(context!!, null, R.attr.listPopupWindowStyle)

// Set button as the list popup's anchor
listPopupWindow.anchorView = listPopupWindowButton

// Set list popup's content
val items = listOf("Item 1", "Item 2", "Item 3", "Item 4")
val adapter = ArrayAdapter(requireContext(), R.layout.list_popup_window_item, items)
listPopupWindow.setAdapter(adapter)

// Set list popup's item click listener
listPopupWindow.setOnItemClickListener { parent: AdapterView<*>?, view: View?, position: Int, id: Long ->
  // Respond to list popup window item click.

  // Dismiss popup.
  listPopupWindow.dismiss()
}

// Show list popup window on button click.
listPopupWindowButton.setOnClickListener { v: View? -> listPopupWindow.show() }

In the layout:

xml

<Button
    android:id="@+id/list_popup_button"
    android:layout_width="match_parent"
    android:layout_height="wrap_content"
    android:text="@string/show_menu"/>

In the item layout res/layout/list_popup_window_item.xml:

xml

<TextView
    xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android"
    android:layout_width="match_parent"
    android:layout_height="wrap_content"
    android:padding="16dp"
    android:ellipsize="end"
    android:maxLines="1"
    android:textAppearance="?attr/textAppearanceBodyLarge"
/>

Anatomy and key properties

The following are menu anatomy diagrams showing all possible elements:

Menus anatomy diagrams

List item
Leading icon
Trailing icon
Trailing text
Container
Divider

Container attributes

Element	Attribute	Related method(s)	Default value
Background	`android:popupMenuBackground`	N/A	`?attr/popupMenuBackground`
Color	N/A	N/A	`?attr/colorSurfaceContainer`
Elevation	`android:popupElevation`	N/A	`3dp`

Text attributes

Element	Attribute	Related method(s)	Default value
Text label	`android:title`	`getMenu().add` `getMenu().addSubMenu` `getMenu().getItem`	N/A
Typography	`?attr/textAppearanceLargePopupMenu` `?attr/textAppearanceSmallPopupMenu`	N/A	`?attr/textAppearanceBodyLarge`

Styles

Element	Theme attribute	Default value
Popup menus	`?attr/popupMenuStyle`	`@style/Widget.Material3.PopupMenu`
List popup window style	`?attr/listPopupWindowStyle`	`@style/Widget.Material3.PopupMenu.ListPopupWindow`
Context menus	`?android:contextPopupMenuStyle`	`@style/Widget.Material3.PopupMenu.ContextMenu`
Overflow menus	`?attr/actionOverflowMenuStyle`	`@style/Widget.Material3.PopupMenu.Overflow`

See the full list of styles and attrs.

Exposed dropdown menus display the currently selected menu item above a list of options. Some variations can accept user-entered input.

Note: The exposed dropdown menu is implemented through the TextInputLayout. For detailed information on Material text fields and their usage, see the TextInputLayout documentation.

API and source code:

TextInputLayout
- Class definition
- Class source
AutoCompleteTextView
- Class definition
MaterialAutoCompleteTextView
- Class definition
- Class source

Note: MaterialComponentsViewInflater auto-inflates <AutoCompleteTextView> to <com.google.android.material.textfield.MaterialAutoCompleteTextView> when using Theme.Material3.* themes.

The following is an example of a filled exposed dropdown menu:

2 menu states with text field element: 1) has "item 1", 2) has "item 1" and a
4-item menu container.

In the layout:

xml

<com.google.android.material.textfield.TextInputLayout
    android:id="@+id/menu"
    style="@style/Widget.Material3.TextInputLayout.FilledBox.ExposedDropdownMenu"
    android:layout_width="match_parent"
    android:layout_height="wrap_content"
    android:hint="@string/label">

    <AutoCompleteTextView
        android:layout_width="match_parent"
        android:layout_height="wrap_content"
        android:inputType="none"
        app:simpleItems="@array/simple_items"
    />

</com.google.android.material.textfield.TextInputLayout>

The string array specified by app:simpleItems will be used as the default item strings for auto-completion. Or you can also set it programmatically:

val items = arrayOf("Item 1", "Item 2", "Item 3", "Item 4")
(textField.editText as? MaterialAutoCompleteTextView)?.setSimpleItems(items)

Alternatively, to have more control over the auto-completion items rendering, you can also provide a custom item adapter by:

val items = listOf("Item 1", "Item 2", "Item 3", "Item 4")
val adapter = ArrayAdapter(requireContext(), R.layout.list_item, items)
(textField.editText as? AutoCompleteTextView)?.setAdapter(adapter)

And a custom item layout (list_item.xml):

xml

<TextView
    xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android"
    android:layout_width="match_parent"
    android:layout_height="wrap_content"
    android:padding="16dp"
    android:ellipsize="end"
    android:maxLines="1"
    android:textAppearance="?attr/textAppearanceBodyLarge"
/>

To use the exposed dropdown menu with an outlined text field, set the style to @style/Widget.Material3.TextInputLayout.OutlinedBox.ExposedDropdownMenu:

Menu with purple outlined text field element and 4 items. Item 1 selected.

Non editable variation

For a non-editable menu, disable the user input in the AutoCompleteTextView by setting android:inputType="none" on the AutoCompleteTextView.

Setting a default value

In order to have a pre-selected value displayed, you can call setText(CharSequence text, boolean filter) on the AutoCompleteTextView with the filter set to false.

Anatomy and key properties

The exposed dropdown menu is an AutoCompleteTextView within a TextInputLayout. It displays a dropdown menu below a text field.

Exposed dropdown menu anatomy diagram

Text
Container
Label
Selection/Input text
Trailing icon

`TextInputLayout` attributes (container, label, trailing icon)

For all attributes that apply to the TextInputLayout, see the TextInputLayout documentation.

`MaterialAutoCompleteTextView` attributes (input text, dropdown menu)

Element	Attribute	Related method(s)	Default value
Input text	`android:text`	`setText` `getText`	`@null`
Typography	`android:textAppearance`	`setTextAppearance`	`?attr/textAppearanceBodyLarge`
Input accepted	`android:inputType`	`N/A`	framework's default
Input text color	`android:textColor`	`setTextColor` `getTextColors` `getCurrentTextColor`	`?android:textColorPrimary`
Cursor color	N/A (color comes from the theme attr `?attr/colorControlActivated`)	N/A	`?attr/colorPrimary`
Dropdown menu container color	`app:dropDownBackgroundTint`	`setDropDownBackgroundTint` `setDropDownBackgroundTintList` `getDropDownBackgroundTintList`	`colorSurfaceContainer`
Dropdown menu elevation	`android:popupElevation`	`getPopupElevation`	`3dp`
Simple items	`app:simpleItems`	`setSimpleItems`	`null`
Simple item layout	`app:simpleItemLayout`	N/A	`@layout/m3_auto_complete_simple_item`
Selected simple item color	`app:simpleItemSelectedColor`	`setSimpleItemSelectedColor` `getSimpleItemSelectedColor`	`?attr/colorSurfaceContainerHighest`
Selected simple item ripple color	`app:simpleItemSelectedRippleColor`	`setSimpleItemSelectedRippleColor` `getSimpleItemSelectedRippleColor`	`@color/m3_simple_item_ripple_color`

Styles

Element	Style
Filled style	`Widget.Material3.TextInputLayout.FilledBox.ExposedDropdownMenu`
Outlined style	`Widget.Material3.TextInputLayout.OutlinedBox.ExposedDropdownMenu`
Filled dense	`Widget.Material3.TextInputLayout.FilledBox.Dense.ExposedDropdownMenu`
Outlined dense	`Widget.Material3.TextInputLayout.OutlinedBox.Dense.ExposedDropdownMenu`

Default style theme attribute: ?attr/textInputStyle

See the full list of styles and attrs.

Theming menus

Menus drawers support Material Theming which can customize color, typography and shape.

Popup, overflow, and list popup window menus support Material Theming which can customize typography.

API and source code:

Menu
- Class definition
MenuInflater
- Class definition
ContextMenu
- Class definition
PopupMenu
- Class definition
ListPopupWindow
- Class definition

The following example shows a menu with Material Theming.

White menu container with brown text showing 3 options

Use default style theme attributes, which affect all menus but do not affect other components:

xml

<style name="Theme.App" parent="Theme.Material3.*">
    ...
    <item name="textAppearanceLargePopupMenu">@style/TextAppearance.App.BodyLarge</item>
    <item name="textAppearanceSmallPopupMenu">@style/TextAppearance.App.BodyLarge</item>
    <item name="popupMenuBackground">@drawable/custom_popup_background</item>
</style>

<style name="TextAppearance.App.BodyLarge" parent="TextAppearance.Material3.BodyLarge">
    <item name="fontFamily">@font/rubik</item>
    <item name="android:fontFamily">@font/rubik</item>
    <item name="android:textColor">@color/shrine_pink_900</item>
</style>

In res/drawable/custom_popup_background:

xml

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<shape xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android">
  <solid android:color="?attr/colorSurface"/>
  <corners
    android:radius="16dp"/>
  <padding
      android:bottom="8dp"
      android:top="8dp"/>
</shape>

Use a custom style instead of overriding ?attr/popupMenuBackground if you want to set a custom background for one type of menu:

xml

<style name="Theme.App" parent="Theme.Material3.*">
    ...
    <item name="popupMenuStyle">@style/Widget.App.PopupMenu</item>
</style>

<style name="Widget.App.PopupMenu" parent="Widget.Material3.PopupMenu">
    <item name="android:popupBackground">@drawable/custom_popupmenu_background</item>
</style>

Exposed dropdown menus support Material Theming which can customize color, typography, and shape.

Note: The exposed dropdown menu is implemented through the TextInputLayout. For detailed information on how Material text fields work, see the TextInputLayout documentation.

API and source code:

TextInputLayout
- Class definition
- Class source
AutoCompleteTextView
- Class definition
MaterialAutoCompleteTextView
- Class definition
- Class source

The following example shows filled and outlined exposed dropdown menu types with Material Theming.

Composite image of "Show menu" button and options: gray button with pink
underline, and white button with pink
outline

Use default style theme attributes, styles and theme overlays which adds themes to all menus but does not affect other components:

xml

<style name="Theme.App" parent="Theme.Material3.*">
    ...
    <item name="textInputStyle">@style/Widget.App.ExposedDropdownMenu</item>
</style>

<style name="Widget.App.ExposedDropdownMenu" parent="Widget.Material3.TextInputLayout.*.ExposedDropdownMenu">
    <item name="materialThemeOverlay">@style/ThemeOverlay.App.ExposedDropdownMenu</item>
    <item name="shapeAppearance">@style/ShapeAppearance.App.SmallComponent</item>
    <item name="hintTextColor">?attr/colorOnSurface</item>
    <item name="endIconTint">?attr/colorOnSurface</item>
</style>

<style name="ThemeOverlay.App.ExposedDropdownMenu" parent="">
    <item name="colorPrimary">@color/shrine_pink_100</item>
    <item name="colorOnSurface">@color/shrine_pink_900</item>
    <item name="colorError">@color/shrine_red</item>
    <item name="textAppearanceBodyLarge">@style/TextAppearance.App.BodyLarge</item>
    <item name="textAppearanceBodySmall">@style/TextAppearance.App.BodySmall</item>
    <item name="autoCompleteTextViewStyle">@style/Widget.Material3.AutoCompleteTextView.*</item>
</style>

<style name="TextAppearance.App.BodyLarge" parent="TextAppearance.Material3.BodyLarge">
    <item name="fontFamily">@font/rubik</item>
    <item name="android:fontFamily">@font/rubik</item>
</style>

<style name="TextAppearance.App.BodySmall" parent="TextAppearance.Material3.BodySmall">
    <item name="fontFamily">@font/rubik</item>
    <item name="android:fontFamily">@font/rubik</item>
</style>

<style name="ShapeAppearance.App.SmallComponent" parent="ShapeAppearance.Material3.SmallComponent">
    <item name="cornerFamily">cut</item>
    <item name="cornerSize">4dp</item>
</style>

or use the style in the layout, which affects only this menu:

xml

<com.google.android.material.textfield.TextInputLayout
    ...
    style="@style/Widget.App.ExposedDropdownMenu">

    ...

</com.google.android.material.textfield.TextInputLayout>

Note: When setting a materialThemeOverlay on a custom TextInputLayout style, set autoCompleteTextViewStyle to either a @style/Widget.Material3.AutoCompleteTextView.* style or to a custom one that inherits from that.
The TextInputLayout.*.ExposedDropdownMenu styles set materialThemeOverlay to override autoCompleteTextViewStyle with the specific AutoCompleteTextView style needed. Therefore, you don't need to specify a style tag on the AutoCompleteTextView.

Edit this page on GitHub

Menus

Design and API Documentation

Using menus

Making menus accessible

Types

Overflow menus

Context menus

Anatomy and key properties

Container attributes

Text attributes

Styles

Non editable variation

Setting a default value

Anatomy and key properties

`TextInputLayout` attributes (container, label, trailing icon)

Styles

Theming menus

Menu theming examples

Implementing menu theming

Menus ​

Design and API Documentation ​

Using menus ​

Making menus accessible ​

Types ​

Dropdown menus ​

Dropdown menu examples ​

Overflow menus ​

Context menus ​

Popup menus ​

Adding icons to popup menus ​

List popup window menus ​

Anatomy and key properties ​

Container attributes ​

Text attributes ​

Styles ​

Exposed dropdown menus ​

Exposed dropdown menu example ​

Non editable variation ​

Setting a default value ​

Anatomy and key properties ​

TextInputLayout attributes (container, label, trailing icon) ​

MaterialAutoCompleteTextView attributes (input text, dropdown menu) ​

Styles ​

Theming menus ​

Menu theming examples ​

Implementing menu theming ​

Exposed dropdown menu theming example ​

Implementing exposed dropdown menu theming ​

Menus

Design and API Documentation

Using menus

Making menus accessible

Types

Dropdown menus

Dropdown menu examples

Overflow menus

Context menus

Popup menus

Adding icons to popup menus

List popup window menus

Anatomy and key properties

Container attributes

Text attributes

Styles

Exposed dropdown menus

Exposed dropdown menu example

Non editable variation

Setting a default value

Anatomy and key properties

`TextInputLayout` attributes (container, label, trailing icon)

`MaterialAutoCompleteTextView` attributes (input text, dropdown menu)

Styles

Theming menus

Menu theming examples

Implementing menu theming

Exposed dropdown menu theming example

Implementing exposed dropdown menu theming