Examples

Cirrus includes several predefined button styles, each serving its own semantic purpose, with a few extras thrown in for more control. `btn-secondary` is a ghost button with no background color applied.

<button type="button" class="btn btn-primary">Primary</button>
<button type="button" class="btn btn-secondary">Secondary</button>
<button type="button" class="btn btn-tertiary">Tertiary</button>
<button type="button" class="btn btn-alternate">Alternate</button>

<button type="button" class="btn btn-link">Link</button>
Conveying meaning to assistive technologies

Using color to add meaning only provides a visual indication, which will not be conveyed to users of assistive technologies – such as screen readers. Ensure that information denoted by the color is either obvious from the content itself (e.g. the visible text), or is included through alternative means, such as additional text hidden with the .sr-only class.

Icon Buttons

Icons should have a touch point of 30+ x 30+. Preferably 40x40 or higher.

Any button with just an icon, should have an aria-label attribute. This is mandatory.

primary

secondary

tertiary

alternate

Button Link

<div class="d-inline-block pr-4">
  <p><code>primary</code></p>
  <button type="button" class="btn btn-primary btn-icon" aria-label="Save File"><i class="far fa-save"></i></button>
</div>

<div class="d-inline-block pr-4">
  <p><code>secondary</code></p>
  <button type="button" class="btn btn-secondary btn-icon" aria-label="Save File"><i class="far fa-save"></i></button>
</div>

<div class="d-inline-block pr-4">
  <p><code>tertiary</code></p>
  <button type="button" class="btn btn-tertiary btn-icon" aria-label="Save File"><i class="far fa-save"></i></button>
</div>

<div class="d-inline-block pr-4">
  <p><code>alternate</code></p>
  <button type="button" class="btn btn-alternate btn-icon" aria-label="Save File"><i class="far fa-save"></i></button>
</div>


<div class="d-inline-block pr-4">
  <p><code>Button Link</code></p>
  <button type="button" class="btn btn-link btn-icon" aria-label="Save File"><i class="far fa-save"></i></button>
</div>

Text With Icon Buttons

These buttons will keep their text and icon on all screen sizes. You can have left aligned or right aligned buttons using `btn-icon-text-left` and `btn-icon-text-right`.

<button type="button" class="btn btn-primary btn-icon-text-left"><i class="far fa-arrow-left"></i>Previous</button>

<button type="button" class="btn btn-secondary btn-icon-text-left"><i class="far fa-arrow-left"></i>Previous</button>

<button type="button" class="btn btn-tertiary btn-icon-text-left"><i class="far fa-arrow-left"></i>Previous</button>

<button type="button" class="btn btn-alternate btn-icon-text-left"><i class="far fa-arrow-left"></i>Previous</button>


<button type="button" class="btn btn-link btn-icon-text-left"><i class="far fa-arrow-left"></i>Previous</button>
<button type="button" class="btn btn-primary btn-icon-text-right">Continue<i class="far fa-arrow-right"></i></button>

<button type="button" class="btn btn-secondary btn-icon-text-right">Continue<i class="far fa-arrow-right"></i></button>

<button type="button" class="btn btn-tertiary btn-icon-text-right">Continue<i class="far fa-arrow-right"></i></button>

<button type="button" class="btn btn-alternate btn-icon-text-right">Continue<i class="far fa-arrow-right"></i></button>


<button type="button" class="btn btn-link btn-icon-text-right">Continue<i class="far fa-arrow-right"></i></button>

Text + Icon on Desktop, Icon Only on Mobile

In this example, the text will drop out at the specific break point. You can use any of the built in Cirrus breakpoints to accomplish this. You must wrap the text in a span tag for the CSS to work properly.

Scale your screen to see each button drop the text at it's specific breakpoint.

Each of these buttons should have an aria-label attribute. This is mandatory.

<button type="button" class="btn btn-primary btn-icon-text-left btn-icon-text-sm mb-4" aria-label="Chop This Item"><i class="far fa-axe"></i><span>Chop SM</span></button>
<button type="button" class="btn btn-primary btn-icon-text-left btn-icon-text-md mb-4" aria-label="Chop This Item"><i class="far fa-axe"></i><span>Chop MD</span></button>
<button type="button" class="btn btn-primary btn-icon-text-left btn-icon-text-lg mb-4" aria-label="Chop This Item"><i class="far fa-axe"></i><span>Chop LG</span></button>
<button type="button" class="btn btn-primary btn-icon-text-left btn-icon-text-xl mb-4" aria-label="Chop This Item"><i class="far fa-axe"></i><span>Chop XL</span></button>
<button type="button" class="btn btn-primary btn-icon-text-left btn-icon-text-xxl mb-4" aria-label="Chop This Item"><i class="far fa-axe"></i><span>Chop XXL</span></button>
<button type="button" class="btn btn-primary btn-icon-text-right btn-icon-text-sm mb-4" aria-label="Chop This Item"><span>Chop SM</span><i class="far fa-axe"></i></button>
<button type="button" class="btn btn-primary btn-icon-text-right btn-icon-text-md mb-4" aria-label="Chop This Item"><span>Chop MD</span><i class="far fa-axe"></i></button>
<button type="button" class="btn btn-primary btn-icon-text-right btn-icon-text-lg mb-4" aria-label="Chop This Item"><span>Chop LG</span><i class="far fa-axe"></i></button>
<button type="button" class="btn btn-primary btn-icon-text-right btn-icon-text-xl mb-4" aria-label="Chop This Item"><span>Chop XL</span><i class="far fa-axe"></i></button>
<button type="button" class="btn btn-primary btn-icon-text-right btn-icon-text-xxl mb-4" aria-label="Chop This Item"><span>Chop XXL</span><i class="far fa-axe"></i></button>

Processing States

This helpful state shows the user that something is happening, but the button is not a generic "disabled" state. Typically a success message or quick redirect will happen when the action is complete and the following page or content should let the user know the status of their action.

When using a form or showing a user that something is processing, add the `disabled-processing` class to the button with Javascript, along with setting the button to be disabled.

`div` tags are not valid HTML inside of the button tag so make sure to always use span tags.

primary

secondary

tertiary

alternate

Button Link

<div class="d-inline-block pr-3">
  <p><code>primary</code></p>
  <button type="button" class="btn btn-primary disabled-processing" disabled><span class="spinner-border" role="status"><span class="sr-only">Loading...</span></span></button>
</div>

<div class="d-inline-block pr-3">
  <p><code>secondary</code></p>
  <button type="button" class="btn btn-secondary disabled-processing" disabled><span class="spinner-border" role="status"><span class="sr-only">Loading...</span></span></button>
</div>

<div class="d-inline-block pr-3">
  <p><code>tertiary</code></p>
  <button type="button" class="btn btn-tertiary disabled-processing" disabled><span class="spinner-border" role="status"><span class="sr-only">Loading...</span></span></button>
</div>

<div class="d-inline-block pr-3">
  <p><code>alternate</code></p>
  <button type="button" class="btn btn-alternate disabled-processing" disabled><span class="spinner-border" role="status"><span class="sr-only">Loading...</span></span></button>
</div>


<div class="d-inline-block pr-4">
  <p><code>Button Link</code></p>
  <button type="button" class="btn btn-link btn-icon disabled-processing" disabled><span class="spinner-border" role="status"><span class="sr-only">Loading...</span></span></button>
</div>

Example Processing Button

This button will update to say "success" when the processing is completed.

Javascript example

    var exampleProcessBtn = document.querySelector("#testing-example-processing-button button")
    exampleProcessBtn.addEventListener("click", function() {
      // Set the button width to be static so the spinner doesnt cause a layout shift
      var thisWidth = this.offsetWidth + "px";
      this.style.width = thisWidth;

      // Grab the initial text
      var thisText = this.innerHTML;

      // Disable the button to prevent accidental clicks
      this.disabled = true;
      this.classList.add("disabled-processing");

      // Preferably this is set as a global variable
      var loadingIcon = "<span class='spinner-border' role='status'><span class='sr-only'>Loading...</span></span>";
      this.innerHTML = loadingIcon;

      // Just for demo purposes. Resetting the button back to its normal state.
      // You can handle the innerText using a data attribute or other variable.
      setTimeout(function() {
        var thisBtn = document.querySelector("#testing-example-processing-button button");
        thisBtn.innerHTML = thisText;
        thisBtn.style.width = "";
        thisBtn.disabled = false;
        thisBtn.classList.remove("disabled-processing");
      }, 4000);
    })

Buttons on backgrounds

Some buttons have a transparent background and will show the foreground color through them. Make sure to use the appropriate button for these situations.

Example Title

Example Title

Example Title

Example Title

<div class="mb-2 p-4 bg-light-grey">
  <h1 class="h4">Example Title</h1>
  <button type="button" class="btn btn-primary">Primary</button>
</div>

<div class="mb-2 p-4 bg-light-grey">
  <h1 class="h4">Example Title</h1>
  <button type="button" class="btn btn-secondary">Secondary</button>
</div>

<div class="mb-2 p-4 bg-light-grey">
  <h1 class="h4">Example Title</h1>
  <button type="button" class="btn btn-tertiary">Tertiary</button>
</div>

<div class="mb-2 p-4 bg-light-grey">
  <h1 class="h4">Example Title</h1>
  <button type="button" class="btn btn-alternate">Alternate</button>
</div>

Disable text wrapping

If you don't want the button text to wrap, you can add the `.text-nowrap` class to the button. In Sass, you can set `$btn-white-space: nowrap` to disable text wrapping for each button.

Button tags

The `.btn` classes are designed to be used with the `button` element. However, you can also use these classes on `anchor tags` or `input tags` elements (though some browsers may apply a slightly different rendering).

When using button classes on `anchor tags` elements that are used to trigger in-page functionality (like collapsing content), rather than linking to new pages or sections within the current page, these links should be given a `role="button"` to appropriately convey their purpose to assistive technologies such as screen readers.

Link 
<a class="btn btn-primary" href="#" role="button">Link</a>
<button class="btn btn-primary" type="submit">Button</button>
<input class="btn btn-primary" type="button" value="Input">
<input class="btn btn-primary" type="submit" value="Submit">
<input class="btn btn-primary" type="reset" value="Reset">

Sizes

Fancy smaller buttons? Add `.btn-sm` for additional sizes.

<button type="button" class="btn btn-primary btn-sm">Small button</button>
<button type="button" class="btn btn-secondary btn-sm">Small button</button>

Active state

Buttons will appear pressed (with a darker background, darker border, and inset shadow) when active. There's no need to add a class to `button`s as they use a pseudo-class. However, you can still force the same active appearance with `.active` (and include the aria-pressed="true" attribute) should you need to replicate the state programmatically.

This button is sized up to show specifics more clearly.

Primary link Link 
<a href="#" class="btn btn-primary btn-lg active" role="button" aria-pressed="true">Primary link</a>
<a href="#" class="btn btn-secondary btn-lg active" role="button" aria-pressed="true">Link</a>

Disabled state

Make buttons look inactive by adding the `disabled` boolean attribute to any `button tag` element.

<button type="button" class="btn btn-lg btn-primary" disabled>Primary button</button>
<button type="button" class="btn btn-secondary btn-lg" disabled>Button</button>
<button type="button" class="btn btn-tertiary btn-lg" disabled>Button</button>

Disabled buttons using the `anchor` element behave a bit different:

  • `anchors`s don't support the `disabled` attribute, so you must add the `.disabled` class to make it visually appear disabled.
  • Some future-friendly styles are included to disable all `pointer-events` on anchor buttons. In browsers which support that property, you won't see the disabled cursor at all.
  • Disabled buttons should include the `aria-disabled="true"` attribute to indicate the state of the element to assistive technologies.
Primary link Link 
<a href="#" class="btn btn-primary btn-lg disabled" tabindex="-1" role="button" aria-disabled="true">Primary link</a>
<a href="#" class="btn btn-secondary btn-lg disabled" tabindex="-1" role="button" aria-disabled="true">Link</a>
Link functionality caveat

The `.disabled` class uses `pointer-events: none` to try to disable the link functionality of `anchor`s, but that CSS property is not yet standardized. In addition, even in browsers that do support `pointer-events: none`, keyboard navigation remains unaffected, meaning that sighted keyboard users and users of assistive technologies will still be able to activate these links. So to be safe, add a `tabindex="-1"` attribute on these links (to prevent them from receiving keyboard focus) and use custom JavaScript to disable their functionality.

Button plugin

Do more with buttons. Control button states or create groups of buttons for more components like toolbars.

Toggle states

Add `data-toggle="button"` to toggle a button's `active` state. If you're pre-toggling a button, you must manually add the `.active` class and `aria-pressed="true"` to the `button`.

<button type="button" class="btn btn-primary" data-toggle="button" aria-pressed="false">
  Single toggle
</button>

Checkbox and radio buttons

Cirrus's `.button` styles can be applied to other elements, such as `label`s, to provide checkbox or radio style button toggling.

Add `data-toggle="buttons"` to a `.btn-group` containing those modified buttons to enable their toggling behavior via JavaScript and add `.btn-group-toggle` to style the `input`s within your buttons. Note that you can create single input-powered buttons or groups of them.

The checked state for these buttons is only updated via `click` event on the button. If you use another method to update the input—e.g., with `input type="reset"` or by manually applying the input's `checked` property—you'll need to toggle `.active` on the `label` manually.

Note that pre-checked buttons require you to manually add the `.active` class to the input's `label`.

<div class="btn-group-toggle" data-toggle="buttons">
  <label class="btn btn-tertiary active">
    <input type="checkbox" checked> Checked
  </label>
</div>
<div class="btn-group btn-group-toggle" data-toggle="buttons">
  <label class="btn btn-tertiary active">
    <input type="radio" name="options" id="option1" checked> Active
  </label>
  <label class="btn btn-tertiary">
    <input type="radio" name="options" id="option2"> Radio
  </label>
  <label class="btn btn-tertiary">
    <input type="radio" name="options" id="option3"> Radio
  </label>
</div>

Methods

Method Description
$().button('toggle') Toggles push state. Gives the button the appearance that it has been activated.
$().button('dispose') Destroys an element’s button.