Convert Link List To Icon Mode On Overflow

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Convert Link List to Icon Mode on Overflow

Hey guys! Have you ever encountered a situation where your link list component just doesn't fit on the screen, forcing users to scroll horizontally? It's not the best user experience, right? This article dives into a solution to automatically convert a link list to an icons-only mode when horizontal scrolling becomes necessary. This approach ensures that more items fit within the available space, improving both accessibility and visual clarity. Let's get started!

The Motivation Behind Icon-Only Mode

In many applications, especially in API references or documentation sites, link lists can become quite extensive. These lists often contain numerous links, and if displayed with both icons and text labels in a horizontal layout, they can easily overflow the available space. This overflow creates a major usability issue, as users have to scroll horizontally – a gesture that isn't always intuitive, especially on desktop interfaces. The overflow might not even be immediately obvious, leading to a frustrating experience where users might miss important links.

The main motivation here is to provide a better user experience. By automatically detecting when the content overflows and switching to an icon-only mode, we can display more links within the visible area. This not only makes the interface cleaner but also enhances accessibility by making all links readily discoverable. Think about it – a compact, icon-driven list is much easier to scan and interact with than a long, scrolling row of text links. So, the key is to intelligently adapt the link list's presentation based on the available space, ensuring a seamless and user-friendly experience across various screen sizes and devices. We want to make sure our users can easily find what they're looking for without having to wrestle with horizontal scrolling.

Understanding the Current Behavior

Currently, the link list component displays links with both icons and text labels arranged horizontally. This works fine when there are only a few links or when the screen is wide enough. However, the problem arises when the number of links increases or the viewport becomes narrower, such as on mobile devices or resized browser windows. In these scenarios, the link list extends beyond the visible container, resulting in horizontal overflow. This means users have to scroll horizontally to see all the links, which, let's be honest, isn't the most intuitive or enjoyable experience.

To illustrate this, imagine a scenario where you have a list of links in the API reference section of a website. If you add multiple links or simply resize the browser window to a smaller width, you'll notice that the link list goes beyond the container's boundaries. The component doesn't adapt to the available space; instead, it continues to display all links with their full text labels, even when there's not enough room. This leads to a suboptimal user experience where some content is hidden off-screen, and users have to scroll sideways to access it. This is far from ideal, especially when we aim for a clean and accessible design. The current behavior lacks responsiveness, and it's essential to address this limitation to provide a more user-friendly interface. We want our components to be smart and adapt to different situations, not just blindly display content that might be cut off.

Steps to Reproduce the Issue:

  1. Go to an API reference page with a link list component (like the license information section).
  2. Add multiple links to the list or shrink your browser window.
  3. See how the link list stretches past the visible container.
  4. Notice that you need to scroll horizontally to see all the links.
  5. Observe that the links keep their full text labels even when there's not enough space.

Expected Behavior: Intelligent Adaptation

The ideal behavior for the link list component is to intelligently detect when its content is about to cause horizontal scrolling and automatically switch to an icon-only display mode. This means that instead of showing both the icon and the text label for each link, the component would only display the icon. This approach allows significantly more items to fit within the available space without the need for scrolling. It's like a smart adjustment that ensures all links are visible and accessible, regardless of the screen size or the number of links.

This dynamic adaptation should be responsive to various factors, including changes in content (e.g., adding or removing links), viewport size (e.g., resizing the browser window), and DOM mutations (e.g., when elements are added or removed from the list). The component should continuously monitor these factors and adjust its display mode accordingly. Think of it as a self-adjusting mechanism that always aims to present the link list in the most efficient and user-friendly way. By implementing this behavior, we ensure that our interface remains clean, accessible, and easy to navigate, no matter the circumstances. This makes for a much smoother experience for our users, and that's what we're really after, right?

Acceptance Criteria:

  • [ ] The component can tell when scrollWidth is bigger than clientWidth and turns on an icon-only mode.
  • [ ] This detection works when the component first loads, when the window is resized, and when the links change.
  • [ ] Text labels disappear (using CSS) when icon-only mode is on, showing just the icons.
  • [ ] The component cleans up its listeners and observers when it's removed.
  • [ ] Unit tests prove the detection and class application logic work.

Testing the Implementation

Alright, so we've talked about what we want to achieve, but how do we make sure it actually works? Testing is crucial to ensure that our component behaves as expected in various scenarios. Here's a breakdown of the steps you can take to thoroughly test the implementation.

First, you'll want to mount the LinkList component with enough link items to cause overflow. This simulates a real-world scenario where the list is too long to fit on the screen. Then, you need to verify that when the container's scrollWidth (the total width of the content) exceeds its clientWidth (the visible width of the container), the icons-only class is correctly applied. This class is what triggers the switch to icon-only mode, so it's essential to make sure it's being added at the right time. Next, resize the browser window and confirm that the component recalculates and updates the display mode accordingly. This ensures that the component is responsive to changes in screen size, a key aspect of a good user experience.

You should also test what happens when you dynamically add or remove child elements. This could happen if the list of links is updated based on user interactions or data changes. Verify that the component responds to these changes and adjusts its display mode accordingly. It's also crucial to check that text labels are indeed hidden when the icons-only class is present. This is a visual confirmation that the CSS is working as intended.

Finally, don't forget about unit tests! These tests should verify the setup of the MutationObserver (which watches for changes in the DOM), the registration of event listeners (for window resize events), and the scrollability detection logic itself. Unit tests provide a safety net and ensure that the core functionality of the component remains intact as you make changes in the future. By following these steps, you can be confident that your LinkList component is robust and provides a smooth user experience in all situations.

Testing Steps:

  1. Mount the LinkList component with enough links to cause overflow.
  2. Check that the icons-only class is applied when scrollWidth exceeds clientWidth.
  3. Resize the browser window and confirm the component updates its display.
  4. Dynamically add or remove links and verify the component responds.
  5. Check that text labels are hidden when the icons-only class is present.
  6. Run unit tests to verify MutationObserver setup, event listener registration, and scrollability detection.
  7. Make sure no memory leaks occur by checking observers and listeners are disconnected on unmount.

Submission

Record your screen using https://cap.so/ (Studio mode). Export as an mp4, and drag and drop into an issue comment below.

Guide to submitting pull requests: https://hackmd.io/@timothy1ee/Hky8kV3hlx