DevExtreme Angular - Getting Started with DropDownButton

NOTE
Before you start the tutorial, ensure DevExtreme is installed in your application as described in the Installation section.

The DropDownButton combines the functionality of a button and a drop-down menu. You can replace the menu with a custom drop-down control.

This tutorial describes how to configure a DropDownButton that logs user clicks in the browser console (you can open the console to see the messages):

Refer to the subtopics for details on every configuration step. You can also see the full code below:

jQuery
index.js
index.html
$(function() {
    var actions = [
        { id: 1, text: "My profile", icon: "user" },
        { id: 2, text: "Messages", icon: "email" },
        { id: 3, text: "Contacts", icon: "group" },
        { id: 4, text: "Log out", icon: "runner" }
    ];

    $("#myDropDownButton").dxDropDownButton({
        text: "Sandra Johnson",
        icon: "user",
        items: actions,
        keyExpr: "id",
        onItemClick: function(e) {
            console.log(e.itemData.text + " was clicked");
        },
        splitButton: true,
        onButtonClick: function() {
            console.log("Main button was clicked");
        }
    });
});
<html>
    <head>
        <!-- ... -->
        <script type="text/javascript" src="https://code.jquery.com/jquery-3.5.1.min.js"></script>
        <link rel="stylesheet" href="https://cdn3.devexpress.com/jslib/19.1.16/css/dx.common.css">
        <link rel="stylesheet" href="https://cdn3.devexpress.com/jslib/19.1.16/css/dx.light.css">
        <script type="text/javascript" src="https://cdn3.devexpress.com/jslib/19.1.16/js/dx.all.js"></script>
        <script type="text/javascript" src="index.js"></script>
    </head>
    <body>
        <div id="myDropDownButton"></div>
    </body>
</html>
Angular
app.component.html
app.component.ts
app.module.ts
<dx-drop-down-button
    text="Sandra Johnson"
    icon="user"
    [items]="actions"
    keyExpr="id"
    (onItemClick)="logAction($event)"
    [splitButton]="true"
    (onButtonClick)="logButtonClick()">
</dx-drop-down-button>
import { Component } from '@angular/core';

@Component({
    selector: 'app-root',
    templateUrl: './app.component.html',
    styleUrls: ['./app.component.css']
})
export class AppComponent {
    actions: Array<{id: Number, text: String, icon: String}> = [
        { id: 1, text: "My profile", icon: "user" },
        { id: 2, text: "Messages", icon: "email" },
        { id: 3, text: "Contacts", icon: "group" },
        { id: 4, text: "Log out", icon: "runner" }
    ];

    logAction(e) {
        console.log(e.itemData.text + " was clicked");
    }

    logButtonClick() {
        console.log("Main button was clicked");
    }
}
import { BrowserModule } from '@angular/platform-browser';
import { NgModule } from '@angular/core';
import { AppComponent } from './app.component';

import { DxDropDownButtonModule } from 'devextreme-angular';

@NgModule({
    declarations: [
        AppComponent
    ],
    imports: [
        BrowserModule,
        DxDropDownButtonModule
    ],
    providers: [ ],
    bootstrap: [AppComponent]
})
export class AppModule { }
Vue
App.vue
<template>
    <DxDropDownButton
        text="Sandra Johnson"
        icon="user"
        :items="actions"
        key-expr="id"
        @item-click="logAction"
        :split-button="true"
        @button-click="logButtonClick"
    />
</template>

<script>
import 'devextreme/dist/css/dx.common.css';
import 'devextreme/dist/css/dx.light.css';

import DxDropDownButton from 'devextreme-vue/drop-down-button';

const actions = [
    { id: 1, text: "My profile", icon: "user" },
    { id: 2, text: "Messages", icon: "email" },
    { id: 3, text: "Contacts", icon: "group" },
    { id: 4, text: "Log out", icon: "runner" }
];

export default {
    components: {
        DxDropDownButton
    },
    data() {
        return {
            actions
        }
    },
    methods: {
        logAction(e) {
            console.log(e.itemData.text + " was clicked");
        },
        logButtonClick() {
            console.log("Main button was clicked");
        }
    }
}
</script>
React
App.js
import React from 'react';

import 'devextreme/dist/css/dx.common.css';
import 'devextreme/dist/css/dx.light.css';

import DropDownButton from 'devextreme-react/drop-down-button';

const actions = [
    { id: 1, text: "My profile", icon: "user" },
    { id: 2, text: "Messages", icon: "email" },
    { id: 3, text: "Contacts", icon: "group" },
    { id: 4, text: "Log out", icon: "runner" }
];

class App extends React.Component {
    logAction(e) {
        console.log(e.itemData.text + " was clicked");
    }

    logButtonClick() {
        console.log("Main button was clicked");
    }

    render() {
        return (
            <DropDownButton
                text="Sandra Johnson"
                icon="user"
                items={actions}
                keyExpr="id"
                onItemClick={this.logAction}
                splitButton={true}
                onButtonClick={this.logButtonClick}
            />
        );
    }
}
export default App;

Create a DropDownButton

You can use the following code to create a DropDownButton:

jQuery
index.html
index.js
<html>
    <head>
        <!-- ... -->
        <script type="text/javascript" src="https://code.jquery.com/jquery-3.5.1.min.js"></script>
        <link rel="stylesheet" href="https://cdn3.devexpress.com/jslib/19.1.16/css/dx.common.css">
        <link rel="stylesheet" href="https://cdn3.devexpress.com/jslib/19.1.16/css/dx.light.css">
        <script type="text/javascript" src="https://cdn3.devexpress.com/jslib/19.1.16/js/dx.all.js"></script>
        <script type="text/javascript" src="index.js"></script>
    </head>
    <body>
        <div id="myDropDownButton"></div>
    </body>
</html>
$(function() {
    $("#myDropDownButton").dxDropDownButton({
        // Configuration goes here
    });
});
Angular
app.component.html
app.component.ts
app.module.ts
<dx-drop-down-button
    <!-- Configuration goes here -->
>
</dx-drop-down-button>
import { Component } from '@angular/core';

@Component({
    selector: 'app-root',
    templateUrl: './app.component.html',
    styleUrls: ['./app.component.css']
})
export class AppComponent {

}
import { BrowserModule } from '@angular/platform-browser';
import { NgModule } from '@angular/core';
import { AppComponent } from './app.component';

import { DxDropDownButtonModule } from 'devextreme-angular';

@NgModule({
    declarations: [
        AppComponent
    ],
    imports: [
        BrowserModule,
        DxDropDownButtonModule
    ],
    providers: [ ],
    bootstrap: [AppComponent]
})
export class AppModule { }
Vue
App.vue
<template>
    <DxDropDownButton
        <!-- Configuration goes here -->
    />
</template>

<script>
import 'devextreme/dist/css/dx.common.css';
import 'devextreme/dist/css/dx.light.css';

import DxDropDownButton from 'devextreme-vue/drop-down-button';

export default {
    components: {
        DxDropDownButton
    }
}
</script>
React
App.js
import React from 'react';

import 'devextreme/dist/css/dx.common.css';
import 'devextreme/dist/css/dx.light.css';

import DropDownButton from 'devextreme-react/drop-down-button';

class App extends React.Component {
    render() {
        return (
            <DropDownButton
                // Configuration goes here
            />
        );
    }
}
export default App;

Configure the Button

Specify the button's text and/or icon:

jQuery
index.js
$(function() {
    $("#myDropDownButton").dxDropDownButton({
        text: "Sandra Johnson",
        icon: "user"
    });
});
Angular
app.component.html
<dx-drop-down-button
    text="Sandra Johnson"
    icon="user">
</dx-drop-down-button>
Vue
App.vue
<template>
    <DxDropDownButton
        text="Sandra Johnson"
        icon="user"
    />
</template>

<script>
// ...
</script>
React
App.js
// ...
class App extends React.Component {
    render() {
        return (
            <DropDownButton
                text="Sandra Johnson"
                icon="user"
            />
        );
    }
}

Run the code and you should see a button that displays the specified text and icon. Click this button to open a drop-down menu that shows "No data to display." In the next step, we populate the menu.

Populate the Drop-Down Menu

To populate the drop-down menu, assign an array to the items option. Objects in the array should provide text, icons, and other menu item data. The data fields that match the default item template are automatically recognized (text and icon in the code below). If you store item text in a field with a different name, use the displayExpr option to map the field.

In addition, specify the data field that provides keys used to distinguish between menu items. You can use the keyExpr option to do it.

jQuery
index.js
$(function() {
    var actions = [
        { id: 1, text: "My profile", icon: "user" },
        { id: 2, text: "Messages", icon: "email" },
        { id: 3, text: "Contacts", icon: "group" },
        { id: 4, text: "Log out", icon: "runner" }
    ];

    $("#myDropDownButton").dxDropDownButton({
        // ...
        items: actions,
        keyExpr: "id"
        // displayExpr: "text"
    });
});
Angular
app.component.html
app.component.ts
<dx-drop-down-button ...
    [items]="actions"
    keyExpr="id">
    <!-- displayExpr="text" -->
</dx-drop-down-button>
// ...
export class AppComponent {
    actions: Array<{id: Number, text: String, icon: String}> = [
        { id: 1, text: "My profile", icon: "user" },
        { id: 2, text: "Messages", icon: "email" },
        { id: 3, text: "Contacts", icon: "group" },
        { id: 4, text: "Log out", icon: "runner" }
    ];
}
Vue
App.vue
<template>
    <DxDropDownButton ...
        :items="actions"
        key-expr="id"
        <!-- display-expr="text" -->
    />
</template>

<script>
// ...
const actions = [
    { id: 1, text: "My profile", icon: "user" },
    { id: 2, text: "Messages", icon: "email" },
    { id: 3, text: "Contacts", icon: "group" },
    { id: 4, text: "Log out", icon: "runner" }
];

export default {
    // ...
    data() {
        return {
            actions
        }
    }
}
</script>
React
App.js
// ...
const actions = [
    { id: 1, text: "My profile", icon: "user" },
    { id: 2, text: "Messages", icon: "email" },
    { id: 3, text: "Contacts", icon: "group" },
    { id: 4, text: "Log out", icon: "runner" }
];

class App extends React.Component {
    render() {
        return (
            <DropDownButton ...
                items={actions}
                keyExpr="id"
                // displayExpr="text"
            />
        );
    }
}

If you run the code and click the button, you should see a list of three actions, but nothing happens when you click any of them. We fix this in the next step.

Handle the Menu Item Click Event

Assign a function to the onItemClick option. In this tutorial, the function logs the selected action's name in the browser's console:

jQuery
index.js
$(function() {
    $("#myDropDownButton").dxDropDownButton({
        // ...
        onItemClick: function(e) {
            console.log(e.itemData.text + " was clicked");
        }
    });
});
Angular
app.component.html
app.component.ts
<dx-drop-down-button ...
    (onItemClick)="logAction($event)">
</dx-drop-down-button>
// ...
export class AppComponent {
    // ...
    logAction(e) {
        console.log(e.itemData.text + " was clicked");
    }
}
Vue
App.vue
<template>
    <DxDropDownButton ...
        @item-click="logAction"
    />
</template>

<script>
// ...
export default {
    // ...
    methods: {
        logAction(e) {
            console.log(e.itemData.text + " was clicked");
        }
    }
}
</script>
React
App.js
// ...
class App extends React.Component {
    logAction(e) {
        console.log(e.itemData.text + " was clicked");
    }

    render() {
        return (
            <DropDownButton ...
                onItemClick={this.logAction}
            />
        );
    }
}
export default App;

Run the code, open the browser's console, click the button, and select an action from the drop-down menu. You should see messages like the following:

My profile was clicked
Messages was clicked
Contacts was clicked

Split the Button

The button can execute a custom action instead of opening the drop-down menu. To enable this behavior, split the button into two sections. Set the splitButton option to true and assign a function to the onButtonClick option:

jQuery
index.js
$(function() {
    $("#myDropDownButton").dxDropDownButton({
        // ...
        splitButton: true,
        onButtonClick: function() {
            console.log("Main button was clicked");
        }
    });
});
Angular
app.component.html
app.component.ts
<dx-drop-down-button ...
    [splitButton]="true"
    (onButtonClick)="logButtonClick()">
</dx-drop-down-button>
// ...
export class AppComponent {
    // ...
    logButtonClick() {
        console.log("Main button was clicked");
    }
}
Vue
App.vue
<template>
    <DxDropDownButton ...
        :split-button="true"
        @button-click="logButtonClick"
    />
</template>

<script>
// ...
export default {
    // ...
    methods: {
        // ...
        logButtonClick() {
            console.log("Main button was clicked");
        }
    }
}
</script>
React
App.js
// ...
class App extends React.Component {
    // ...
    logButtonClick() {
        console.log("Main button was clicked");
    }

    render() {
        return (
            <DropDownButton ...
                splitButton={true}
                onButtonClick={this.logButtonClick}
            />
        );
    }
}
export default App;

If you run the code, you should see a button divided in two sections. A click on the main section logs "Main button was clicked" into the browser's console. A click on the secondary section opens the drop-down menu.

Enable the Stateful Mode

If the DropDownButton should remember the selected drop-down menu item, switch it to the stateful mode. Set the useSelectMode option to true and make the following replacements in your code:

  • Use onSelectionChanged instead of onItemClick.

    You should track selection changes instead of handling item clicks.

  • Use the selectedItemKey to specify the initially selected item.

    In stateful mode, the main button area displays the text and icon from the selected item. The selectedItemKey allows you to get or set the current selection. Items are identified using keys from the data field that you assigned to the keyExpr option (see the Populate the Drop-Down Menu step).

For more information on the stateful mode, refer to the useSelectMode description.

jQuery
index.js
$(function() {
    $("#myDropDownButton").dxDropDownButton({
        // ...
        // text: "Sandra Johnson",
        // icon: "user"
        // onItemClick: function(e) {
        //     console.log(e.itemData.text + " was clicked");
        // },

        useSelectMode: true,
        selectedItemKey: 1,
        onSelectionChanged: function(e) {
            console.log(e.item.text + " was selected; " + e.previousItem.text + " was deselected");
        }
    });
});
Angular
app.component.html
app.component.ts
<dx-drop-down-button ...
    <!-- text="Sandra Johnson" -->
    <!-- icon="user" -->
    <!-- (onItemClick)="logAction($event)" -->
    [useSelectMode]="true"
    [selectedItemKey]="1"
    (onSelectionChanged)="logSelectionChanged($event)">
</dx-drop-down-button>
// ...
export class AppComponent {
    // ...
    // logAction(e) {
    //     console.log(e.itemData.text + " was clicked");
    // }
    logSelectionChanged(e) {
        console.log(e.item.text + " was selected; " + e.previousItem.text + " was deselected");
    }
}
Vue
App.vue
<template>
    <DxDropDownButton
        <!-- text="Sandra Johnson" -->
        <!-- icon="user" -->
        <!-- @item-click="logAction" -->
        :use-select-mode="true"
        :selected-item-key="1"
        @selection-changed="logSelectionChanged"
    />
</template>

<script>
// ...
export default {
    // ...
    methods: {
        // ...
        // logAction(e) {
        //    console.log(e.itemData.text + " was clicked");
        // }
        logSelectionChanged(e) {
            console.log(e.item.text + " was selected; " + e.previousItem.text + " was deselected");
        }
    }
}
</script>
React
App.js
// ...
class App extends React.Component {
    // ...
    // logAction(e) {
    //     console.log(e.itemData.text + " was clicked");
    // }

    logSelectionChanged(e) {
        console.log(e.item.text + " was selected; " + e.previousItem.text + " was deselected");
    }

    render() {
        return (
            <DropDownButton
                // text="Sandra Johnson"
                // icon="user"
                // onItemClick={this.logAction}
                useSelectMode={true}
                selectedItemKey={1}
                onSelectionChanged={this.logSelectionChanged}
            />
        );
    }
}
export default App;

Run the code, open the drop-down menu, and select an item. You should see that the button's text and icon are changed according to the item you selected. In addition, the browser's console should contain messages like the following:

My profile was selected; Log out was deselected
Contacts was selected; My profile was deselected

You have configured basic DropDownButton features. For more information about this widget, explore the following resources: