Carbon Design System

Menu buttons

Stable
Feature flag
Last updated Sep 28, 2026
Carbon Core

    Menu buttons, including menu buttons, combo buttons, and overflow menus, open a menu with a list of interactive options.

    Menu buttons

    Overview

    Design annotations are needed for specific instances shown below, but for the standard menu button, combo button, and overflow menu, Carbon already incorporates accessibility.

    What Carbon provides

    Carbon bakes keyboard operation into its components, improving the experience of blind users and others who operate via keyboard. Carbon incorporates other accessibility considerations, some of which are described below.

    Keyboard interaction

    Menu button

    The menu button is set in the tab order and is activated by Space or Enter. When the menu is open, the first item takes focus. Focus is moved between menu items with the Up and Down arrow keys. Space or Enter activates the item with focus, which causes focus to go somewhere else and the menu to close. Esc collapses the menu and puts focus back onto the menu button.

    example of menu button keyboard interaction

    Menu button is reached by Tab. Space and Enter keys open the menu as well as activating menu items with focus.

    illustration showing an open menu with the focus on the first item, and the arrow and Esc keys called out

    When opened, the first item in the menu takes focus. Arrow keys move focus and Esc closes the menu.

    Combo button

    The combo button is set in the tab order where the first tab brings focus on the primary button and the second tab brings focus on the icon button that contains the menu. The respective buttons are activated by Space or Enter. When the menu is open, the first item takes focus. Focus is moved between menu items with the Up and Down arrow keys. Space or Enter activates the item with focus, which causes focus to go somewhere else and the menu to close. Esc collapses the menu and puts focus back onto the icon button.

    example of combo button keyboard interaction

    Combo button items are reached by two Tab stops. Space and Enter keys open the menu as well as activating menu items with focus.

    illustration showing an open menu with the focus on the first item, and the arrow and Esc keys called out

    When opened, the first item in the menu takes focus. Arrow keys move focus and Esc closes the menu.

    Overflow menu

    Each overflow menu is in the tab order and is activated by Space or Enter. When the menu is open, the first item takes focus. Focus is moved between menu items with the Up and Down arrow keys. Space or Enter activates the item with focus, which causes focus to go somewhere else and the menu to close. Esc collapses the menu and puts focus onto the menu button.

    example of overflow menu keyboard interaction

    Overflow menus are reached by Tab. Space and Enter keys open the menu as well as activating menu items with focus.

    illustration showing an open menu with the focus on the first item, and the arrow and Esc keys called out

    When opened, the first item in the menu takes focus. Arrow keys move focus and Esc closes the menu.

    Design recommendations

    Design annotations are needed for the following instances.

    Labeling

    Combo button

    Combo button has a prop that can be used to change the tooltip label and is only intended to be changed to translate “Additional actions” into other languages. If translation is required, the translation must be annotated with a label that is exposed on hover or focus.

    a combo button which is a part of a translated page that has an annotation 'label=अतिरिक्त कार्रवाइयां'

    Annotate the label for combo button so the proper tooltip appears, which should only be used for translation purposes.

    Overflow menu

    Overflow menu’s custom icon variant has a prop that can be used to change the tooltip label. If the tooltip label is changed, they must be annotated with a label that will be exposed on hover or focus.

    a custom icon over flow menu with a share icon that has an annotation 'label=sharing options'

    Annotate the label for overflow menu’s custom icon variant so the proper tooltip appears.

    Development considerations

    Keep these considerations in mind if you are modifying Carbon or creating a custom component.

    • Menu button, combo button, and the overflow menu are buttons with aria-haspopup set to “true”.
    • The menu button, combo button, and the overflow menu is named with aria-label.
    • Each menu item across menu button, combo button, and overflow menu is an li in a ul.
    • Each list item across menu button, combo button, and overflow menu contains a button with role="menuitem" and tabindex="-1". See the ARIA authoring practices on menubutton for more considerations.
    • Combo button and overflow menu has an iconDescription prop that can be used to change the tooltip label. See the design recommendations for more guidelines on tooltip labels.
    • For combo button, the menu is given an id. When the menu is open, the icon button is given aria-controls with a value of the menu id. aria-expanded is also set based on the open state.
    • When the combo button menu is open, the element (div) wrapping the entire combo button is given aria-owns with a value of the menu id.

    Accessibility testing status

    Latest version: 1.113.0 | Framework: React (@carbon/react)

    ComponentAccessibility testStatusLink to source code
    Menu ButtonTest(s) that ensure the initial render state of a component is accessible.Passes all automated tests with no reported accessibility violations.GitHub link
    Tests that ensure additional states of the component are accessible. This could be interactive states of a component or its multiple variants.Passes all automated tests with no reported accessibility violations.
    Tests that ensure focus is properly managed, and all interactive functions of a component have a proper keyboard-accessible equivalent.Passes all automated tests with no reported accessibility violations.
    This manual testing ensures that the visual information on the screen is properly conveyed and read correctly by screen readers such as JAWS, VoiceOver, and NVDA.A human has manually tested this component, e.g. screen reader testing.
    Combo ButtonTest(s) that ensure the initial render state of a component is accessible.Passes all automated tests with no reported accessibility violations.
    Tests that ensure additional states of the component are accessible. This could be interactive states of a component or its multiple variants.Passes all automated tests with no reported accessibility violations.
    Tests that ensure focus is properly managed, and all interactive functions of a component have a proper keyboard-accessible equivalent.Passes all automated tests with no reported accessibility violations.
    This manual testing ensures that the visual information on the screen is properly conveyed and read correctly by screen readers such as JAWS, VoiceOver, and NVDA.A human has manually tested this component, e.g. screen reader testing.
    Overflow MenuTest(s) that ensure the initial render state of a component is accessible.Passes all automated tests with no reported accessibility violations.
    Tests that ensure additional states of the component are accessible. This could be interactive states of a component or its multiple variants.Passes all automated tests with no reported accessibility violations.
    Tests that ensure focus is properly managed, and all interactive functions of a component have a proper keyboard-accessible equivalent.Test data is either not available or not applicable for this component state.
    This manual testing ensures that the visual information on the screen is properly conveyed and read correctly by screen readers such as JAWS, VoiceOver, and NVDA.A human has manually tested this component, e.g. screen reader testing.
    Learn more about tag and test meaningView all component accessibility status

    Feedback

    Help us improve by providing feedback, asking questions, requesting features, or leaving any other comments on GitHub.