Actions

Ways to invoke actions in the interface.

Published: February 10, 2023

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Patterns

Global actions

Use global actions when there’s a single set of actions, or bulk actions, to be taken against any or all resources in a given view or page.

In-context actions

Use in-context actions when there are actions tied to a singular element, resource or container.

Key UX concepts

Global actions
Global actions are performed on one or multiple resources. For example, upon selection of an item in a table, at page level in a detail view page, or selecting multiple resources in a table to complete a bulk action.

In-context actions
In-context actions are performed on only one resource. For example, actions related to specific data in a container, such as Edit. They should be placed contextually to the item they relate to, as this helps speed up task completion for commonly used actions.

Pairing global and in-context actions
To provide a consistent experience across collection views we recommend to pair global and in-context actions. All available actions should always be featured globally, and commonly used actions can be provided in-context to speed up task completion.

For example, in a table view users can download an item by selecting the item and using the related download action in the table header, or via an in-context download action at row level.

Criteria

Global actionsIn-context actions
PlacementPlaced in the header of the page or component.Placed in context of a singular item in a container, table row, or card.
User goalPerform actions related to one or multiple resources.Perform actions related to one resource.
Bulk actionsUse for bulk actions.Do not use for bulk actions.
Common use casesTables, cards, resource, and collection views.Dashboard items, containers, table rows, and cards.

Placement

  • Global actions: Place in the page header, or as part of the full page table or cards header. For example: A primary action in the table header to create a new resource.

  • In-context: Place near the item they relate to. For example: An action in a table row to edit a singular resource.

Global and in-context actions can be combined. For example, users can stop a singular instance in a table by using an in-context action, or selecting multiple instances to stop selected instances from a global action.

User goal

  • Global actions: For actions that can be completed on item selection, bulk actions, singular actions, or page level actions like creating or editing a page.

  • In-context actions: Use to speed up task completion for singular, common, and repetitive tasks such as downloading an object or stopping an instance.

Bulk actions

If an action can be triggered on multiple resources in bulk, it should be listed as a global action to avoid users having to trigger the action multiple times for each resource.

Common uses

Due to the fact that tables, cards, and other types of collection views often show the same list of resources with a consistent set of actions that can be carried out upon them, global actions are commonly used in these contexts and can be paired with in-context actions.