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LayrzSelectInput

Kenny Mochizuki Escalona edited this page Aug 25, 2026 · 10 revisions

LayrzSelectInput

Single-value selection field with searchable dropdown list surface.

Specification Status: LayrzSelectInput has shipped and is implemented at lib/src/inputs/src/select/select_input.dart (+ select_input_surface.dart). The sections below marked Shipped behavior describe the actual, current implementation and were corrected as part of DESIGN-40 (dropdown height rule) and DESIGN-144 (focus node wiring).

Everything below that, starting at "Deltas from the Input Contract", is the original pre-implementation design sketch carried over from the layrz_theme migration plan. It predates the actual implementation and does not match the shipped API in several places (for example: the shipped surface is LayrzAnchoredPanel on desktop / LayrzBottomSheet on mobile, not RawDialog; there is no dialogConstraints, itemExtent, overrideHeightDialog, autoclose, autoSelectFirst, or returnNullOnClose; LayrzSelectItem<T> has labelText, value, child, and searchableAttributes — no icon, leading, onTap, or isRemoved). Reconciling the rest of this legacy sketch with the shipped widget is out of scope for DESIGN-40/144 and is left for a dedicated documentation pass.

Shipped behavior: selection surface height (DESIGN-40)

The desktop selection surface follows one rule: height = min(content, 300.0), scroll past 300. This is enforced exactly once, via maxHeight: 300.0 passed to the LayrzAnchoredPanel that anchors the surface below (or above) the field:

  • If the filtered item list plus the search field fit in fewer than 300 logical pixels, the panel shrinks to content — it is never padded out to a fixed height.
  • If content exceeds 300 logical pixels, the panel clamps to exactly 300 and scrolls.

The surface itself (LayrzSelectInputSurface) applies no height cap of its own — a second, disagreeing cap inside the surface was the original defect (a fixed SizedBox(height: 300) around a list separately limited to LimitedBox(maxHeight: 300), which together overflowed by the search field's height once enough items were present). The rule is applied exactly once, by the caller.

On mobile (compact viewports), the surface has no height cap of its own either — it renders inside LayrzBottomSheet, whose own scrollable is the single scroll owner for that path.

Shipped behavior: focus node wiring (DESIGN-144)

LayrzSelectInput.focusNode (optional; an internal node is created and disposed when omitted) is attached to the focus tree on both platforms:

  • Desktop: the field's anchor content is wrapped in Focus(focusNode: ...), and the same node is passed as LayrzAnchoredPanel.childFocusNode so focus returns to the field when the panel closes.
  • Mobile (compact): the field's anchor content is likewise wrapped in Focus(focusNode: ...).

A caller-supplied FocusNode is therefore genuinely usable — calling .requestFocus() on it results in .hasFocus == true — on both platforms.

Metadata

Property Value
Mirror ThemedSelectInput<T>
Phase M3 Inputs
Domain Inputs
SDK Primitive Composes LayrzTextInput (read-only) + RawDialog for dropdown surface

Conformance

LayrzSelectInput conforms to the Input Contract. Like all picker-style inputs, it composes LayrzTextInput internally in read-only mode and opens a selection surface on tap. The entire contract applies: labels, prefix/suffix, help affordance, focus management, padding, and validation error display.

Value Type and Selection Surface

  • Value type: Generic T — any comparable type
  • Selection surface: Searchable dropdown dialog with a single-selection list
  • Summary display: The field displays the label of the selected item; unselected state shows placeholder or empty
  • Item support type: LayrzSelectItem<T> (derived from layrz_theme's ThemedSelectItem<T>)

Deltas from the Input Contract

Item Definition: LayrzSelectItem

LayrzSelectInput introduces a support type, LayrzSelectItem<T>, to represent each selectable item:

// Design sketch — illustrative only
class LayrzSelectItem<T> {
  /// Human-readable label displayed in the dropdown list.
  final String label;

  /// The value returned when this item is selected.
  final T? value;

  /// Optional icon displayed in the list and/or prefix.
  final IconData? icon;

  /// Optional custom widget displayed in the list (overrides icon and label).
  final Widget? content;

  /// Optional custom leading widget (e.g., avatar, thumbnail).
  final Widget? leading;

  /// Callback invoked when this item is tapped in the list.
  final VoidCallback? onTap;

  /// Attributes to include in search filtering (e.g., category, code).
  final Set<String> searchableAttributes;

  const LayrzSelectItem({
    required this.label,
    required this.value,
    this.icon,
    this.content,
    this.leading,
    this.onTap,
    this.searchableAttributes = const {},
  });
}

Selection Behavior

// Design sketch — illustrative only
class LayrzSelectInput<T> extends StatefulWidget {
  /// List of items available for selection.
  final List<LayrzSelectItem<T>> items;

  /// Callback invoked when user selects an item.
  /// Receives the selected item or null if unselected.
  final void Function(LayrzSelectItem<T>?)? onChanged;

  /// Currently selected value (matched against LayrzSelectItem.value).
  final T? value;

  /// Whether to enable search filtering in the dropdown.
  final bool enableSearch;

  /// Whether to automatically close the dropdown after selection.
  final bool autoclose;

  /// Whether the user can deselect the current item (uncheck it).
  final bool canUnselect;

  /// Custom filter function for search.
  /// If null, performs case-insensitive label search.
  final bool Function(String searchText, LayrzSelectItem<T>)? filter;

  /// Text displayed when the filtered list is empty.
  final String? emptyListText;

  /// Constraints for the dropdown dialog size.
  final BoxConstraints dialogConstraints;

  /// Height of each list item (affects scrollable area).
  final double itemExtent;

  const LayrzSelectInput({
    required this.items,
    this.onChanged,
    this.value,
    this.enableSearch = true,
    this.autoclose = true,
    this.canUnselect = false,
    this.filter,
    this.emptyListText,
    this.dialogConstraints = const BoxConstraints(maxWidth: 500, maxHeight: 500),
    this.itemExtent = 50,
    // ... shared contract parameters (label, placeholder, prefix, suffix, etc.)
  });
}

Inherits from Input Contract

All of the following are inherited from LayrzTextInput:

  • labelText and label (mutually exclusive)
  • placeholder
  • prefixIcon, prefixWidget, onPrefixTap (mutually exclusive icon and widget)
  • suffixIcon, suffixWidget, onSuffixTap (mutually exclusive icon and widget)
  • helpTitleText, helpContentText (two-part help tooltip)
  • readOnly (always true for select input)
  • onTap (opens the dropdown; can be overridden by caller if needed)
  • focusNode, controller (focus and value management)
  • padding (defaults to spacing tokens)
  • disabled and error display

Reference: Current layrz_theme API

ThemedSelectInput<T> (source: lib/src/inputs/src/general/select_input.dart):

Parameter Type Notes
labelText String? Label text (or use label Widget instead)
label Widget? Label widget (mutually exclusive with labelText)
items List<ThemedSelectItem<T>> List of selectable items
value T? Currently selected value
onChanged void Function(ThemedSelectItem<T>?)? Callback when item selected
prefixIcon IconData? Icon in prefix slot
prefixText String? Text in prefix slot
onPrefixTap VoidCallback? Prefix tap handler
enableSearch bool Enable search in dropdown (default: true)
autoclose bool Close after selection (default: true)
canUnselect bool Allow deselection (default: false)
disabled bool Disable the field (default: false)
errors List<String> Error messages (default: [])
hideDetails bool Hide error/helper text (default: false)
hideTitle bool Hide title in dropdown dialog (default: false)
isRequired bool Mark field as required (default: false)
padding EdgeInsets? Field padding
filter bool Function(String, ThemedSelectItem<T>)? Custom search filter
dialogConstraints BoxConstraints Dropdown dialog size
itemExtent double Height of each list item (default: 50)
overrideHeightDialog double? Override computed dialog height
customChild Widget? Replace entire input with custom widget
returnNullOnClose bool Return null if dialog closed without selection (default: false)
autoSelectFirst bool Auto-select first item on first render (default: false)
translations Map<String, String> i18n strings (cancel, save, search, empty messages)
overridesLayrzTranslations bool Use custom translations over defaults (default: false)

ThemedSelectItem<T>:

  • label (String): Item display label
  • value (T?): Item value
  • icon (IconData?): Icon to display
  • leading (Widget?): Custom leading widget
  • content (Widget?): Custom content (overrides label/icon/leading)
  • onTap (VoidCallback?): Item tap callback
  • searchableAttributes (Set): Additional searchable text
  • isRemoved (bool): Marks item as removed (for canUnselect flow)

Dependencies and Blockers

  • LayrzTextInput — must ship first; LayrzSelectInput composes it.
  • LayrzTooltip — required for help affordances if using helpTitleText / helpContentText.
  • Material-free TextSelectionControls — if LayrzTextInput requires copy/paste in read-only mode, this blocker applies.

Open Questions

  1. Naming: Is LayrzSelectItem<T> the correct name, or should it follow a different pattern (e.g., SelectOption<T>, MenuItem<T>)?

  2. Value update semantics: When value changes externally, does the field automatically find and display the matching LayrzSelectItem, or is the caller responsible for keeping the value in sync with the items list?

  3. Dialog positioning: Should the dropdown be smart-positioned (above/below based on available space), or always below the field?

  4. Custom item rendering: Does LayrzSelectItem.content take precedence over icon, leading, and label, or are there specific rendering priorities?

  5. Search filtering: If filter is not supplied, does it search all attributes (label + searchableAttributes), or label only?

  6. Unselect UI: When canUnselect is true, how is the unselect action presented — a separate button, toggle behavior on the selected item, or both?

  7. Empty state text: Is there a default empty-list message, or must the caller provide one?

  8. Keyboard navigation: Are arrow keys, Enter, and Escape supported in the dropdown list for desktop?


Last updated: 2026-08-25 (DESIGN-40 / DESIGN-144 — selection surface height rule and focus node wiring corrected to match the shipped implementation; the remaining pre-implementation sections are unchanged and still need a full documentation pass)
Related documents: Input Contract, Component Catalog, Design Tokens

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