TextLink ready Storybook
ready
The TextLink component renders an anchor tag <a> that takes users to another page, external or internal to Grafana.
Usage
When to use
- To redirect the user to another page, external or internal.
- When redirecting the user through a link in a word or phrase within a paragraph.
- When redirecting the user through a link in a word or phrase, not within a paragraph but surrounded by other blocks of text.
When not to use
- When its purpose is to trigger an action, please use a Button or IconButton component.
- When it still redirects the user but it should have the same appearance as a button, please use the LinkButton component.
- When the link is just comprised by an icon use IconButton component.
Do’s
- Use the default styles as the first and main option as they are though to be accessible and consistent.
- Use the external icon (the default one) when the TextLink goes to an external page as its meaning is broadly known.
- In case the default icon does not fit, please use one of the icons of our library.
Don’ts
- Do not use ‘primary’ color in a standalone link unless it is a special use case such as the ‘Dashboard list’, menu items or similar.
- Do not override any styles in any way. Instead, ask the Design System team for an improvement of this component.
- Do not attempt to add a new icon. You should fulfil a contribution path to first add the icon to our Design System and then use it in this component.
Content
- The TextLink component contains mainly the text and optionally, an icon.
- Make link text abundantly obvious as to what the next page is about.
- Do not use words such as Click here, More, and Read more unless they are in a card component or similar. Do not use them as standalone link text, because they can be confusing when a screen reader reads them out of context.
- Aim for no more than two links per paragraph.
- Keep link text short and concise.
- Never start with articles: a, an, or the.
- Do not link whole sentences, aim for a maximum of four to five words.
Types
Within Grafana, there are two different types of text links, inline or standalone, whether they are wrapped by text or being a standalone element.
| Types | Purpose |
|---|---|
| Inline | It is part of a broader text. It will be surrounded by text, before, after or in both directions. Although it can show an icon at its end, we advise not to do that |
| Standalone | It is a block not surrounded immediately by more text |
Subtypes
Both inline or standalone text links will redirect the user to a specific page, therefore, depending on this they can be internal or external.
| Subtypes | Purpose |
|---|---|
| Internal | Redirect the user to a page inside Grafana |
| External | Redirect the user to a page outside Grafana. The page will open a new window as we use target="_blank" and rel="noreferrer" to ensure that it is a safe cross-origin destination link. By default, an external text link will show the external-link-alt icon |
Formatting
Anatomy
- Text: its content gives info about where the user is going to be directed
- Icon: it gives context about what the destination is. For example, by default, an external link will show the ‘external-link-alt’ icon. If the link leads to another part of the same page, the icon could be ‘anchor’.
Placement
- Inline: (default) The inline text link will follow the alignment of the text wrapping it up.
- Standalone: This type of text link requires a parent element / container in which to set the appropriate display value.
Behaviour
The following is the default behaviour and so, it will be applied according to its type.
- Inline: Blue and underlined at first. Through the color prop the user will be able to change this value, but the rest will be kept. On hover: blue and not underlined
- Standalone: Blue and not underlined at first On hover: blue and underlined
Example:
In this example, the user has set the color value to 'primary', so in dark theme will be 'white' and not underlined at first while blue and underlined when onhover, as it inherits from the standalone default behaviour.
Spacing
- Between text and icon: the gap is set to 0.5em, so it will adapt itself to the change of the font size
- The text itself: there is no margin or padding applied
- Between the block text and the text link the space is not modified, so will be the same as the existing between the words of the paragraph.
Accessibility
- The text that contains the link should be informative
- The aria-describedby attribute can be used to provide extra text for a screen reader besides the link text.
- Assistive technology may consider an ARIA label to replace the link text, so if there is a need for more context please use aria-describedby.