Version: v8 (beta)

ion-modal

A Modal is a dialog that appears on top of the app's content, and must be dismissed by the app before interaction can resume. It is useful as a select component when there are a lot of options to choose from, or when filtering items in a list, as well as many other use cases.

Inline Modals (Recommended)

ion-modal can be used by writing the component directly in your template. This reduces the number of handlers you need to wire up in order to present the modal.

When using ion-modal with Angular, React, or Vue, the component you pass in will be destroyed when the modal is dismissed. As this functionality is provided by the JavaScript framework, using ion-modal without a JavaScript framework will not destroy the component you passed in. If this is a needed functionality, we recommend using the modalController instead.

Using `isOpen`

The isOpen property on ion-modal allows developers to control the presentation state of the modal from their application state. This means when isOpen is set to true the modal will be presented and when isOpen is set to false the modal will be dismissed.

isOpen uses a one-way data binding, meaning it will not automatically be set to false when the modal is dismissed. Developers should listen for the ionModalDidDismiss or didDismiss event and set isOpen to false. The reason for this is it prevents the internals of ion-modal from being tightly coupled with the state of the application. With a one way data binding, the modal only needs to concern itself with the boolean value that the reactive variable provides. With a two way data binding, the modal needs to concern itself with both the boolean value as well as the existence of the reactive variable itself. This can lead to non-deterministic behaviors and make applications harder to debug.

Controller Modals

With the modalController developers can present an ion-modal programmatically. Developers will have complete control over when a modal is presented and dismissed.

When entering data into a modal, it is often desirable to have a way of preventing accidental data loss. The canDismiss property on ion-modal gives developers control over when a modal is allowed to dismiss.

There are two different ways of using the canDismiss property: setting a boolean value or setting a callback function.

note

Note: When using a sheet modal, canDismiss will not be checked on swipe if there is no 0 breakpoint set. However, it will still be checked when pressing Esc or the hardware back button.

Setting a boolean value

Developers can set canDismiss to a boolean value. If canDismiss is true, then the modal will close when users attempt to dismiss the modal. If canDismiss is false, then the modal will not close when users attempt to dismiss the modal.

Setting a boolean value should be used when you need to require a particular action to be taken prior to a modal being dismissed. For example, if developers want to require that a "Terms of Use" checkbox is checked prior to closing the modal, they could set canDismiss to false initially and update it to true when the checkbox is checked.

Setting a callback function

Developers can set canDismiss to be a function. This function must return a Promise that resolves to either true or false. If the promise resolves to true, then the modal will dismiss. If the promise resolves to false, then the modal will not dismiss.

Setting a callback function should be used when you have complex dismissing criteria such as showing a confirmation dialog prior to dismissing the modal. The option that users select in this dialog can then be used to determine whether or not the modal should proceed with dismissing.

Note that setting a callback function will cause the swipe gesture to be interrupted when using a card or sheet modal. This is because Ionic does not know what your callback function will resolve to ahead of time.

Prevent swipe to close

Developers may want to prevent users from swiping to close a card or sheet modal. This can be done by setting a callback function for canDismiss and checking if the role is not gesture.

Modifying dismiss behavior in child components

In certain scenarios, developers may need to customize the behavior of the canDismiss callback based on the state of a presented modal. This customization can be particularly useful, for instance, when developers want to prevent the modal from being dismissed if a form within it is invalid.

To achieve this customization, child components can employ various techniques such as function callbacks, event emission, or other reactivity mechanisms to communicate with the parent component and update the conditions governing the canDismiss callback.

Here's a simplified example illustrating how a child component can interact with a parent component to modify the canDismiss callback:

Types of modals

Developers can create a card modal effect where the modal appears as a card stacked on top of your app's main content. To create a card modal, developers need to set the presentingElement property on ion-modal.

The presentingElement property accepts a reference to the element that should display under your modal. This is typically a reference to ion-router-outlet.

The canDismiss property can be used to control whether or not the card modal can be swiped to close.

note

The card display style is only available on iOS.

info

Content must be used inside of the sheet modal otherwise your modal content will not be scrollable.

Developers can create a sheet modal effect similar to the drawer components available in maps applications. To create a sheet modal, developers need to set the breakpoints and initialBreakpoint properties on ion-modal.

The breakpoints property accepts an array which states each breakpoint that the sheet can snap to when swiped. A breakpoints property of [0, 0.5, 1] would indicate that the sheet can be swiped to show 0% of the modal, 50% of the modal, and 100% of the modal. When the modal is swiped to 0%, the modal will be automatically dismissed. Note that the modal cannot be dismissed on swipe if no 0 breakpoint is included, but it can still be dismissed by pressing Esc or the hardware back button.

The initialBreakpoint property is required so that the sheet modal knows which breakpoint to start at when presenting. The initialBreakpoint value must also exist in the breakpoints array. Given a breakpoints value of [0, 0.5, 1], an initialBreakpoint value of 0.5 would be valid as 0.5 is in the breakpoints array. An initialBreakpoint value of 0.25 would not be valid as 0.25 does not exist in the breakpoints array.

The backdropBreakpoint property can be used to customize the point at which the ion-backdrop will begin to fade in. This is useful when creating interfaces that have content underneath the sheet that should remain interactive. A common use case is a sheet modal that overlays a map where the map is interactive until the sheet is fully expanded.

Interacting with background content

Auto Height Sheet

Handle Behavior

Sheet modals can optionally render a handle indicator used for dragging the sheet between breakpoints. The handleBehavior property can be used to configure the behavior of when the handle is activated by the user.

Styling

Modals are presented at the root of your application so they overlay your entire app. This behavior applies to both inline modals and modals presented from a controller. As a result, custom modal styles can not be scoped to a particular component as they will not apply to the modal. Instead, styles must be applied globally. For most developers, placing the custom styles in global.css is sufficient.

note

If you are building an Ionic Angular app, the styles need to be added to a global stylesheet file. Read Style Placement in the Angular section below for more information.

note

ion-modal works under the assumption that stacked modals are the same size. As a result, each subsequent modal will have no box shadow and a backdrop opacity of 0. This is to avoid the effect of shadows and backdrops getting darker with each added modal. This can be changed by setting the --box-shadow and --backdrop-opacity CSS variables:

ion-modal.stack-modal {
  --box-shadow: 0 28px 48px rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.4);
  --backdrop-opacity: var(--ion-backdrop-opacity, 0.32);
}

Animations

The enter and leave animations can be customized by using our animation builder and assigning animations to enterAnimation and leaveAnimation.

Custom Dialogs

While ion-modal is most often used for full-page views, cards, or sheets, it is also possible to use it for custom dialogs. This is useful if developers need an interface that is more complex than what components such as ion-alert or ion-loading provide.

A few things to keep in mind when creating custom dialogs:

ion-content is intended to be used in full-page modals, cards, and sheets. If your custom dialog has a dynamic or unknown size, ion-content should not be used.
Creating custom dialogs provides a way of ejecting from the default modal experience. As a result, custom dialogs should not be used with card or sheet modals.

Interfaces

ModalOptions

Below you will find all of the options available to you when using the modalController. These options should be supplied when calling modalController.create().

interface ModalOptions {
  component: any;
  componentProps?: { [key: string]: any };
  presentingElement?: HTMLElement;
  showBackdrop?: boolean;
  backdropDismiss?: boolean;
  cssClass?: string | string[];
  animated?: boolean;
  canDismiss?: boolean | ((data?: any, role?: string) => Promise<boolean>);

  mode?: 'ios' | 'md';
  keyboardClose?: boolean;
  id?: string;
  htmlAttributes?: { [key: string]: any };

  enterAnimation?: AnimationBuilder;
  leaveAnimation?: AnimationBuilder;

  breakpoints?: number[];
  initialBreakpoint?: number;
  backdropBreakpoint?: number;
  handle?: boolean;
}

ModalCustomEvent

While not required, this interface can be used in place of the CustomEvent interface for stronger typing with Ionic events emitted from this component.

interface ModalCustomEvent extends CustomEvent {
  target: HTMLIonModalElement;
}

Accessibility

Key	Function
`Esc`	Dismisses the modal

Labels

Modals have a dialog role. As a result, developers must properly label their modals. If the modal is using ion-title, the text inside can be used to label the modal itself by setting aria-labelledby on ion-modal. If the modal contains additional descriptive text, this text can be associated with the modal by using aria-describedby.

Screen Readers

Modals have the aria-modal attribute applied. This attribute can cause assistive technologies to limit navigation to the modal element's contents. As a result, using gestures that move to the next or previous items may not focus elements outside of the modal. This applies even when the backdrop is disabled in sheet modals using the backdropBreakpoint property.

Assistive technologies will not limit navigation to the modal element's contents if developers manually move focus. However, manually moving focus outside of a modal is not supported in Ionic for modals that have focus trapping enabled.

See https://w3c.github.io/aria/#aria-modal for more information.

Focus Trapping

When a modal is presented, focus will be trapped inside of the presented modal. Users can focus other interactive elements inside the modal but will never be able to focus interactive elements outside the modal while the modal is presented. For applications that present multiple stacked modals, focus will be trapped on the modal that was presented last.

Sheet modals that have had their backdrop disabled by the backdropBreakpoint property are not subject to focus trapping.

Sheet Modals

Sheet modals allow users to interact with content behind the modal when the backdropBreakpoint property is used. The backdrop will be disabled up to and including the specified backdropBreakpoint and will be enabled after it.

When the backdrop is disabled, users will be able to interact with elements outside the sheet modal using a pointer or keyboard. Assistive technologies may not focus outside the sheet modal by default due to the usage of aria-modal. We recommend avoiding features such as autofocus here as it can cause assistive technologies to jump between two interactive contexts without warning the user.

Performance

Mounting Inner Contents

The content of an inline ion-modal is unmounted when closed. If this content is expensive to render, developers can use the keepContentsMounted property to mount the content as soon as the modal is mounted. This can help optimize the responsiveness of your application as the inner contents will have already been mounted when the modal opens.

Developers should keep the following in mind when using keepContentsMounted:

This feature should be used as a last resort in order to deal with existing performance problems. Try to identify and resolve performance bottlenecks before using this feature. Additionally, do not use this to anticipate performance problems.
This feature is only needed when using a JavaScript Framework. Developers not using a framework can pass the contents to be rendered into the modal, and the contents will be rendered automatically.
This feature only works with inline modals. Modals created with the modalController are not created ahead of time, so the inner contents are not created either.
Any JavaScript Framework lifecycle hooks on the inner component will run as soon as the modal is mounted, not when the modal is presented.

Properties

animated

Description	If `true`, the modal will animate.
Attribute	`animated`
Type	`boolean`
Default	`true`

backdropBreakpoint

Description	A decimal value between 0 and 1 that indicates the point after which the backdrop will begin to fade in when using a sheet modal. Prior to this point, the backdrop will be hidden and the content underneath the sheet can be interacted with. This value is exclusive meaning the backdrop will become active after the value specified.
Attribute	`backdrop-breakpoint`
Type	`number`
Default	`0`

backdropDismiss

Description	If `true`, the modal will be dismissed when the backdrop is clicked.
Attribute	`backdrop-dismiss`
Type	`boolean`
Default	`true`

breakpoints

Description	The breakpoints to use when creating a sheet modal. Each value in the array must be a decimal between 0 and 1 where 0 indicates the modal is fully closed and 1 indicates the modal is fully open. Values are relative to the height of the modal, not the height of the screen. One of the values in this array must be the value of the `initialBreakpoint` property. For example: [0, .25, .5, 1]
Attribute	`undefined`
Type	`number[] ｜ undefined`
Default	`undefined`

canDismiss

Description	Determines whether or not a modal can dismiss when calling the `dismiss` method. If the value is `true` or the value's function returns `true`, the modal will close when trying to dismiss. If the value is `false` or the value's function returns `false`, the modal will not close when trying to dismiss. See https://ionicframework.com/docs/troubleshooting/runtime#accessing-this if you need to access `this` from within the callback.
Attribute	`can-dismiss`
Type	`((data?: any, role?: string ｜ undefined) => Promise<boolean>) ｜ boolean`
Default	`true`

enterAnimation

Description	Animation to use when the modal is presented.
Attribute	`undefined`
Type	`((baseEl: any, opts?: any) => Animation) ｜ undefined`
Default	`undefined`

handle

Description	The horizontal line that displays at the top of a sheet modal. It is `true` by default when setting the `breakpoints` and `initialBreakpoint` properties.
Attribute	`handle`
Type	`boolean ｜ undefined`
Default	`undefined`

handleBehavior

Description	The interaction behavior for the sheet modal when the handle is pressed. Defaults to `"none"`, which means the modal will not change size or position when the handle is pressed. Set to `"cycle"` to let the modal cycle between available breakpoints when pressed. Handle behavior is unavailable when the `handle` property is set to `false` or when the `breakpoints` property is not set (using a fullscreen or card modal).
Attribute	`handle-behavior`
Type	`"cycle" ｜ "none" ｜ undefined`
Default	`'none'`

htmlAttributes

Description	Additional attributes to pass to the modal.
Attribute	`undefined`
Type	`undefined ｜ { [key: string]: any; }`
Default	`undefined`

initialBreakpoint

Description	A decimal value between 0 and 1 that indicates the initial point the modal will open at when creating a sheet modal. This value must also be listed in the `breakpoints` array.
Attribute	`initial-breakpoint`
Type	`number ｜ undefined`
Default	`undefined`

isOpen

Description	If `true`, the modal will open. If `false`, the modal will close. Use this if you need finer grained control over presentation, otherwise just use the modalController or the `trigger` property. Note: `isOpen` will not automatically be set back to `false` when the modal dismisses. You will need to do that in your code.
Attribute	`is-open`
Type	`boolean`
Default	`false`

keepContentsMounted

Description	If `true`, the component passed into `ion-modal` will automatically be mounted when the modal is created. The component will remain mounted even when the modal is dismissed. However, the component will be destroyed when the modal is destroyed. This property is not reactive and should only be used when initially creating a modal. Note: This feature only applies to inline modals in JavaScript frameworks such as Angular, React, and Vue.
Attribute	`keep-contents-mounted`
Type	`boolean`
Default	`false`

keyboardClose

Description	If `true`, the keyboard will be automatically dismissed when the overlay is presented.
Attribute	`keyboard-close`
Type	`boolean`
Default	`true`

leaveAnimation

Description	Animation to use when the modal is dismissed.
Attribute	`undefined`
Type	`((baseEl: any, opts?: any) => Animation) ｜ undefined`
Default	`undefined`

mode

Description	The mode determines which platform styles to use.
Attribute	`mode`
Type	`"ios" ｜ "md"`
Default	`undefined`

presentingElement

Description	The element that presented the modal. This is used for card presentation effects and for stacking multiple modals on top of each other. Only applies in iOS mode.
Attribute	`undefined`
Type	`HTMLElement ｜ undefined`
Default	`undefined`

showBackdrop

Description	If `true`, a backdrop will be displayed behind the modal. This property controls whether or not the backdrop darkens the screen when the modal is presented. It does not control whether or not the backdrop is active or present in the DOM.
Attribute	`show-backdrop`
Type	`boolean`
Default	`true`

trigger

Description	An ID corresponding to the trigger element that causes the modal to open when clicked.
Attribute	`trigger`
Type	`string ｜ undefined`
Default	`undefined`

Events

Name	Description	Bubbles
`didDismiss`	Emitted after the modal has dismissed. Shorthand for ionModalDidDismiss.	`true`
`didPresent`	Emitted after the modal has presented. Shorthand for ionModalDidPresent.	`true`
`ionBreakpointDidChange`	Emitted after the modal breakpoint has changed.	`true`
`ionModalDidDismiss`	Emitted after the modal has dismissed.	`true`
`ionModalDidPresent`	Emitted after the modal has presented.	`true`
`ionModalWillDismiss`	Emitted before the modal has dismissed.	`true`
`ionModalWillPresent`	Emitted before the modal has presented.	`true`
`willDismiss`	Emitted before the modal has dismissed. Shorthand for ionModalWillDismiss.	`true`
`willPresent`	Emitted before the modal has presented. Shorthand for ionModalWillPresent.	`true`

Methods

dismiss

Description	Dismiss the modal overlay after it has been presented.
Signature	`dismiss(data?: any, role?: string) => Promise<boolean>`

getCurrentBreakpoint

Description	Returns the current breakpoint of a sheet style modal
Signature	`getCurrentBreakpoint() => Promise<number ｜ undefined>`

onDidDismiss

Description	Returns a promise that resolves when the modal did dismiss.
Signature	`onDidDismiss<T = any>() => Promise<OverlayEventDetail<T>>`

onWillDismiss

Description	Returns a promise that resolves when the modal will dismiss.
Signature	`onWillDismiss<T = any>() => Promise<OverlayEventDetail<T>>`

present

Description	Present the modal overlay after it has been created.
Signature	`present() => Promise<void>`

setCurrentBreakpoint

Description	Move a sheet style modal to a specific breakpoint. The breakpoint value must be a value defined in your `breakpoints` array.
Signature	`setCurrentBreakpoint(breakpoint: number) => Promise<void>`

CSS Shadow Parts

Name	Description
`backdrop`	The `ion-backdrop` element.
`content`	The wrapper element for the default slot.
`handle`	The handle that is displayed at the top of the sheet modal when `handle="true"`.

CSS Custom Properties

Name	Description
`--backdrop-opacity`	Opacity of the backdrop
`--background`	Background of the modal content
`--border-color`	Border color of the modal content
`--border-radius`	Border radius of the modal content
`--border-style`	Border style of the modal content
`--border-width`	Border width of the modal content
`--height`	Height of the modal
`--max-height`	Maximum height of the modal
`--max-width`	Maximum width of the modal
`--min-height`	Minimum height of the modal
`--min-width`	Minimum width of the modal
`--width`	Width of the modal

Slots

Name	Description
``	Content is placed inside of the `.modal-content` element.

Inline Modals (Recommended)​

Using isOpen​

Controller Modals​

Preventing a Modal from Dismissing​

Setting a boolean value​

Setting a callback function​

Prevent swipe to close​

Modifying dismiss behavior in child components​

Types of modals​

Card Modal​

Sheet Modal​

Interacting with background content​

Auto Height Sheet​

Handle Behavior​

Styling​

Animations​

Custom Dialogs​

Interfaces​

ModalOptions​

ModalCustomEvent​

Accessibility​

Keyboard Navigation​

Labels​

Screen Readers​

Focus Trapping​

Sheet Modals​

Performance​

Mounting Inner Contents​

Properties​

animated​

backdropBreakpoint​

backdropDismiss​

breakpoints​

canDismiss​

enterAnimation​

handle​

handleBehavior​

htmlAttributes​

initialBreakpoint​

isOpen​

keepContentsMounted​

keyboardClose​

leaveAnimation​

mode​

presentingElement​

showBackdrop​

trigger​

Events​

Methods​

dismiss​

getCurrentBreakpoint​

onDidDismiss​

onWillDismiss​

present​

setCurrentBreakpoint​

CSS Shadow Parts​

CSS Custom Properties​

Slots​

Contents

Inline Modals (Recommended)

Using `isOpen`

Controller Modals

Preventing a Modal from Dismissing

Setting a boolean value

Setting a callback function

Prevent swipe to close

Modifying dismiss behavior in child components

Types of modals

Card Modal

Sheet Modal

Interacting with background content

Auto Height Sheet

Handle Behavior

Styling

Animations

Custom Dialogs

Interfaces

ModalOptions

ModalCustomEvent

Accessibility

Keyboard Navigation

Labels

Screen Readers

Focus Trapping

Sheet Modals

Performance

Mounting Inner Contents

Properties

animated

backdropBreakpoint

backdropDismiss

breakpoints

canDismiss

enterAnimation

handle

handleBehavior

htmlAttributes

initialBreakpoint

isOpen

keepContentsMounted

keyboardClose

leaveAnimation

mode

presentingElement

showBackdrop

trigger

Events

Methods

dismiss

getCurrentBreakpoint

onDidDismiss

onWillDismiss

present

setCurrentBreakpoint

CSS Shadow Parts

CSS Custom Properties

Slots