The elevation values are mapped out in a "z-space" and range from 0 to 24. Our implementation is based on Scott Hyndman's work, which was created in collaboration with the designers on the Material Design team.

A note about "z-space": Within the spec, elevation is normally referred to as having a dp value. In other words, how many "pixels" above the base material is a piece of material elevated. On a computer, this is normally represented by a 3-d coordinate system. We like z-space (or just "z" for short) because it aligns with the technical definition of, and nomenclature for, a 3-d coordinate system. Therefore, we feel it makes more sense than dp. However, when we refer to z-space (or z), that can be used interchangeably with the spec's dp.

Installation

npm install --save @material/elevation

Usage

Sass Mixin

MDC Elevation exports an mdc-elevation mixin which can be used to set the elevation on a selector. It works by assigning the correct elevation value to a selector's box-shadow property.

mdc-elevation takes one $z-value argument which represents the z-space for that given elevation. For example, cards have a resting elevation of 2dp. Implementing that using MDC Elevation looks like the following:

@import "@material/elevation/mixins";

.mdc-card {
  @include mdc-elevation(2);
  // ...
}

It is also quite simple to alias common elevations throughout your application by leveraging this mixin to export classes:

$elevations: (low, medium-low, medium, medium-high, high);

@for $i from 1 through length($elevations) {
  $elev: nth($elevations, $i);
  $z: $i * 2;
  .my-app-elevation--#{$elev} {
    @include mdc-elevation($z);
  }
}

Note that importing mdc-elevation/mixins does not output any CSS.

CSS Classes

MDC Elevation also includes a CSS file that exports all z values as mdc-elevation--z<N> modifier classes that can be easily used within HTML.

NOTE: dist/ dir will be available post-alpha in the distributed npm package.

<!-- in <head> -->
<link rel="stylesheet" href="/path/to/mdc-elevation/dist/mdc-elevation.css">
<!-- ... -->
<!-- in <body> -->
<p class="mdc-elevation--z2">Text that floats near the material surface</p>
<p class="mdc-elevation--z18">Text that floats far away from the material surface</p>

Handling elevation transitions

MDC Elevation includes utilities for transitioning between elevations.

Sass functions/mixins

The mdc-elevation-transition-rule function takes an optional duration and optional easing curve and spits out a transition property value shorthand with box-shadow specified as the property, and either the supplied or default durations / easings for the transition.

You can also use the mdc-elevation-transition mixin - which takes the same arguments as the above function - to output a transition property with the correct values as well as a will-change property with box-shadow set.

@import "@material/animation/variables";
@import "@material/elevation/mixins";

.my-component {
  @include mdc-elevation(2);
  @include mdc-elevation-transition;

  &--fast-transitions {
    transition: mdc-elevation-transition-rule(180ms);
  }

  &--default-ease-transitions {
    transition: mdc-elevation-transition-rule($mdc-elevation-transition-duration, ease);
  }

  &:focus {
    @include mdc-elevation(4);
  }

  &:active {
    @include mdc-elevation(8);
  }
}

If you need more configurability over your transitions, you can easily accomplish this by using the mdc-elevation-transition-rule function in conjunctions with the exported sass variables that mdc-elevation exposes for purposes of transitioning.

.my-component-with-custom-transitions {
  @include mdc-elevation(2);

  transition:
    mdc-elevation-transition-rule(),
    /* Configure opacity to use same duration and easing values as elevation */
    opacity $mdc-elevation-transition-duration $mdc-elevation-transition-timing-function;
  opacity: .7;
  will-change: $mdc-elevation-property, opacity;

  &:hover {
    opacity: 1;
  }

  &:active {
    @include mdc-elevation(6);
  }
}

CSS Classes

MDC Elevation also exports an mdc-elevation-transition CSS class which can be used within HTML.

<p class="mdc-elevation-transition mdc-elevation--z2">My elevation will change at some point...</p>

FAQs

What is @material/elevation?

Is @material/elevation popular?

Is @material/elevation well maintained?

Package last updated on 09 Jan 2017

Did you know?

Socket for GitHub automatically highlights issues in each pull request and monitors the health of all your open source dependencies. Discover the contents of your packages and block harmful activity before you install or update your dependencies.

Install