Material 3 Floating Toolbars

Overview

Floating Toolbars display page-specific actions in a flexible, undocked layout.

Material 3 Floating Toolbars, using FloatingToolbarLayout and OverflowLinearLayout, support horizontal or vertical orientations with hide-on-scroll and overflow menu capabilities. They can be paired with FABs for enhanced flexibility. This guide covers implementation, accessibility, and theming.

Getting Started

• Add Material Components for Android library dependency
• Use FloatingToolbarLayout with OverflowLinearLayout
• Apply Theme.Material3.* for styling
• Enable Material3Expressive themes for expressive styles

Accessibility

• Set android:contentDescription on actions for TalkBack
• Use accessibilityTraversalBefore/After for focus order
• Disable hide-on-scroll for TalkBack with padding adjustments

Behavior and Configuration

• Enable hide-on-scroll with HideViewOnScrollBehavior
• Use OverflowLinearLayout for overflow menus
• Support horizontal or vertical orientations

      
val boldButton = findViewById<Button>(R.id.floating_toolbar_button_bold)
val italicButton = findViewById<Button>(R.id.floating_toolbar_button_italic)
boldButton.setOnClickListener { /* Handle bold */ }
italicButton.setOnClickListener { /* Handle italic */ }
val overflowLayout = findViewById<com.google.android.material.overflow.OverflowLinearLayout>(R.id.floating_toolbar_child)
overflowLayout.getOverflowedViews().forEach { view ->
    view.setOnClickListener { /* Handle overflow item click */ }
}
      
    

Expressive Update

• Supports horizontal and vertical layouts
• Standard or vibrant color options
• Flexible positioning, can pair with FAB

Floating Toolbar Anatomy

Component	Description	Behavior
Container	FloatingToolbarLayout, colorSurfaceContainer or colorPrimaryContainer	Flexible positioning, supports hide-on-scroll
Content	Icon buttons or custom views in OverflowLinearLayout	Triggers actions, supports overflow menu

Floating Toolbar Example

• Supports icon buttons and overflow menus
• Configurable with horizontal or vertical orientation

Example

      
<androidx.coordinatorlayout.widget.CoordinatorLayout
    xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android"
    xmlns:app="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res-auto"
    android:layout_width="match_parent"
    android:layout_height="match_parent">
    <androidx.core.widget.NestedScrollView
        android:layout_width="match_parent"
        android:layout_height="match_parent">
        <TextView
            android:id="@+id/content"
            android:layout_width="wrap_content"
            android:layout_height="wrap_content"
            android:text="@string/content"
            android:accessibilityTraversalAfter="@id/floating_toolbar"/>
    </androidx.core.widget.NestedScrollView>
    <com.google.android.material.floatingtoolbar.FloatingToolbarLayout
        android:id="@+id/floating_toolbar"
        android:layout_width="wrap_content"
        android:layout_height="wrap_content"
        android:layout_gravity="bottom|center"
        android:layout_margin="16dp"
        android:accessibilityTraversalBefore="@id/content"
        app:layout_behavior="com.google.android.material.behavior.HideViewOnScrollBehavior">
        <com.google.android.material.overflow.OverflowLinearLayout
            android:id="@+id/floating_toolbar_child"
            android:layout_width="wrap_content"
            android:layout_height="wrap_content"
            android:layout_gravity="center"
            android:orientation="horizontal">
            <Button
                android:id="@+id/floating_toolbar_button_bold"
                style="?attr/materialIconButtonFilledStyle"
                android:layout_width="wrap_content"
                android:layout_height="wrap_content"
                android:checkable="true"
                android:contentDescription="@string/bold"
                app:icon="@drawable/ic_format_bold_24"
                app:layout_overflowText="@string/bold"
                app:layout_overflowIcon="@drawable/ic_format_bold_24"/>
            <Button
                android:id="@+id/floating_toolbar_button_italic"
                style="?attr/materialIconButtonFilledStyle"
                android:layout_width="wrap_content"
                android:layout_height="wrap_content"
                android:checkable="true"
                android:contentDescription="@string/italic"
                app:icon="@drawable/ic_format_italic_24"
                app:layout_overflowText="@string/italic"
                app:layout_overflowIcon="@drawable/ic_format_italic_24"/>
        </com.google.android.material.overflow.OverflowLinearLayout>
    </com.google.android.material.floatingtoolbar.FloatingToolbarLayout>
</androidx.coordinatorlayout.widget.CoordinatorLayout>
      
    

      
val boldButton = findViewById<Button>(R.id.floating_toolbar_button_bold)
val italicButton = findViewById<Button>(R.id.floating_toolbar_button_italic)
boldButton.setOnClickListener { /* Handle bold */ }
italicButton.setOnClickListener { /* Handle italic */ }
val overflowLayout = findViewById<com.google.android.material.overflow.OverflowLinearLayout>(R.id.floating_toolbar_child)
overflowLayout.getOverflowedViews().forEach { view ->
    view.setOnClickListener { /* Handle overflow item click */ }
}
      
    

Attributes and Usage

Element	Attribute	Related Method(s)	Default Value	Usage Description
Container	app:backgroundTint	N/A	Standard: ?attr/colorSurfaceContainer, Vibrant: ?attr/colorPrimaryContainer	Sets toolbar background color
Container	app:shapeAppearance	N/A	50% rounded	Sets toolbar corner shape
Container	app:marginBottomSystemWindowInsets	N/A	true	Applies system inset margin
Behavior	app:layout_behavior	N/A	null	Enables hide-on-scroll

Theming Floating Toolbars

• Customize color and typography
• Use res/values/styles.xml or vibrant style

Example

      
<style name="Theme.App" parent="Theme.Material3.*">
    <item name="colorPrimary">@color/shrine_theme_light_primary</item>
    <item name="colorSurface">@color/shrine_theme_light_surface</item>
</style>
      
    

      
<style name="Theme.App" parent="Theme.Material3.*">
    <item name="floatingToolbarStyle">@style/Widget.App.FloatingToolbar</item>
</style>
<style name="Widget.App.FloatingToolbar" parent="Widget.Material3.FloatingToolbar">
    <item name="materialThemeOverlay">@style/ThemeOverlay.App.FloatingToolbar</item>
</style>
<style name="ThemeOverlay.App.FloatingToolbar" parent="">
    <item name="colorPrimary">@color/shrine_theme_light_primary</item>
    <item name="colorSurface">@color/shrine_theme_light_surface</item>
</style>
      
    

      
<com.google.android.material.floatingtoolbar.FloatingToolbarLayout
    xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android"
    xmlns:app="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res-auto"
    style="@style/Widget.App.FloatingToolbar"
    android:layout_width="wrap_content"
    android:layout_height="wrap_content"
    android:layout_gravity="bottom|center"
    android:layout_margin="16dp"
    app:layout_behavior="com.google.android.material.behavior.HideViewOnScrollBehavior"/>
      
    

Orientation Comparison

Orientation	Pros	Cons	Image
Horizontal	Compact for multiple actions Suitable for bottom or top placement	May overflow on narrow screens
Vertical	Ideal for side placement Less screen width impact	Limited to fewer actions

Material Design Documentation

• Adheres to Material Design guidelines for Floating Toolbars
• Covers design, behavior, theming specifications
• Includes accessibility and orientation support
• Refer to Material Design documentation for full details

FAQ

What is a Material 3 Floating Toolbar?

• Undocked toolbar for page-specific actions

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How does it differ from Docked Toolbar?

• Flexible positioning vs. fixed bottom alignment

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When to use a Floating Toolbar?

• Use for actions needing flexible placement or overflow menus

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How to make it accessible?

• Set contentDescription; manage focus order

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Can I customize its appearance?

• Yes, theme via res/values/styles.xml

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How to add the Material 3 library?

• Include Material Components for Android library

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Are there updates for the latest standards?

• Reflects latest Material 3 standards for Floating Toolbars