NameThatUI — What Is This UI Element Called?

6 min read Original article ↗

NewestParallax ScrollingDate PickerPagination

The visual dictionary of UI. Describe the thing in your own sloppy words; you get the real name, the API symbol, and a paste-ready prompt for your coding agent.

newCan’t name the look either? Try Name That Vibe

Double-press any word on the site for a plain-English definition.

Parallax Scrollingweb

animation-timeline: scroll()

Layers that scroll at different speeds — the background lags and depth appears

Date Pickerweb

<input type="date">

The little calendar that pops up on a date field — and the highlighted stripe of a range

Paginationweb

<nav aria-label="pagination">

The numbered page buttons under a list — and the dot version, the page control

Sign-in Formweb

autocomplete="current-password"

The login form's nameable parts — the eye, the OR line, and the Continue-with buttons

Carouselweb

aria-roledescription="carousel"

A strip of slides you page through with arrows or the little dots

Site Header vs. Navigation Barweb

<header>

The whole top strip is the header; the row of page links inside it is the nav

Cardweb

<Card>

The rectangle with media, title, body, and a footer — every part has a name

Resize Handle (Size Grip)web

resize

The three diagonal lines in a text box's corner that you drag to make it bigger

Insertion Caret (Insertion Point)macos

NSTextView.insertionPointColor

The blinking line inside text that marks where the next character will appear

Hamburger Menu (Nav Drawer)web

aria-expanded + aria-controls

The three-line button and the navigation panel it slides open

Bento Gridweb

display: grid + grid-column: span 2

One grid, mixed tile sizes — a layout packed like a bento box

Masonry Layout (Pinterest Grid)web

columns

Cards of different heights packed into columns with no row gaps

Easing (Timing Function)web

transition-timing-function

The speed curve of an animation — why motion feels smooth or robotic

Spring Animationweb

transition={{ type: "spring", stiffness, damping }}

Physics-based motion that overshoots the target and settles

Text Scramble (Decode Effect)web

ScrambleTextPlugin

Random characters churn and settle into the real text

Lightboxweb

<dialog>

The click-to-enlarge image overlay that dims the page behind it

Marqueeweb

animation + @keyframes translateX

Content that auto-scrolls sideways in an endless loop

Pointer (Cursor)macos

NSCursor

Every shape the mouse pointer takes — and the real name of each one

Alertmacos

NSAlert

The small centered window with a badged icon, a bold line, and Cancel/OK buttons

Slidermacos

NSSlider

The round knob you drag along a track to pick a value from a range

Color Wellmacos

NSColorWell

The little swatch button that shows the current color and opens the picker

Form Fieldweb

<label for>

Every part of a labeled input — label, placeholder, helper text, and the red error line

Truncation (Ellipsis & Line Clamp)web

text-overflow: ellipsis

Text cut short with … — at the end of the line, after N lines, or in the middle

Drag & Dropweb

ondrop

The grips, handles, previews, and landing cues around a drag interaction

Divider vs. Separator vs. Ruleweb

<hr>

The same thin line can mark a topic break, separate controls, or be decoration

Progress Ring vs. Spinner vs. Progress Barweb

<progress>

A spinner means wait; a ring or bar can show how much work is complete

Mac Windowmacos

NSWindow

The movable Mac app frame, from its title bar and toolbar to its resize edges

Split Viewmacos

NSSplitView

Resizable panes separated by a draggable divider inside a Mac window

Scroll View (Scroller)macos

NSScrollView

A viewport whose AppKit scrollbar is called a scroller

Search Fieldmacos

NSSearchField

A Mac text field with built-in search, clearing, and recent-query controls

Save Panelmacos

NSSavePanel

The standard Mac dialog for naming a file and choosing where to save it

Token Fieldmacos

NSTokenField

A text input that turns recognized values into removable rounded tokens

Combo Buttonmacos

NSComboButton

A primary action joined to a separate arrow that opens related actions

Level Indicatormacos

NSLevelIndicator

A Mac gauge rendered as a capacity bar, rating stars, or relevance meter

Column View (Browser)macos

NSBrowser

Finder-style columns that reveal each successive level of a hierarchy

Outline Viewmacos

NSOutlineView

An indented tree of rows that expand to reveal nested children

The Three Dots (Overflow Menu)web

<button>

Horizontal dots, vertical dots, three lines, and an ellipsis mean different things

Menu Barmacos

NSApp.mainMenu

The strip along the top of the Mac screen — every part, labeled

Context Menumacos

NSMenu

The menu opened at the pointer by right-clicking or Control-clicking an item

Disclosure Trianglemacos

NSOutlineView

The small rotating control that reveals or hides nested content

Dock Badgemacos

NSDockTile.badgeLabel

The red count or status label overlaid on an app's Dock icon

Focus Ringmacos

NSView.focusRingType

The accent-colored glow that identifies the control receiving keyboard input

Inspectormacos

View.inspector(isPresented:content:)

The right-hand panel for viewing and editing details of the current selection

Panel (Floating Window / HUD)macos

NSPanel

An auxiliary macOS window that floats above related document windows

Popovermacos

NSPopover

A floating bubble whose arrow points back to the control that opened it

Pop-Up Button vs. Pull-Down Button vs. Combo Boxmacos

NSPopUpButton

Three similar-looking macOS controls for choosing a value or invoking a menu action

Segmented Controlmacos

NSSegmentedControl

A row of connected choices with the current segment visibly selected

Sheetmacos

NSWindow.beginSheet(_:completionHandler:)

A modal panel attached to one macOS window rather than the whole app

Sidebar (Source List)macos

NavigationSplitView

The translucent navigation column along the left edge of a macOS window

Steppermacos

NSStepper

The compact up-and-down arrow pair used to increment or decrement a value

Toolbar (Unified Title Bar)macos

NSToolbar

A row of window actions integrated with the modern macOS title bar

Traffic Lights (Window Controls)macos

NSWindow.standardWindowButton(_:)

The red, yellow, and green controls at the top-left of a macOS window

Visual Effect Material (Vibrancy)macos

NSVisualEffectView

The adaptive translucent background used behind macOS sidebars, menus, and panels

Toast (Snackbar)web

role="status"

A brief, non-blocking message that appears after an action

Modal Dialog vs. Drawer vs. Sheetweb

<dialog>

Three overlay patterns distinguished by placement, scope, and task depth

Popover vs. Dropdown Menu vs. Tooltipweb

popover

Three anchored overlays with different triggers, content, and dismissal rules

Scrim (Backdrop / Overlay)web

::backdrop

The translucent layer that separates a modal surface from the page

Skeleton vs. Spinnerweb

aria-busy="true"

Two loading indicators for predictable layouts and indeterminate waits

Combobox (Autocomplete / Typeahead)web

role="combobox"

A text input paired with a filtered list of selectable suggestions

Command Paletteweb

Command

A keyboard-first searchable launcher for actions and navigation

Accordion (Disclosure)web

<details>

Stacked sections whose headings expand and collapse their content

Tabsweb

role="tablist"

A single row of labels that switches one shared content region

Badge vs. Chip vs. Pill vs. Tagweb

Badge

Compact labels distinguished by meaning, shape, and interactivity

Breadcrumbsweb

<nav>

A hierarchy trail from the current page back to its ancestors

Sticky vs. Fixed Positioningweb

position: sticky

Two ways to keep an element visible with different containing blocks

Focus Ring (:focus-visible)web

:focus-visible

The keyboard-aware outline that identifies the active control

Empty Stateweb

<section>

Purposeful guidance shown when a view has no content yet

Hover Cardweb

HoverCard

A rich, non-modal preview revealed from a hovered or focused reference

Switch vs. Checkbox vs. Radioweb

<input type="checkbox" role="switch">

Controls for an on/off setting, independent choices, or one choice from a group

Toggle Group (Segmented Control)web

ToggleGroup

A connected row of compact options with one persistent selection

Menu Bar Extra (Status Item)macos

NSStatusItem

The icon that lives on the right side of the macOS menu bar

Stepsweb

aria-current="step"

The numbered circles across the top of a checkout or wizard, one per stage

Avatar Groupweb

AvatarGroup

Overlapping profile circles with a ring between them and a +N at the end

Multi-selectweb

<select multiple>

One control holding several values: the checkbox dropdown, the chip field, and the two-pane transfer list

Scrollspyweb

IntersectionObserver

The On this page list whose current link follows what you're reading

Inline Alert vs. Callout vs. Bannerweb

<Alert severity="warning">

Three in-page notices named by where they sit, and none of them is a toast

Guides — the decisions before the names