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Appearance

Updated on May 21, 2025

The ToolBar provides predefined appearance options such as different sizes and settings to control its overflow behavior.

For a complete example, refer to the Appearance Demo of the ToolBar.

Options

The Kendo UI ToolBar supports the following styling options:

Resizing Options—Configures the resizing capabilities of the component.
Appearance Options—Configures the overall size of the component.
Overflow Options—Configures the overflow functionality of the component.

By design, the ToolBar detects changes in the viewport width and hides the overflowing controls in the command overflow popup. This feature may be disabled by setting resizable option to false. You are able to control the way a given command behaves on resizing with its overflow property.

Declare commands with overflow: "never" first followed by those with overflow: "auto". Declare commands with overflow: "always" last.

Setting the minimum width of the ToolBar element is mandatory for preventing the ToolBar from resizing below a given width.

The following example demonstrates how to use the overflow property.

    <div id="toolbar" style="min-width: 240px;"></div>

    <script>
        $("#toolbar").kendoToolBar({
            items: [
                { overflow: "never", type: "button", text: "Never" },
                { overflow: "auto", type: "button", text: "Auto 1" },
                { overflow: "auto", type: "button", text: "Auto 2" },
                { overflow: "always", type: "button", text: "Always" }
            ]
        });
    </script>

Appearance Options

To Kendo UI ToolBar exposes a size property that controlls the size of the component. The supported values are:

small
medium (default)
large
none

The following example demonstrates how to set size of the toolbar to small.

<div id="toolbar" style="min-width: 240px;"></div>
    <script>
      $("#toolbar").kendoToolBar({
        size: "small",
        items: [
          { overflow: "never", type: "button", text: "Never" },
          { overflow: "auto", type: "button", text: "Auto 1" },
          { overflow: "auto", type: "button", text: "Auto 2" },
          { overflow: "always", type: "button", text: "Always" }
        ]
      });
    </script>

Overflow Options

The ToolBar and its overflow configuration provide the following methods for styling:

mode—Defines the overflow mode.
scrollButtons—Defines the visibility of scroll buttons when mode is "scroll".
scrollButtonsPosition—Defines the placement of scroll buttons.
scrollDistance—Specifies the distance (in pixels) the toolbar scrolls when a scroll button is clicked.

Mode

The mode setting defines the overflow mode. The available options are:

menu—Moves overflowing items into a dropdown menu.
scroll—Keeps items visible and enables horizontal scrolling.
section—Groups items into collapsible sections.
none—Disables overflow handling and items may be cut off.

The following example demonstrates how to set scroll overflow mode.

    <div id="toolbar"></div>
    <script>
      $("#toolbar").kendoToolBar({
        overflow: {
          mode: "scroll"
        },
        items: [
          {
            template: "<img alt='Kendo UI for jQuery ToolBar User' src='https://demos.telerik.com/kendo-ui/content/web/toolbar/user.png' class='user-image' />",
            overflow: "never"
          },
          { type: "button", text: "Send", overflow: "never" },
          { type: "button", text: "Discard", overflow: "never" },
          { type: "separator" },
          {
            type: "splitButton",
            imageUrl: "https://demos.telerik.com/kendo-ui/content/web/toolbar/save.png",
            text: "Save",
            menuButtons: [
              { imageUrl: "https://demos.telerik.com/kendo-ui/content/web/toolbar/save.png", text: "Save as" },
              { imageUrl: "https://demos.telerik.com/kendo-ui/content/web/toolbar/upload.png", text: "Upload to drive" }
            ],
            overflow: "never"
          },
          {
            type: "splitButton",
            imageUrl: "https://demos.telerik.com/kendo-ui/content/web/toolbar/reply.png",
            text: "Reply",
            menuButtons: [
              { imageUrl: "https://demos.telerik.com/kendo-ui/content/web/toolbar/save.png",  text: "Reply All" },
              { imageUrl: "https://demos.telerik.com/kendo-ui/content/web/toolbar/forward.png", text: "Forward" },
              { imageUrl: "https://demos.telerik.com/kendo-ui/content/web/toolbar/reply.png", text: "Reply & Delete" }
            ],
            overflow: "never"
          },
          { type: "separator" },
          {
            type: "buttonGroup",
            buttons: [
              { icon: "bold", text: "Bold", togglable: true },
              { icon: "italic", text: "Italic", togglable: true },
              { icon: "underline", text: "Underline", togglable: true }
            ]
          },
          {
            type: "splitButton",
            text: "Insert",
            menuButtons: [
              { text: "Insert above", icon: "insert-top" },
              { text: "Insert between", icon: "insert-middle" },
              { text: "Insert below", icon: "insert-bottom" }
            ]
          },
          { type: "separator" },
          {
            type: "buttonGroup",
            buttons: [
              { imageUrl: "https://demos.telerik.com/kendo-ui/content/web/toolbar/done.png", text: "Done", togglable: true, group: "category" },
              { imageUrl: "https://demos.telerik.com/kendo-ui/content/web/toolbar/todo.png", text: "To Do", togglable: true, group: "category" },
              { imageUrl: "https://demos.telerik.com/kendo-ui/content/web/toolbar/important.png", text: "Important", togglable: true, group: "category" }
            ]
          }
        ]
      });
    </script>

ScrollButtons

The scrollButtons setting defines the visibility of scroll buttons when mode is scroll. The available options are:

auto—Displays scroll buttons only when needed. This is the default value.
hidden—Hides the scroll buttons at all times.
visible—Always shows the scroll buttons.

The following example demonstrates how to set visible overflow scroll buttons.

    <div id="toolbar"></div>
    <script>
      $("#toolbar").kendoToolBar({
        overflow: {
          mode: "scroll",
          scrollButtons: "visible"
        },
        items: [
          {
            template: "<img alt='Kendo UI for jQuery ToolBar User' src='https://demos.telerik.com/kendo-ui/content/web/toolbar/user.png' class='user-image' />",
            overflow: "never"
          },
          { type: "button", text: "Send", overflow: "never" },
          { type: "button", text: "Discard", overflow: "never" },
          { type: "separator" },
          {
            type: "splitButton",
            imageUrl: "https://demos.telerik.com/kendo-ui/content/web/toolbar/save.png",
            text: "Save",
            menuButtons: [
              { imageUrl: "https://demos.telerik.com/kendo-ui/content/web/toolbar/save.png", text: "Save as" },
              { imageUrl: "https://demos.telerik.com/kendo-ui/content/web/toolbar/upload.png", text: "Upload to drive" }
            ],
            overflow: "never"
          },
          {
            type: "splitButton",
            imageUrl: "https://demos.telerik.com/kendo-ui/content/web/toolbar/reply.png",
            text: "Reply",
            menuButtons: [
              { imageUrl: "https://demos.telerik.com/kendo-ui/content/web/toolbar/save.png",  text: "Reply All" },
              { imageUrl: "https://demos.telerik.com/kendo-ui/content/web/toolbar/forward.png", text: "Forward" },
              { imageUrl: "https://demos.telerik.com/kendo-ui/content/web/toolbar/reply.png", text: "Reply & Delete" }
            ],
            overflow: "never"
          },
          { type: "separator" },
          {
            type: "buttonGroup",
            buttons: [
              { icon: "bold", text: "Bold", togglable: true },
              { icon: "italic", text: "Italic", togglable: true },
              { icon: "underline", text: "Underline", togglable: true }
            ]
          },
          {
            type: "splitButton",
            text: "Insert",
            menuButtons: [
              { text: "Insert above", icon: "insert-top" },
              { text: "Insert between", icon: "insert-middle" },
              { text: "Insert below", icon: "insert-bottom" }
            ]
          },
          { type: "separator" },
          {
            type: "buttonGroup",
            buttons: [
              { imageUrl: "https://demos.telerik.com/kendo-ui/content/web/toolbar/done.png", text: "Done", togglable: true, group: "category" },
              { imageUrl: "https://demos.telerik.com/kendo-ui/content/web/toolbar/todo.png", text: "To Do", togglable: true, group: "category" },
              { imageUrl: "https://demos.telerik.com/kendo-ui/content/web/toolbar/important.png", text: "Important", togglable: true, group: "category" }
            ]
          }
        ]
      });
    </script>

ScrollButtonsPosition

The scrollButtonsPosition setting defines the placement of scroll buttons when the mode is set to scroll. The available options are:

split—Scroll buttons appear at both ends of the toolbar.
start—Scroll buttons appear only at the start of the toolbar.
end—Scroll buttons appear only at the end of the toolbar.

The following example demonstrates how to apply scroll buttons at the end of the toolbar.

    <div id="toolbar"></div>
    <script>
      $("#toolbar").kendoToolBar({
        overflow: {
          mode: "scroll",
          scrollButtonsPosition: "end"
        },
        items: [
          {
            template: "<img alt='Kendo UI for jQuery ToolBar User' src='https://demos.telerik.com/kendo-ui/content/web/toolbar/user.png' class='user-image' />",
            overflow: "never"
          },
          { type: "button", text: "Send", overflow: "never" },
          { type: "button", text: "Discard", overflow: "never" },
          { type: "separator" },
          {
            type: "splitButton",
            imageUrl: "https://demos.telerik.com/kendo-ui/content/web/toolbar/save.png",
            text: "Save",
            menuButtons: [
              { imageUrl: "https://demos.telerik.com/kendo-ui/content/web/toolbar/save.png", text: "Save as" },
              { imageUrl: "https://demos.telerik.com/kendo-ui/content/web/toolbar/upload.png", text: "Upload to drive" }
            ],
            overflow: "never"
          },
          {
            type: "splitButton",
            imageUrl: "https://demos.telerik.com/kendo-ui/content/web/toolbar/reply.png",
            text: "Reply",
            menuButtons: [
              { imageUrl: "https://demos.telerik.com/kendo-ui/content/web/toolbar/save.png",  text: "Reply All" },
              { imageUrl: "https://demos.telerik.com/kendo-ui/content/web/toolbar/forward.png", text: "Forward" },
              { imageUrl: "https://demos.telerik.com/kendo-ui/content/web/toolbar/reply.png", text: "Reply & Delete" }
            ],
            overflow: "never"
          },
          { type: "separator" },
          {
            type: "buttonGroup",
            buttons: [
              { icon: "bold", text: "Bold", togglable: true },
              { icon: "italic", text: "Italic", togglable: true },
              { icon: "underline", text: "Underline", togglable: true }
            ]
          },
          {
            type: "splitButton",
            text: "Insert",
            menuButtons: [
              { text: "Insert above", icon: "insert-top" },
              { text: "Insert between", icon: "insert-middle" },
              { text: "Insert below", icon: "insert-bottom" }
            ]
          },
          { type: "separator" },
          {
            type: "buttonGroup",
            buttons: [
              { imageUrl: "https://demos.telerik.com/kendo-ui/content/web/toolbar/done.png", text: "Done", togglable: true, group: "category" },
              { imageUrl: "https://demos.telerik.com/kendo-ui/content/web/toolbar/todo.png", text: "To Do", togglable: true, group: "category" },
              { imageUrl: "https://demos.telerik.com/kendo-ui/content/web/toolbar/important.png", text: "Important", togglable: true, group: "category" }
            ]
          }
        ]
      });
    </script>

ScrollDistance

The scrollDistance setting specifies the distance (in pixels) the toolbar scrolls when a scroll button is clicked. Default value is 50.

The following example demonstrates how to set scrollDistance to the toolbar.

    <div id="toolbar"></div>
    <script>
      $("#toolbar").kendoToolBar({
        overflow: {
          mode: "scroll",
          scrollDistance: 30
        },
        items: [
          {
            template: "<img alt='Kendo UI for jQuery ToolBar User' src='https://demos.telerik.com/kendo-ui/content/web/toolbar/user.png' class='user-image' />",
            overflow: "never"
          },
          { type: "button", text: "Send", overflow: "never" },
          { type: "button", text: "Discard", overflow: "never" },
          { type: "separator" },
          {
            type: "splitButton",
            imageUrl: "https://demos.telerik.com/kendo-ui/content/web/toolbar/save.png",
            text: "Save",
            menuButtons: [
              { imageUrl: "https://demos.telerik.com/kendo-ui/content/web/toolbar/save.png", text: "Save as" },
              { imageUrl: "https://demos.telerik.com/kendo-ui/content/web/toolbar/upload.png", text: "Upload to drive" }
            ],
            overflow: "never"
          },
          {
            type: "splitButton",
            imageUrl: "https://demos.telerik.com/kendo-ui/content/web/toolbar/reply.png",
            text: "Reply",
            menuButtons: [
              { imageUrl: "https://demos.telerik.com/kendo-ui/content/web/toolbar/save.png",  text: "Reply All" },
              { imageUrl: "https://demos.telerik.com/kendo-ui/content/web/toolbar/forward.png", text: "Forward" },
              { imageUrl: "https://demos.telerik.com/kendo-ui/content/web/toolbar/reply.png", text: "Reply & Delete" }
            ],
            overflow: "never"
          },
          { type: "separator" },
          {
            type: "buttonGroup",
            buttons: [
              { icon: "bold", text: "Bold", togglable: true },
              { icon: "italic", text: "Italic", togglable: true },
              { icon: "underline", text: "Underline", togglable: true }
            ]
          },
          {
            type: "splitButton",
            text: "Insert",
            menuButtons: [
              { text: "Insert above", icon: "insert-top" },
              { text: "Insert between", icon: "insert-middle" },
              { text: "Insert below", icon: "insert-bottom" }
            ]
          },
          { type: "separator" },
          {
            type: "buttonGroup",
            buttons: [
              { imageUrl: "https://demos.telerik.com/kendo-ui/content/web/toolbar/done.png", text: "Done", togglable: true, group: "category" },
              { imageUrl: "https://demos.telerik.com/kendo-ui/content/web/toolbar/todo.png", text: "To Do", togglable: true, group: "category" },
              { imageUrl: "https://demos.telerik.com/kendo-ui/content/web/toolbar/important.png", text: "Important", togglable: true, group: "category" }
            ]
          }
        ]
      });
    </script>