Floating action button
A circular, elevated button anchored to a corner of the screen that triggers the most common action on the current view.
The FAB is Material Design's signature element, introduced in 2014. It sits above the rest of the UI in its own elevation layer, almost always at the bottom right, and contains a single icon for the screen's primary action: compose in Gmail, new event in Calendar, post in social apps. An extended FAB adds a text label. A speed dial FAB expands into multiple sub-actions on press. iOS does not have a direct equivalent: Apple HIG generally puts the primary action in the toolbar or nav bar.
Also called
FABfloating buttonprimary action button
When to use
- Material Design apps where one action dominates a screen
- Compose or create flows on mobile
- When the action must be reachable while the user scrolls
When not to use
- iOS or platform-native Apple apps (use the toolbar instead)
- Screens without a single dominant action
- Desktop layouts where there is room to put the action in a toolbar
Related
Source
Material Design ('Floating action button'). The pattern is specific to Material and is not part of Apple HIG.