Column-based Navigation

Examples of column-based navigation in a phone and a desktop UI

When to use

Column-based navigation is ideal for navigating through a hierarchically organized information space, where users often go back and forth between different levels of the hierarchy.

Kirigami implements this pattern in the form of a PageRow, which allows users to scroll horizontally through pages and allows the application to add and remove pages to and from the stack dynamically. This allows easy back and forward navigation through the hierarchy by swiping left-right on touch screens.

A header with the title of the current page doubles as a breadcrumb trail which the user can scroll through and tap to go to a specific page.

How to use it

General

Use one page/column for each level of the hierarchy (or more generally, for each step of the navigation).
Pages can for example be Lists or Grids, or a detail view of a particular item.
Make sure to set meaningful but short page titles, so they can create a useful breadcrumb trail

For the command structure, see the Command Patterns

Implementation

If you use org::kde::kirigami::ApplicationWindow for your application, it automatically uses PageRow for its content.