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Portals and z-index

Every UI has stackable layers and it is important to have control over how these layers play together. Some examples of stackable layers are tooltips, modals, popovers, selects, dropdowns, and menus.

The issues that come up across the usage of these layers are related to z-index and visibility handling, in other words, "what layer goes on top?"

What's wrong with z-index?​

You might have encountered this if you've worked in codebases with z-index: 9999. This technique is an attempt to ensure than an element is always on top of all other elements.

But this method isn't as safe as you might think:

  • It introduces scaling issues, which you can manage with global values (such as a theme).
  • Components are still constrained and impacted by stacking contexts.

Stacking contexts​

A stacking context can be created in many ways, and here are just a few examples:

  • Element with a position: absolute or position: relative and z-index value other than auto.
  • An element with an opacity value less than 1.
  • An element with a transform or filter applied.
  • A child of a flexbox or grid container with a z-index other than auto.

Once a stacking context is created, the z-index rules of the any child stacking context(s) now only have meaning in this parent.

We have some links at the end of this page to help you learn more about stacking contexts.

Chakra Portal to the rescue​

An alternative to z-index is to use the DOM's natural stacking order to our advantage. React's Portals allow us to insert a child into a different location in the document, whilst not affecting other behaviours in React such as event bubbling.

Chakra Portal implementation allows for nesting, and defaults to inserting children at the end of document.body.

With this approach, you can create a stacking context for your application, and be certain that any children you render with Portal will always appear on top of everything else in your application, regardless of child stacking contexts.

This is particularly useful for components like modals and toast notifications.

Can I still use z-index alongside Portals?​

Yes, there are many cases where this will make sense.

As a general rule, we recommend not exceeding z-index values of more than 1 or 2, and to use stacking contexts to combat more complex stacking issues.

Further reading​

If you're interested in learning more about z-index and stacking contexts, check out these great resources:

Last updated on by Lazar Nikolov

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