Select menu element

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Usage info

Interactive component - see our guide to enabling interactivity.

The select menu also includes type-ahead functionality, where a user can type a part or all of an option string to filter the list.

There are different types of select menu elements that depend on different data sources for their lists of options:

• Select menu of static options
• Select menu of external data source
• Select menu of users
• Select menu of conversations
• Select menu of public channels

---

Select menu of static options

This is the most basic form of select menu, with a static list of options passed in when defining the element.

Fields

Field	Type	Description	Required?
type	String	The type of element. In this case type is always static_select.	Required
action_id	String	An identifier for the action triggered when a menu option is selected. You can use this when you receive an interaction payload to identify the source of the action. Should be unique among all other action_ids in the containing block. Maximum length is 255 characters.	Optional
options	Object[]	An array of option objects. Maximum number of options is 100. If option_groups is specified, this field should not be.	Required
option_groups	Object[]	An array of option group objects. Maximum number of option groups is 100. If options is specified, this field should not be.	Optional
initial_option	Object	A single option that exactly matches one of the options within options or option_groups. This option will be selected when the menu initially loads.	Optional
confirm	Object	A confirm object that defines an optional confirmation dialog that appears after a menu item is selected.	Optional
focus_on_load	Boolean	Indicates whether the element will be set to auto focus within the view object. Only one element can be set to true. Defaults to false.	Optional
placeholder	Object	A plain_text only text object that defines the placeholder text shown on the menu. Maximum length for the text in this field is 150 characters.	Optional

Example

A static select menu

[
  {
    "type": "section",
    "block_id": "section678",
    "text": {
      "type": "mrkdwn",
      "text": "Pick an item from the dropdown list"
    },
    "accessory": {
      "action_id": "text1234",
      "type": "static_select",
      "placeholder": {
        "type": "plain_text",
        "text": "Select an item"
      },
      "options": [
        {
          "text": {
            "type": "plain_text",
            "text": "*this is plain_text text*"
          },
          "value": "value-0"
        },
        {
          "text": {
            "type": "plain_text",
            "text": "*this is plain_text text*"
          },
          "value": "value-1"
        },
        {
          "text": {
            "type": "plain_text",
            "text": "*this is plain_text text*"
          },
          "value": "value-2"
        }
      ]
    }
  }
]

---

Select menu of external data source

This select menu will load its options from an external data source, allowing for a dynamic list of options.

Setup

If you don't have Socket Mode enabled, you'll need to configure your app to use this menu type:

1. Go to your app's settings page and select Interactivity & Shortcuts from the sidebar.
2. Add a URL to the Options Load URL under Select Menus.
3. Save changes.

Each time a select menu of this type is opened or the user starts typing in the typeahead field, we'll send a request to your specified URL. Your app should return an HTTP 200 OK response, along with an application/json post body with an object containing either:

• an options array
• an option_groups array

The options array can have a maximum number of 100 options.

The option_groups array can have a maximum number of 100 option groups, with each option group allowing up to 100 options.

Here's an example response:

{
  "options": [
    {
      "text": {
        "type": "plain_text",
        "text": "*this is plain_text text*"
      },
      "value": "value-0"
    },
    {
      "text": {
        "type": "plain_text",
        "text": "*this is plain_text text*"
      },
      "value": "value-1"
    },
    {
      "text": {
        "type": "plain_text",
        "text": "*this is plain_text text*"
      },
      "value": "value-2"
    }
  ]
}

Refer to options and option_groups for more information about their related fields.

Fields

Field	Type	Description	Required?
type	String	The type of element. In this case type is always external_select.	Required
action_id	String	An identifier for the action triggered when a menu option is selected. You can use this when you receive an interaction payload to identify the source of the action. Should be unique among all other action_ids in the containing block. Maximum length is 255 characters.	Optional
initial_option	Object	A single option that exactly matches one of the options within the options or option_groups loaded from the external data source. This option will be selected when the menu initially loads.	Optional
min_query_length	Integer	When the typeahead field is used, a request will be sent on every character change. If you prefer fewer requests or more fully ideated queries, use the min_query_length attribute to tell Slack the fewest number of typed characters required before dispatch. The default value is 3.	Optional
confirm	Object	A confirm object that defines an optional confirmation dialog that appears after a menu item is selected.	Optional
focus_on_load	Boolean	Indicates whether the element will be set to auto focus within the view object. Only one element can be set to true. Defaults to false.	Optional
placeholder	Object	A plain_text only text object that defines the placeholder text shown on the menu. Maximum length for the text in this field is 150 characters.	Optional

Example

A select menu in a section block with an external data source:

[
  {
    "type": "section",
    "block_id": "section678",
    "text": {
      "type": "mrkdwn",
      "text": "Pick an item from the dropdown list"
    },
    "accessory": {
      "action_id": "text1234",
      "type": "external_select",
      "placeholder": {
        "type": "plain_text",
        "text": "Select an item"
      },
      "min_query_length": 3
    }
  }
]

---

Select menu of users

This select menu will populate its options with a list of Slack users visible to the current user in the active workspace.

Fields

Field	Type	Description	Required?
type	String	The type of element. In this case type is always users_select.	Required
action_id	String	An identifier for the action triggered when a menu option is selected. You can use this when you receive an interaction payload to identify the source of the action. Should be unique among all other action_ids in the containing block. Maximum length is 255 characters.	Optional
initial_user	String	The user ID of any valid user to be pre-selected when the menu loads.	Optional
confirm	Object	A confirm object that defines an optional confirmation dialog that appears after a menu item is selected.	Optional
focus_on_load	Boolean	Indicates whether the element will be set to auto focus within the view object. Only one element can be set to true. Defaults to false.	Optional
placeholder	Object	A plain_text only text object that defines the placeholder text shown on the menu. Maximum length for the text in this field is 150 characters.	Optional

Example

A select menu in a section block showing a list of users:

[
  {
    "type": "section",
    "block_id": "section678",
    "text": {
      "type": "mrkdwn",
      "text": "Pick a user from the dropdown list"
    },
    "accessory": {
      "action_id": "text1234",
      "type": "users_select",
      "placeholder": {
        "type": "plain_text",
        "text": "Select an item"
      }
    }
  }
]

---

Select menu of conversations

This select menu will populate its options with a list of public and private channels, DMs, and MPIMs visible to the current user in the active workspace.

Fields

Field	Type	Description	Required?
type	String	The type of element. In this case type is always conversations_select.	Required
action_id	String	An identifier for the action triggered when a menu option is selected. You can use this when you receive an interaction payload to identify the source of the action. Should be unique among all other action_ids in the containing block. Maximum length is 255 characters.	Optional
initial_conversation	String	The ID of any valid conversation to be pre-selected when the menu loads. If default_to_current_conversation is also supplied, initial_conversation will take precedence.	Optional
default_to_current_conversation	Boolean	Pre-populates the select menu with the conversation that the user was viewing when they opened the modal, if available. Default is false.	Optional
confirm	Object	A confirm object that defines an optional confirmation dialog that appears after a menu item is selected.	Optional
response_url_enabled	Boolean	This field only works with menus in input blocks in modals. When set to true, the view_submission payload from the menu's parent view will contain a response_url. This response_url can be used for message responses. The target conversation for the message will be determined by the value of this select menu.	Optional
filter	Object	A filter object that reduces the list of available conversations using the specified criteria.	Optional
focus_on_load	Boolean	Indicates whether the element will be set to auto focus within the view object. Only one element can be set to true. Defaults to false.	Optional
placeholder	Object	A plain_text only text object that defines the placeholder text shown on the menu. Maximum length for the text in this field is 150 characters.	Optional

Example

A select menu in a section block showing a list of conversations:

[
  {
    "type": "section",
    "block_id": "section678",
    "text": {
      "type": "mrkdwn",
      "text": "Pick a conversation from the dropdown list"
    },
    "accessory": {
      "action_id": "text1234",
      "type": "conversations_select",
      "placeholder": {
        "type": "plain_text",
        "text": "Select an item"
      }
    }
  }
]

---

Select menu of public channels

This select menu will populate its options with a list of public channels visible to the current user in the active workspace.

Fields

Field	Type	Description	Required?
type	String	The type of element. In this case type is always channels_select.	Required
action_id	String	An identifier for the action triggered when a menu option is selected. You can use this when you receive an interaction payload to identify the source of the action. Should be unique among all other action_ids in the containing block. Maximum length is 255 characters.	Optional
initial_channel	String	The ID of any valid public channel to be pre-selected when the menu loads.	Optional
confirm	Object	A confirm object that defines an optional confirmation dialog that appears after a menu item is selected.	Optional
response_url_enabled	Boolean	This field only works with menus in input blocks in modals. When set to true, the view_submission payload from the menu's parent view will contain a response_url. This response_url can be used for message responses. The target channel for the message will be determined by the value of this select menu.	Optional
focus_on_load	Boolean	Indicates whether the element will be set to auto focus within the view object. Only one element can be set to true. Defaults to false.	Optional
placeholder	Object	A plain_text only text object that defines the placeholder text shown on the menu. Maximum length for the text in this field is 150 characters.	Optional

Example

A select menu in a section block showing a list of channels:

[
  {
    "type": "section",
    "block_id": "section678",
    "text": {
      "type": "mrkdwn",
      "text": "Pick a channel from the dropdown list"
    },
    "accessory": {
      "action_id": "text1234",
      "type": "channels_select",
      "placeholder": {
        "type": "plain_text",
        "text": "Select an item"
      }
    }
  }
]