Date pickers let users select a date or range of dates. They should be suitable for the context in which they appear.
Date pickers can be embedded into:
Dialogs on mobile
Text field dropdowns on desktop
Principles
Relevant
Date pickers can display past, present, or future dates – as relevant to the task.
Clear
Clearly indicate important dates, such as current and selected days.
Intuitive
To ensure picking a day or time is intuitive, use common picker patterns, such as a calendar.
Anatomy
Mobile calendar date picker
Title
Selected date
Switch-to-keyboard input icon
Year selection menu
Month pagination
Current date
Selected date
Mobile date range picker
Title
Selected date range
Switch to keyboard input icon
Month and year label
Current date
Start date
Selected range
End date
Mobile input picker
Title
Selected date
Switch-to-calendar view icon
Text field
Desktop date picker
Text field
Year and month selection
Month pagination
Today’s date
Selected day
Hover state
Mobile pickers
Mobile calendar pickers
Usage
Mobile calendar pickers can be used to select dates in the near future or past, when it’s useful to see them in a calendar month format. They are displayed in a dialog.
Common use cases include:
Making a restaurant reservation
Scheduling a meeting
They aren’t ideal for selecting dates in the distant past or future that require more navigation, such as entering a birth date or expiration date.
Mobile calendar pickers allow selection of a single date and year.
Mobile calendar picker
【Do】Maintain 16dp left and right padding from the edge of the screen. The top and bottom of the picker should be vertically centered in the screen.
【Don’t】Don’t use more than 16dp from the left and right screen edges, as it creates smaller touch targets.
【Don’t】Don’t use a calendar picker to prompt for dates in the distant past or future, such as a date of birth. In these cases, use a mobile input picker or a text field instead.
Behavior
Mobile calendar pickers navigate across dates in several ways:
To navigate across months, swipe horizontally
To navigate across years, scroll vertically
To access the year picker, tap the year
Horizontal swiping lets the user navigate across months.
Tapping the year menu accesses the year picker. Scrolling vertically navigates across years.
Mobile calendar pickers adapt to a device’s orientation.
Mobile date range pickers
Usage
Mobile date range pickers allow selection of a range of dates. They cover the entire screen.
Common use cases include:
Booking a flight
Reserving a hotel
Mobile date range picker
Behavior
Mobile date range pickers navigate across dates in several ways:
To select a range of dates, tap the start and end dates on the calendar
To navigate across months, scroll vertically
Select a range of dates with the date range picker.
Scroll vertically to access different months.
Mobile date input pickers
Usage
Mobile date input pickers allow the manual entry of dates using the numbers on a keyboard. Users can input a date or a range of dates in a dialog.
Mobile date input picker
Mobile date input pickers allow for keyboard input to select a date or range of dates.
Mobile date input picker
【Do】For dates that don’t require a calendar view, make the mobile date input picker as the default prompt.
【Do】Alternatively, a text field with appropriate hint text can prompt for dates, such as in a form.
Behavior
The mobile date input picker can be accessed from any other mobile date picker, via the edit icon.
Switching from a mobile calendar picker to a mobile date input picker
Switching from a mobile date range picker to a mobile date input picker
Desktop pickers
Desktop date pickers
Usage
Desktop date pickers allow the selection of a specific date and year. The desktop date picker displays a date input field by default, and a dropdown calendar appears when the user taps on the input field. The user can interact with either form of date entry.
Desktop date pickers are ideal for navigating dates in both the near future (or past) and the distant future (or past), as they provide multiple ways to select dates.
Desktop date picker
Behavior
Users can input dates either using a keyboard or by navigating the calendar UI; both options are immediately available when the desktop date picker is accessed.
Desktop date picker
Navigate through months by tapping the back and next arrows.
Navigate through years by tapping the dropdown.
Desktop date range pickers
Desktop date range pickers allow a range of days to be selected. They display both calendar and date input fields.
Desktop date range pickers select ranges of dates. The text field reflects the calendar dates selected.
Desktop date range picker
【Do】Use hover states to preview a user’s selection.
【Don’t】Don’t use the same style for hover and selected states.
Tooltips can help explain how to use date picker controls.
