Lists (1.5.0)

(This is not the most recent version of AlexaLists. Use the Other Versions option to see the documentation for the most recent version of AlexaLists)

The Alexa lists template (AlexaLists) displays a list of items. AlexaLists is a full-screen template that optionally displays a header, footer, and background. You specify whether the template presents text-based list items or image-based items. For text items, the template uses AlexaTextList. For image-based items, the template uses AlexaImageList on most viewports, and AlexaPaginatedList on small, round hubs.

Import the alexa-layouts package

To use AlexaLists, import the alexa-layouts package.

The latest version of the alexa-layouts package is 1.7.0. AlexaLists was introduced in version 1.1.0.

AlexaLists parameters

All parameters except type are optional.

Name Type Default Description Version added

backgroundAlign

String

center

Image/video alignment to apply to background image/video.

1.1.0

backgroundBlur

Boolean

false

When true, display the provided background image with a blur effect. Applies when backgroundImageSource contains a value.

1.1.0

backgroundColor

Color

—

Color to use as a background color. Used when neither backgroundImageSource or backgroundVideoSource contain values.

1.1.0

backgroundColorOverlay

Boolean

false

When true, apply a scrim to the background to make it easier to read the text displayed over the image or video.

1.1.0

backgroundImageSource

String

—

URL for the background image source. Used when backgroundVideoSource isn't provided.

1.1.0

backgroundOverlayGradient

Boolean

false

When true, apply a gradient to the background.

1.1.0

backgroundScale

String

best-fill

Image or video scaling to apply to background image or video.

1.1.0

backgroundVideoAudioTrack

String

foreground

Audio track to play on when playing the video. Can be foreground | background | none.

1.1.0

backgroundVideoAutoPlay

Boolean

false

When true, the video begins playing automatically when the document renders on the device. Applies when backgroundVideoSource contains a value.

1.1.0

backgroundVideoSource

Video source

—

The background video source. Provide a source in the same format shown for the source property of the Video component.

1.1.0

defaultImageSource

String

—

URL for a default image to use for any list items that don't have an imageSource defined. Use this to make sure that image containers are never empty. The same defaultImageSource is used for all list items that are missing imageSource.

1.1.0

emptyPrimaryText

String

—

Primary text to display in up to two lines when the list has no items. Text is truncated to fit to two lines.

1.1.0

emptySecondaryText

String

—

Secondary text to display in a single line when the list has no items. Displayed below the primary text. Text is truncated to display on a single line.

1.1.0

entities

Array

—

Array of entity data to bind to this template.

1.2.0

footerHintText

String

—

Hint text to display in the footer. Use textToHint to add the correct wake word to the hint. Not shown on small devices unless imageMetadataPrimacy is false.

1.1.0

headerAttributionImage

String

—

URL for attribution image source. Displays when headerAttributionPrimacy is true, or on a device that shows Title/Subtitle and Attribution.

1.1.0

headerAttributionOpacity

Number

0.8

The opacity of the attribution text and attribution image in the header. Set to a number between 0 and 1.

1.3.0

headerAttributionPrimacy

Boolean

true

When true, display the headerAttributionImage on devices that display a single element due to screen size. When false, display the headerTitle and headerSubtitle.

1.1.0

headerAttributionText

String

—

Attribution text to render in the header. Shown only when no headerAttributionImage is provided and headerAttributionPrimacy is true, or on a device that shows both Title/Subtitle and Attribution.

1.1.0

headerBackButton

Boolean

false

When true, displays a back button in the header. Set the headerBackButtonCommand property to specify a command to run when the user clicks this button.

1.1.0

headerBackButtonAccessibilityLabel

String

—

An accessibility label to describe the back button to customers who use a screen reader.

1.1.0

headerBackButtonCommand

Command

{"type":"SendEvent","arguments":["goBack"]}

Command to run when the user selects the back button.

1.1.0

headerBackgroundColor

String

transparent

Optional color value to use as the background color for the Header.

1.1.0

headerDivider

Boolean

false

When true, display a divider below the header to help separate it from the content.

1.1.0

headerSubtitle

String

—

Secondary text to render in header.

1.1.0

headerTitle

String

—

Primary text to render in header.

1.1.0

hideDivider

Boolean

false

When true, hide the horizontal divider displayed below each item in the list. Used when listImagePrimacy is false.

1.1.0

imageAlignment

String

center

Sets a default for the imageAlignment option for the items in listItems. See the imageAlignment property in AlexaImageListItem.

1.1.0

imageAspectRatio

String

square

Aspect ratio to use for the image bounding box for all the items in the list. Options are square, round, standard_landscape, standard_portrait, poster_landscape, poster_portrait, widescreen. This property works the same as the imageAspectRatio property for the AlexaImage responsive component except that the height and width of the bounding box are pre-defined based on the aspect ratio and can't be changed. All list items always use the same aspect ratio.

1.1.0

imageBlurredBackground

Boolean

false

Sets a default for the imageBlurredBackground option for the items in listItems. See the imageBlurredBackground property in AlexaImageListItem.

1.1.0

imageHeight

Dimension

—

Sets a default for the imageHeight option for the items in listItems. Each image in the list scales to fit within this height using the imageScale setting.

1.4.0

imageHideScrim

Boolean

false

Sets a default for the imageHideScrim option for the items in listItems. See the imageHideScrim property in AlexaImageListItem.

1.1.0

imageMetadataPrimacy

Boolean

true

When true, hide the hintText on small devices and display the secondaryText and tertiaryText. Set this to false to hide the secondaryText and tertiaryText and display the hintText instead. This property is ignored on larger devices that have room to display both the text items and the hintText.

1.1.0

imageRoundedCorner

Boolean

true

Sets a default for the imageRoundedCorner option for the items in listItems. See the imageRoundedCorner property in AlexaImageListItem.

1.1.0

imageScale

String

best-fit

Sets a default for the imageScale option for the items in listItems. See the imageScale property in AlexaImageListItem.

1.1.0

imageShadow

Boolean

true

Sets a default for the imageShadow option for the items in listItems. When true, display a drop shadow behind the image for each list item.

1.3.0

lang

String

${environment.lang}

The language for the text displayed in the template. This language determines the default font used for the text. For example, when set to ar-SA, the component uses Arabic fonts when available on the device. Set to a BCP-47 string.

For more details about language-specific fonts for responsive components, see Language-specific fonts in the components and templates.

1.4.0

layoutDirection

String

${environment.layoutDirection}

Specifies the layout direction for the content. Set this property to either LTR (left-to-right) or RTL (right-to-left). This property doesn't inherit the layoutDirection from the component's parent container. Therefore, explicitly set this property when needed.

For more details about support for right-to-left languages in the responsive components, see Support for Right-to-left Languages.

1.4.0

listId

String

—

An identifier to assign to the Sequence component used for the list. Set listId to a value to enable voice-based scrolling with the built-in intents. Also set this parameter to an ID if you need to target the list for commands, such as the SpeakList command.

1.2.0

listImagePrimacy

Boolean

false

When true, the list layout adapts to promote the provided image sources as the primary wayfinding element, usually in horizontal navigation. When false the primary text is promoted, usually in vertical navigation. Defaults to false.

1.1.0

listItems

Array of listItems

—

Array of list items to display.

1.1.0

primaryAction

Command

—

Sets a default for the primaryAction option for the items in listItems. Set this to the command to trigger when the user selects an item from the list. See the primaryAction property in AlexaImageListItem.

1.1.0

speechItems

Any

—

An array of speech items. The AlexaLists template assigns each item in this array to the speech property of the corresponding list item. Use this property when you want to use the SpeakList command to speak the list items.

1.2.0

theme

String

dark

Set the dark or light color theme. The selected theme controls the colors used for the template.

1.1.0

touchForward

Boolean

false

When true, assume the user is close enough to touch the screen (3ft viewing distance) and format the list items with a smaller font size. When false, assume the user isn't close enough to touch the screen ("voice-forward") and use a larger font size. Applies when listImagePrimacy is false.

1.1.0

type

String

—

Always set to AlexaLists.

1.1.0

Choose the list layout to display (listImagePrimacy)

The listImagePrimacy parameter determines the list layout.

When listImagePrimacy is true, the template displays either an AlexaImageList or an AlexaPaginatedList. These layouts show an image and text for each item. The AlexaPaginatedList displays on small, round hubs, so a single list item is shown on each page.

When listImagePrimacy is false, the template displays an AlexaTextList. This layout displays a scrolling list of text items.

Provide the list items

The AlexaLists template expects an array of items in the listItems property. Each item is one of the following:

  • An object with the same properties as those defined in the AlexaImageListItem responsive component.
  • An object with the same properties as those defined in the AlexaTextListItem responsive component.

The list uses the image properties when listImagePrimacy is true and ignores the image properties when listImagePrimacy is false.

The following example illustrates an array of items in a data source called listData.

{
  "listData": {
    "listItemsToShow": [
      {
        "primaryText": "First list item",
        "secondaryText": "Secondary text",
        "imageSource": "https://d2o906d8ln7ui1.cloudfront.net/images/md_gruyere.png",
        "imageProgressBarPercentage": 90,
        "imageShowProgressBar": false
      },
      {
        "primaryText": "Second list item",
        "secondaryText": "Secondary Text",
        "tertiaryText": "Tertiary text",
        "imageSource": "https://d2o906d8ln7ui1.cloudfront.net/images/md_gorgonzola.png",
        "providerText": "Provider Text",
        "imageProgressBarPercentage": 50
      },
      {
        "primaryText": "No image, use the default",
        "secondaryText": "Secondary text"
      },
      {
        "primaryText": "Fourth list item",
        "secondaryText": "No progress bar",
        "imageSource": "https://d2o906d8ln7ui1.cloudfront.net/images/tl_brie.png"
      },
      {
        "primaryText": "Fifth list item",
        "secondaryText": "With background blur",
        "imageSource": "https://d2o906d8ln7ui1.cloudfront.net/images/MollyforBT7.png"
      },
      {
        "primaryText": "Sixth list item (long text that wraps)",
        "secondaryText": "Longer secondary text that truncates",
        "imageSource": "https://d2o906d8ln7ui1.cloudfront.net/images/sm_blue.png"
      }
    ]
  }
}

Then, bind this array to the listItems property with the expression ${listData.listItemsToShow}. This example displays an AlexaImageList or AlexaPaginatedList and shows the provided images.

{
  "type": "AlexaLists",
  "listItems": "${listData.listItemsToShow}",
  "listImagePrimacy": true,
  "defaultImageSource": "https://d2o906d8ln7ui1.cloudfront.net/images/BT7_Background.png",
  "imageBlurredBackground": true
}

Change listImagePrimacy to false to display an AlexaTextList with the same data. This version ignores the properties that don't apply to AlexaTextList.

{
  "type": "AlexaLists",
  "listItems": "${listData.listItemsToShow}",
  "listImagePrimacy": false,
  "defaultImageSource": "https://d2o906d8ln7ui1.cloudfront.net/images/BT7_Background.png",
  "imageBlurredBackground": true
}

Default text for an empty list

Use the emptyPrimaryText and emptySecondaryText parameters to define text to display if there are no list items. This displays a short headline of text in the center of the screen.

The following example shows an AlexaLists with content for emptyPrimaryText and emptySecondaryText.

{
  "type": "AlexaLists",
  "listItems": "${listData.listItemsToShow}",
  "emptyPrimaryText": "${listData.emptyPrimaryText}",
  "emptySecondaryText": "${listData.emptySecondaryText}",
  "imageBlurredBackground": true
}

This example shows the data source that would produce the "empty list" message on the screen.

{
  "listData": {
    "emptyPrimaryText": "You don't have any list items",
    "emptySecondaryText": "To get started, tell me the item to add to the list",
    "listItemsToShow": []
  }
}

Set defaults for the list items

The AlexaLists template includes properties that correspond to properties in AlexaImageListItem. Use these to set default values for those properties. These apply when listImagePrimacy is true.

There are two types of defaults:

  • Defaults you can set or override for an individual item – AlexaLists uses the value provided on the individual item when available, and uses the value provided on AlexaLists otherwise.

    For example, you might set imageScale to best-fit for the whole list, but then override it to best-fill for one item on the list.

  • Defaults that always apply to all the items in the list – AlexaLists always uses the value provided on AlexaLists for these properties. Any value in a corresponding property on an individual item is ignored.

    For example, you must set imageAspectRatio on the whole list. You can't have a list in which some items display as squares and some as circles. Any value for imageAspectRatio on a list item is ignored.

The following table lists the properties you use as defaults.

Property Can override on an item
defaultImageSource No
imageAlignment Yes
imageAspectRatio No
imageBlurredBackground Yes
imageHeight No
imageHideScrim Yes
ImageMetadataPrimacy No
imageRoundedCorner Yes
imageScale Yes
imageShadow Yes
primaryAction Yes

For details about each of these properties, see AlexaImageListItem.

Specify the action for each list item

AlexaLists is interactive. Users can select items on the list. Set the primaryAction property to the command you want to run when the user selects an item.

When you set primaryAction on the AlexaLists component, AlexaLists passes the command to each item on the list.

To override command for an individual list item, set the primaryAction property on the list item itself.

The following example shows how you to use the SendEvent command to send your skill a UserEvent request. This passes the number representing the selected item as part of the SendEvent.arguments array.

{
  "primaryAction": {
    "type": "SendEvent",
    "arguments": [
      "ListItemSelected",
      "${ordinal}"
    ]
  }
}

AlexaLists example

A simple AlexaLists on a larger hub
A simple AlexaLists on a larger hub
The same AlexaLists template becomes a paginated list on a small hub
The same AlexaLists template becomes a paginated list on a small hub
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Last updated: Nov 28, 2023