Customizing the select form arrow in Bootstrap 4: A step-by-step guide

I'm currently working on a form using Bootstrap 4 and I want to customize the style of the arrow select element. I'd like it to look like the second version shown below:

https://i.sstatic.net/oUBBI.png

I've tried various methods (referenced in this community citations needed) to modify the arrow but haven't been successful.

Could someone provide guidance on how I can achieve the desired outcome?

Below is an example of the HTML code related to the issue:

<head>
  <meta charset="utf-8">
  <meta content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1" name="viewport">
  <meta content="Description" name="description">
  <meta content="index,follow" name="robots">
  <link href="/images/myicon.png" rel="icon" type="image/png">
  <title>TITLE HERE</title>
  <!--CSS-->
  <link href="https://maxcdn.bootstrapcdn.com/bootstrap/4.0.0-alpha.6/css/bootstrap.min.css" rel="stylesheet">

</head>

<body>

  <div class="form-group">
    <label for="exampleSelect1">Example select</label>
    <select class="form-control" id="exampleSelect1">
      <option>1</option>
      <option>2</option>
      <option>3</option>
      <option>4</option>
      <option>5</option>
    </select>
  </div>

</body>

Answer №1

Here's an illustration for your reference.

This demonstration showcases how to customize a selectbox. However, based on my experience, older browsers may not support this approach.

select {
  background-image:
    linear-gradient(45deg, transparent 50%, red 60%),
    linear-gradient(135deg, red 40%, transparent 50%) !important;
  background-position:
    calc(100% - 30px) 14px,
    calc(100% - 20px) 14px,
    100% 0;
  background-size:
    10px 10px,
    10px 10px;
  background-repeat: no-repeat;
  -webkit-appearance: none;
  -moz-appearance: none;
}
<link href="https://maxcdn.bootstrapcdn.com/bootstrap/4.0.0-alpha.6/css/bootstrap.min.css" rel="stylesheet">

<div class="form-group">
  <label for="exampleSelect1">Example select</label>
  <select class="form-control" id="exampleSelect1">
    <option>1</option>
    <option>2</option>
    <option>3</option>
    <option>4</option>
    <option>5</option>
  </select>
</div>

I trust you find this beneficial!

Answer №2

If you're using Bootstrap 4, the .custom-select class is already available. To customize the appearance of the arrow in the select input, you can simply override the background property. For instance:

.custom-select { background: none; }

This code snippet will remove the arrow from the select input.

Answer №3

To make things easier with Select2, you can simply add a custom class like this:

$("#myList").select2({
     containerCssClass: "customClass"
});

I hope this solution works for you.

$("#myList").select2({
     containerCssClass: "customClass"
 });
/* select2 version 4.0.0 Beta 2 */
.select2-container--default .customClass.select2-selection--single{
  border-radius: 24px;
  height: 40px;
  padding-top: 5px;
}

.select2-container--default .customClass.select2-selection--single .select2-selection__arrow b{
  border-color: #00b37c transparent transparent transparent;
  border-width: 8px 8px 0 8px;
  margin-left: -22px;
}

.select2-container--default.select2-container--open .customClass.select2-selection--single .select2-selection__arrow b{
  border-color: transparent transparent #00b37c;
  border-width: 0px 8px 8px;
  margin-left: -22px;
}

.select2-container--default .customClass.select2-selection--single .select2-selection__arrow{
  padding-top: 5px;
  height: 35px;
}

.select2-container--default .customClass.select2-selection--single .select2-selection__rendered{
  color: #00b37c;
  font-family: monospace;
  font-size: 16px;
  margin-left: 8px;
  height: 40px;
}
<link href="//cdnjs.cloudflare.com/ajax/libs/select2/4.0.0/css/select2.css" rel="stylesheet"/>

<script src="//cdnjs.cloudflare.com/ajax/libs/jquery/2.1.3/jquery.js"></script>
<script src="//cdnjs.cloudflare.com/ajax/libs/select2/4.0.0/js/select2.full.js"></script>


<select id="myList" style="width:300px">
  <option value="A">Protection Form</option>
  <option value="B">Option 2</option>
  <option value="C">Option 3</option>
  <option value="D">Option 4</option>
</select>

Answer №4

Customizing Bootstrap is made easier by utilizing variables. To achieve this, I recommend setting the icon using the $custom-select-indicator variable.

$custom-select-indicator: url(path-to-custom-icon) !default;

Answer №5

Here is a CSS snippet you can use

select {
  background-image:url("url of your icon") !important;
  background-position:calc(100% - 20px) 14px,100% 0;
  background-size:20px;
  background-repeat: no-repeat;
  -webkit-appearance: none;
  -moz-appearance: none;
}

Answer №6

@user5638822's response is accurate, but it lacks some details...

To modify/replace the select dropdowns icon, you will need to use class="custom-select".

<select class="custom-select">
  <option selected>Open this select menu</option>
  <option value="1">One</option>
  <option value="2">Two</option>
  <option value="3">Three</option>
</select>

Visit:

Next, select .custom-select and update the background-image with a specific URL...

.custom-select {
    /* replace this URL with your desired icon */
    background-image: url("data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2000/svg' width='16' height='16' fill='currentColor' class='bi bi-caret-down-fill' viewBox='0 0 16 16'%3E%3Cpath d='M7.247 11.14 2.451 5.658C1.885 5.013 2.345 4 3.204 4h9.592a1 1 0 0 1 .753 1.659l-4.796 5.48a1 1 0 0 1-1.506 0z'/%3E%3C/svg%3E");
}




If you have an HTML icon like this...

<i class="bi bi-caret-down-fill"></i>

It needs to be converted into a URL before using it in

background-image: url("");


  1. To convert the HTML Icon into a URL, copy the svg code of the icon (from the source website).

example icon sources...

https://fontawesome.com/icons/caret-down?f=classic&s=solid

The code should look like this...

<svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" width="16" height="16" fill="currentColor" class="bi bi-caret-down-fill" viewBox="0 0 16 16">
  <path d="M7.247 11.14 2.451 5.658C1.885 5.013 2.345 4 3.204 4h9.592a1 1 0 0 1 .753 1.659l-4.796 5.48a1 1 0 0 1-1.506 0z"/>
</svg>


  2. Next, paste the svg into a URL encoder for SVG. (Read More: Using background image css for bootstrap icons)

https://i.sstatic.net/ByC1Edzu.png



  3. Copy the "Ready for CSS" code and enjoy!

Answer №7

I stumbled upon the solution within Bootstrap 4 itself

<select class="custom-select">
  <option selected>Open this select menu</option>
  <option value="1">One</option>
  <option value="2">Two</option>
  <option value="3">Three</option>
</select>

Link:

Appreciate the assistance provided

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