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No.196 · FAQ

Help Desk FAQ

A help centre in three panes — topics, the questions in that topic, and the answer — like a mail client for help. Arrow keys move within a pane and between panes, every answer asks whether it helped, and on a phone the panes become a drill-down with a way back at each level.

The prompt

The design brief behind this component — reuse it to regenerate, remix, or explain it.

Build a three-pane help centre FAQ. Data: topics ({ name, icon, articles: { q, body: paragraphs, updated }[] }). Layout: a breadcrumb (Help / Topic / Article, the first two clickable), then a grid of a topics column (13rem, tinted, with icon, name and article count), a questions column (17.5rem) and the article. The selected topic and question are marked aria-current and highlighted. The article shows the topic as a kicker, the question as a heading, the paragraphs (max 62ch), "Updated …", and a "Was this helpful?" group with Yes/No buttons that turn into "Glad it helped" or "Thanks — we'll make this clearer" (a status) with a Change link; votes are remembered per article. Keyboard: each list is a roving-tabindex set — ArrowUp/ArrowDown/Home/End move within it (moving through topics shows each topic's questions), ArrowRight moves on to the next pane (topics → questions → article heading) and ArrowLeft goes back. Choosing a topic focuses its first question; choosing a question focuses the article heading. Responsive: between 769 and 1000px the topics collapse to an icon rail with hidden text labels. At 768px and below only one pane shows at a time — topics, then questions, then the article — sliding in from the right, each lower level with a Back button and focus placed on the new level. Questions fade in 35ms apart; the article fades up on change. Paper and Night; reduced motion removes the motion.

Notes

Interaction
Pick a topic and a question; use the arrow keys to move within and between panes; vote on whether the answer helped. On a phone, drill in and use Back.
Motion
Questions fade in 35ms apart; the article fades up 300ms; phone panes slide in 280ms.
Accessibility
A labelled breadcrumb nav; lists of real buttons with roving tabindex and aria-current; focus moves to the new pane's heading or list; the helpful vote is a labelled group with a status reply. Reduced motion removes the animation.
Responsive
Three panes on wide screens, an icon rail at tablet widths, and a one-pane drill-down on phones.
On touch
The phone drill-down is designed for taps, with large rows and a Back button at each level.

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301 components