01 / POINTER INTENT
Safe Triangle
The problem
Submenus snap shut the instant your cursor drifts off the parent, so reaching a nested item feels like threading a needle.
The solution
Submenu remains active while the pointer trajectory is moving toward the submenu.
This mechanic is best experienced with a pointer.
Experiment
Task: Move from Analytics to Weekly Report — diagonally, without pausing.
NAIVE
THOUGHTFUL
Play with the values
0.75
120ms
12px
12
How it works
Seen in
Mega menus
Large flyout panels keep nested columns open while you sweep diagonally toward a deeper item.
Nested navigation
Sidebar or tree items stay active as you move toward child links without the parent collapsing.
Context menus
Right-click submenus remain open during diagonal travel to a nested action.
Tree navigation
Folder trees let you reach deeper nodes without the branch snapping shut mid-move.