Javascript to show/hide elements update with jQuery

I never expected it, but one of the most popular (most commented) posts on this blog is a javascript post from about 3 years ago. I was showing how to hide and show elements on a web page with some simple javascript using getElementById and altering the display or visibility attributes of the element. It still works – although I hear every once in a while that certain browsers have issues with is sometimes, but the truth is I haven’t used this code almost since I wrote it. I have converted to jQuery! And it is much easier to code, easier to read and even nicer to browsers. So I’m writing this update post to proclaim the antiquity (3 years on the internet is a long time) of getElementById and the benefits of jQuery!

There isn’t much more to say about it really. I hope you’ve heard of jquery and if not, please go check it out it’s pretty easy to pick up! One thing I will mention is the potential bloat to having to load a javascript library. But most of my projects lately have included jQuery because I’ve been using it much more than just showing and hiding elements. But remember our friend cache? Remember that if you’re using jQuery on a whole site, the user only loads it once, and if you load it from the google hosted version of jQuery they likely will already have the script in their cache. The current version is hosted at http://ajax.googleapis.com/ajax/libs/jquery/1.4.2/jquery.min.js, so just link to that script on your page and you’re free to throw in any jquery onto your page.

Well, check out the code; I hope it’s pretty self explanatory and you can see it in action. I always have to see things work to understand them and learn from them.

Javascript

[cc lang=”javascript”]
$(document).ready(function() {

$(‘.hide_it’).click(function(){ $(‘.to_hide’).hide(); });

$(“.show_it”).click(function () { $(“.to_show”).show(“slow”); });

$(“#toggle_it”).click(function () { $(“.to_toggle”).toggle(); });

$(‘.fade_it’).click(function() { $(“.to_fade”).fadeTo(“slow”,0); });

$(‘.fade_out’).click(function() { $(“.to_fade_out”).fadeOut(); });

$(‘.reset_all’).click(function() {
$(‘.to_hide’).show();
$(“.to_show”).hide();
$(“.to_toggle”).show();
$(“.to_fade”).fadeTo(“slow”,100);
$(“.to_fade_out”).fadeIn();
});
});
[/cc]

show-hide-jquery-screenshot

HTML Code

see it in action on the demo page
[cc lang=”html”]

testing hide js div

hide it


Show me slowly.


testing the toggle functionality of jQuery


testing fade out. you’ll notice that this is set to display:none once the fade is complete.

fade out


testing fade to 0. this fades out just as fadeOut, but it does no make the display none, so the page layout isn’t modified, just the visibility of this element.

fade it


[/cc]

Notice that with jQuery we can use a class or an id as a selector. This is great because you can show a whole slew of elements that share the same class at once. Remember that you can only have one id on a page at once since it must be unique.

See the demo page for working examples.

And don’t forget to read up on the api for jQuery here jQuery hide, jQuery show, jQuery toggle, jQuery fadeOut, jQuery fadeIn, jQuery fadeTo.

Cornerstone Media Group | Atlanta Web Design

csmediagroup redesignI’ve joined Cornerstone Media Group of Atlanta as the Senior Web Designer and Front-End coder! A bit stale as far as news goes, I’m going on 6 months already. The reason I bring it up now is that we’ve just relaunched our website. This new look is not just about new appearances and aesthetics, it is about a new approach. The redesigned website has new features that make the user experience easier and more intuitive. There is a dynamic portfolio and the company blog is tied more into the site and more into the business. Most employees are signed on as an author on the blog. We’ll do our best to flood the inter-web with good content related to what we do and our expertise. Three of our most popular business solutions now are highlighted buttons that can take you straight to landing pages with more in depth information on each solution; SEO, Web Design and E-Commerce. The redesigned website offers a freshness that comes with change. We hope you enjoy your new experience at cornerstone. If you’re in need of any web services chances are we’ll have a solution at CSMediaGroup.

StomperNet FormulaFIVE Launch Web Design

StomperNet relaunched the popular FormaulFIVE and I was responsible for the design of the landing pages. Here are screenshots from the launch, FormulaFIVE was teased with a couple video trailers and even packaged with some bonus videos called the Cash Booster series.
Aviary stomperf5-com Picture 2Aviary stomperf5-com Picture 1Aviary-stomperf5-com-3a
Go to stomperf5.com to view the page.

StomperNet Strikes Again! with FormulaFIVE

StomperNet has been a ‘buzz’.

After Andy’s ‘Mea Culpa‘ why wouldn’t it be…

But this is so much better and bigger, learning many lessons from the last launch – StomperNet strikes again!

Teamed up with Paul Lemberg a new product called FormulaFIVE (F5 for short).

Just launched a video to excite the industry!
So check out stomperf5.com now!

formula five landing page

Circlecube Freshens Up … for you!

Thanks for your patience as I’ve been tinkering with the theme, layout and css of circlecube.com.

I started with a free theme from Justin Tadlock, Options Theme, available at theme hybrid. I’ve changed that theme quite a bit, from restyling it to fixing bugs I found and updated many other things on the site as well. So the reason I’m going on about it is I think I’m finished… and I’m asking you to let me know if you see anything that looks odd or fishy, or even just want to make a suggestion or comment on how much you like/hate the redesign. Comment on this post or contact me!

And as always, if there’s something you would like me to write about or have questions you can also contact me. I’ve even set up a poll in the sidebar showing post ideas I have which you can vote on and encourage me to write the one(s) you want most first! So let me know what you want, it encourages me to write more as well. And be sure to subscribe to the circlecube rss feed so you won’t miss anything that’s coming up!

APB Website | Before and After

APB are the guys who organize public speakers, whoever you saw speaking at the last graduation or other ceremony was probably done through the American Program Bureau. They have connections! Many many people, from movie stars, to famous writers, to nobel peace prize winers! So for your next party, give them a try. They had a really old website from about 1999 or so. I was involved with rebuilding it! I did most of the html/css design and flash/actionscript. They just launched the site this week, so I’m just celebrating with this post!

See before and after images below:

Old:

old apb thumb
The original site was hard to navigate and horrible to look at…

Vs

New:

speaker_pages_w_player1
These are the mock ups, all html/css and the we pushed it into drupal for content management.
apb-relaunchAPB had the final say on the finishing touches. It came together, although I was suprised that they opted to put so much movement on the page. We set it all up so all speakers have images and videos on their page all in the custom player we built for them… but then they go and embed a youtube video on their homepage… go figure. It came a long way though. Go Web 2.0! Visit American Program Bureau.

SuperBookMarker Web App Design

sbm_1sbm_2sbm_3
Social Bookmarking master site built for StomerNet SMARTS (Social Marketing Traffic Secrets) members for easy social bookmarking. Minimalist design for clear presentation of organized sortable data. Implemented javascript (jquery) libraries for sorting and paging tables, javascript used to control visibility of elements on the page. Very simple and organized design, but still contain loads of information.sbm_4

StomperNet Going Natural 3 Web Design

gn3_1Site built for Going Natural 3, free series of videos to promote the re-opening of StomperNet. Includes flash video and html template design in drupal all styled with custom made themes and css. Users were prompted to subscribe with email address and then allowed to view the premium video content and comment. Site discontinued, but video content still available at stomperblog.gn3_2