UltraMega Blog
15Oct/091

Default Form Values with jQuery

Here's a useful jQuery snippet that clears the default values of form fields on focus and refills them if no text is entered. It uses the attribute called defaultValue which stores the original value of a form field.

$(document).ready(function() {
   $('input[type=text]').focus(function() {
      if($(this).val() == $(this).attr('defaultValue')) {
         $(this).val('');
      }
   })
   .blur(function() {
      if($(this).val().length == 0) {
         $(this).val($(this).attr('defaultValue'));
      }
   });
});

For example, assume you have a field like this:

<input type="text" value="Search..." />

When the page loads, the text field will have "Search..." filled in. When you focus on it, this text will disappear (assuming it hasn't already been edited by you). When you leave focus without typing anything, the text will reappear.

 
18Aug/092

Data Storage with jQuery

The jQuery data functions provide a clean way to store information for any kind of use. You can assign any amount of data to an element on the page and access it later by referencing the element. Like everything in jQuery, this is very easy to use.

In the following examples, we will be using an element with the id db to store information about fruit.

Store something:

// Store the current fruit
$("#db").data("fruit", "orange");
// Store an array of fruit info
$("#db").data("orange", { type: "citrus", color: "orange" } );

Fetch something:

// Find out what the current fruit is
var fruit = $("#db").data("fruit"); // orange
// Get the type of the current fruit
var type = $("#db").data("orange").type; // citrus

Remove something:

// Remove all fruit data
$("#db").removeData("fruit").removeData("orange");
 
5Aug/094

Add Records to a Queue with jQuery

This tutorial will explain how to make an animated "add to queue" type functionality with jQuery. Since it is hard to explain the results, check out the demo. First, I'll show how to create the actual effect, and then how to implement AJAX submission to a back-end script for database storage or some other processing.

 
25Jun/0917

Create a Slide-In Panel with jQuery

In this tutorial, I'll explain how to create a slide-in panel effect with jQuery. Basically, this means a hidden panel the slides into view when it is triggered by a button or other action. This is often used to display a contact form in a fun way, which is exactly what I am using it for on the new UltraMega website. As it turns out, this is very easy to do.

View Demo

 
   

Page optimized by WP Minify WordPress Plugin