theDailyApp » Effects

OrderedList’s Prototype and jQuery FancyZoom

Tommy M — Fri, 05 Sep 2008 17:17:13 +0000

John Nunemaker’s (Orderedlist.com) FancyZoom was inspired by Cabel Sasser’s FancyZoom but completely rewritten to be a functional and attractive lightbox alternative.

Nunemaker’s FancyZoom is different in four ways. First, it can work with both images and text, not just images as Sasser’s version is confined to. Second, it is built using Prototype (or Steve Smith’s jQuery version) as opposed to Sasser’s which was built from scratch, thus making Nunemaker’s weight being only 12k as opposed to Sasser’s 36k. Granted, as the Nunemaker states, you have the overhead of Prototype on top of the 12k, but if you’re already using Prototype then you already have the overhead. And lastly, it doesn’t use Ajax. What this means is that your text and images are loaded when the page loads. The last way is more of a personal design touch than a coding implementation. Its the Apple effect of rounded corners. This creates a padding effect which frames your image or text very nicely.

If you’re looking for the jQuery version of FancyZoom, Steve Smith (Orderedlist.com) modified Nunemaker’s to create a jQuery version. Be sure to use the jQuery or Prototype version depending on which library you’re already using.

Smith’s and Nunemaker’s FancyZoom is a great effect that can be used for displaying features, fully-zoomed images, and text, all while maintaining the intuitive design for the user.

Beautiful, Functional Easy ToolTips with Prototip

Tommy M — Thu, 04 Sep 2008 00:59:11 +0000

Prototip allows the designer to create custom tooltip designs and empowers the developer to implement those designs easily… but for a price. It’s powered by the Javascript library Prototype (duh).

The demonstrations show a wide array of possibilities. One that can come in very handy is the ability display the tooltip at location X when you hover over the tooltip link at location Y. Other features include the ability to use Ajax in the tooltips, delays, offsets, and beautifully rounded corners. The downside to all this greatness? It comes with a price tag.

In the end, Prototip is a great tooltip to easily add eye-friendly functionality to your website.

ModalBox – User-Friendly Popup Box and Wizard

Tommy M — Tue, 02 Sep 2008 05:20:51 +0000

ModalBox is, according to its homepage, a JavaScript technique for creating modern (Web 2.0-style) modal dialogs or even wizards (sequences of dialogs) without using conventional popups and page reloads. Basically, it’s a quick and easy way for displaying forms, images, videos, documents or modal boxes to the user. It’s built off of Prototype Javascript Framework, script.aculo.us, and XHTML/CSS. If you’re looking for a Mootools version, check this out.

ModalBox, aside from standard features and the Lightbox effect, has added scrolling ability, offline-mode, and height auto-adjustment.

ModalBox is a simple, easy to install script, definitely worth your time and worth your visitors improved experience.

MooScroll – A Clever Mootools Scrollbar Effect

Tommy M — Thu, 21 Aug 2008 04:01:54 +0000

MooScroll gives the developer to have attractive and functional scrollbar using the MooTools library. It gives the designer the ability to easily create their own scrollbar and implement them easily into their theme or interface.

Size does not matter when it comes to MooScroll. Whether you have barely enough content to scroll, or more than enough, it will work with your content and design to display your desired result.

In conclusion, MooScroll is a designers dream.