Lightbox (JavaScript)

Infobox Software
name = Lightbox


caption = A webpage showing a Lightbox 2 window.
developer = Lokesh Dhakar
latest release version = 2.04
latest release date = release date|2008|03|09
operating system = Cross-platform
language = English
status = Stable
license = Creative Commons Attribution 2.5 License
website = http://www.lokeshdhakar.com/projects/lightbox2/

Lightbox, and the newer Lightbox 2, is a JavaScript application used to display large images using modal dialogs. The script has gained widespread popularity due to its simple yet elegant style and easy implementation. While it was initially developed from scratch, Lightbox has since been modified to use a number of JavaScript libraries (such as the Prototype Javascript Frameworkcite web | last = Herrington | first = Jack D | date = | title = Ajax and XML: Ajax for lightboxes | work = IBM DeveloperWorks | url = http://www.ibm.com/developerworks/library/x-ajaxxml6/ | accessdate = 2008-05-21 ] and script.aculo.uscite book | last = Schmitt | first = Christopher | year = 2006 | title = CSS Cookbook | publisher = O'Reilly | isbn = 0596527411 | pages = p. 204 ] for its animations and positioning), in order to reduce the size of the code.cite book | last = Resig | first = John | year = 2006 | title = Pro JavaScript Techniques | publisher = Apress | isbn = 1590597273 ] The release of Lightbox encouraged other developers to work on similar projects, resulting in products such as the later Thickbox.

How it works

On a Lightbox-enabled page, a user can click an image to have it magnified in a Lightbox window, which resizes itself according to the size of the image using a gliding animation. Lightbox determines which images will be shown in the modal window through the XHTML "rel" attribute, which is used on an <a> tag wrapped around the <img> tag. Lightbox also provides a way to attach captions to images and to run a slide show, which can be navigated using the arrow keys.

Functionality

Lightbox permits users to view larger versions of images without having to leave the current page,cite book | last = Zervaas | first = Quentin | year = 2007 | title = Practical Web 2.0 Applications with PHP | publisher = Springer | isbn = 1590599063 | pages = p. 423 ] and is also able to display simple slideshows. The use of the dark background, which dims the page over which the image has been overlaid, also serves to highlight the image being viewed.

While Lightbox is dependent upon a browser's compatibility with Prototype to function,cite book | last = Schmitt | first = Christopher | year = 2006 | title = CSS Cookbook | publisher = O'Reilly | isbn = 0596527411 | pages = p. 207 ] Lightbox is triggered through a standard link tag. Thus browsers that do not support JavaScript simply load the image as a separate file, losing the Lightbox effect but still retaining the ability to display the full-sized image. Even so, some compatibility problems have been identified with versions of Lightbox, in particular when displaying larger images on Firefox or Opera.cite web | last = Campbell | first = Debbie | date = February 15, 2007 | title = Thickbox - For Image Display and Slideshows | work = WebProNews | url = http://www.webpronews.com/blogtalk/2007/02/15/thickbox-for-image-display-and-slideshows | accessdate = 2008-05-21 ]

References

External links

* [http://lokeshdhakar.com/projects/lightbox2/ Official Lightbox website]
* [http://www.hotajax.org/others/lightbox/14-lightbox/572-2-of-lightbox-clone.html 27 of lightbox clone]
* [http://fortysomething.ca/mt/etc/archives/005400.php Which Lightbox is right for you?]
* [http://mjijackson.com/shadowbox/ Shadowbox Media Viewer] A “cross-browser, cross-platform, cleanly-coded and fully-documented media viewer application written entirely in JavaScript”. It can be used to extend the Prototype+ Scriptaculous, as well as YUI, Ext, jQuery and MooTools frameworks.
* [http://www.synapsesinc.com/lightbox Synapses Lightbox] A PHP Based lightbox solution that uses one image, and one image directory for your lightbox gallery. As opposed to having a thumbnail image for previewing, Synapses Lightbox auto resizes proportionately on the fly with the use of the PHP GD technology.
* [http://www.codefidelity.com/blog/?page_id=7 Lightbox++] further development of Lightbox to use Flash in the Lightbox
* [http://www.starsystems.ch/picViewer.html picture viewer] add on for Lightbox to use High Resolution Pictures on the Web (to 2880 pixels)
* [http://www.digitalia.be/software/slimbox Slimbox] A lightweight alternative based on the MooTools framework.
* [http://planetozh.com/projects/lightbox-clones/ The Lightbox Clones Matrix] A matrix comparison of 40+ lightbox alternatives, based on various Javascript frameworks (jQuery, MooTools, Prototype...)
* [http://www.hellogoogle.com/efecto_ajax_lightbox_javascript_css/ Ajax Lightbox version (spanish)]