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ColorBox

A lightweight customizable lightbox plugin for jQuery

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Current version: 1.3.19 ( Released under the MIT License | Github | Changelog )

Tested in: jQuery 1.4.3+ in Firefox, Safari, Chrome, Internet Explorer 6, 7, 8, 9, Opera 11.
For older versions of jQuery (1.3.2+), use version 1.3.18

Features

Instructions & Help

The FAQ has instructions on asking for help, solutions to common problems, and how-to examples. First-time jQuery users can check out the ColorBox Beginner's Guide. Intermediate users can probably glean everything needed by view-source'ing the demo pages.

Usage

ColorBox accepts settings from an object of key/value pairs, and can be assigned to any HTML element.

// Format:
$(selector).colorbox({key:value, key:value, key:value});

// Examples:
// Image links displayed as a group
$('a.gallery').colorbox({rel:'gal'});

// Ajax
$('a#login').colorbox();

// Called directly, without assignment to an element:
$.colorbox({href:"thankyou.html"});

// Called directly with HTML
$.colorbox({html:"<h1>Welcome</h1>"});

// ColorBox can accept a function in place of a static value:
$("a.gallery").colorbox({rel: 'gal', title: function(){
    var url = $(this).attr('href');
    return '<a href="' + url + '" target="_blank">Open In New Window</a>';
}});

Settings

Property Default Description
transition "elastic" The transition type. Can be set to "elastic", "fade", or "none".
speed 350 Sets the speed of the fade and elastic transitions, in milliseconds.
href false This can be used as an alternative anchor URL or to associate a URL for non-anchor elements such as images or form buttons. $("h1").colorbox({href:"welcome.html"});
title false This can be used as an anchor title alternative for ColorBox.
rel false This can be used as an anchor rel alternative for ColorBox. This allows the user to group any combination of elements together for a gallery, or to override an existing rel so elements are not grouped together. $("a.gallery").colorbox({rel:"group1"}); Note: The value can also be set to 'nofollow' to disable grouping.
scalePhotos true If true, and if maxWidth, maxHeight, innerWidth, innerHeight, width, or height have been defined, ColorBox will scale photos to fit within the those values.
scrolling true If false, ColorBox will hide scrollbars for overflowing content. This could be used on conjunction with the resize method (see below) for a smoother transition if you are appending content to an already open instance of ColorBox.
opacity 0.85 The overlay opacity level. Range: 0 to 1.
open false If true, ColorBox will immediately open.
returnFocus true If true, focus will be returned when ColorBox exits to the element it was launched from.
fastIframe true If false, the loading graphic removal and onComplete event will be delayed until iframe's content has completely loaded.
preloading true Allows for preloading of 'Next' and 'Previous' content in a group, after the current content has finished loading. Set to false to disable.
overlayClose true If false, disables closing ColorBox by clicking on the background overlay.
escKey true If false, will disable closing colorbox on 'esc' key press.
arrowKey true If false, will disable the left and right arrow keys from navigating between the items in a group.
loop true If false, will disable the ability to loop back to the beginning of the group when on the last element.
data false For submitting GET or POST values through an ajax request. The data property will act exactly like jQuery's .load() data argument, as ColorBox uses .load() for ajax handling.
Internationalization
current "image {current} of {total}" Text or HTML for the group counter while viewing a group. {current} and {total} are detected and replaced with actual numbers while ColorBox runs.
previous "previous" Text or HTML for the previous button while viewing a group.
next "next" Text or HTML for the next button while viewing a group.
close "close" Text or HTML for the close button. The 'esc' key will also close ColorBox.
xhrError "This content failed to load." Error message given when ajax content for a given URL cannot be loaded.
imgError "This image failed to load." Error message given when a link to an image fails to load.
Content Type
iframe false If true, specifies that content should be displayed in an iFrame.
inline false

If true, content from the current document can be displayed by passing the href property a jQuery selector, or jQuery object.

// Using a selector:
$("#inline").colorbox({inline:true, href:"#myForm"});

// Using a jQuery object:
var $form = $("#myForm");
$("#inline").colorbox({inline:true, href:$form});
html false For displaying a string of HTML or text: $.colorbox({html:"<p>Hello</p>"});
photo false If true, this setting forces ColorBox to display a link as a photo. Use this when automatic photo detection fails (such as using a url like 'photo.php' instead of 'photo.jpg')
ajax This property isn't actually used as ColorBox assumes all hrefs should be treated as either ajax or photos, unless one of the other content types were specified.
Dimensions
width false Set a fixed total width. This includes borders and buttons. Example: "100%", "500px", or 500
height false Set a fixed total height. This includes borders and buttons. Example: "100%", "500px", or 500
innerWidth false This is an alternative to 'width' used to set a fixed inner width. This excludes borders and buttons. Example: "50%", "500px", or 500
innerHeight false This is an alternative to 'height' used to set a fixed inner height. This excludes borders and buttons. Example: "50%", "500px", or 500
initialWidth 300 Set the initial width, prior to any content being loaded.
initialHeight 100 Set the initial height, prior to any content being loaded.
maxWidth false Set a maximum width for loaded content. Example: "100%", 500, "500px"
maxHeight false Set a maximum height for loaded content. Example: "100%", 500, "500px"
Slideshow
slideshow false If true, adds an automatic slideshow to a content group / gallery.
slideshowSpeed 2500 Sets the speed of the slideshow, in milliseconds.
slideshowAuto true If true, the slideshow will automatically start to play.
slideshowStart "start slideshow" Text for the slideshow start button.
slideshowStop "stop slideshow" Text for the slideshow stop button
Positioning
fixed false If true, ColorBox will be displayed in a fixed position within the visitor's viewport. This is unlike the default absolute positioning relative to the document.
top false Accepts a pixel or percent value (50, "50px", "10%"). Controls ColorBox's vertical positioning instead of using the default position of being centered in the viewport.
bottom false Accepts a pixel or percent value (50, "50px", "10%"). Controls ColorBox's vertical positioning instead of using the default position of being centered in the viewport.
left false Accepts a pixel or percent value (50, "50px", "10%"). Controls ColorBox's horizontal positioning instead of using the default position of being centered in the viewport.
right false Accepts a pixel or percent value (50, "50px", "10%"). Controls ColorBox's horizontal positioning instead of using the default position of being centered in the viewport.
Callbacks
onOpen false Callback that fires right before ColorBox begins to open.
onLoad false Callback that fires right before attempting to load the target content.
onComplete false Callback that fires right after loaded content is displayed.
onCleanup false Callback that fires at the start of the close process.
onClosed false Callback that fires once ColorBox is closed.

Public Methods

$.colorbox() This method allows you to call ColorBox without having to assign it to an element. '$.colorbox({href:"login.php"});
$.colorbox.next()
$.colorbox.prev()		 These methods moves to the next and previous items in a group and are the same as pressing the 'next' or 'previous' buttons.
$.colorbox.close() This method initiates the close sequence, which does not immediately complete. The lightbox will be completely closed only when the cbox_closed event / onClosed callback is fired.
$.colorbox.element() This method is used to fetch the current HTML element that ColorBox is associated with. Returns a jQuery object containing the element. var $element = $.colorbox.element();
$.colorbox.resize() This allows ColorBox to be resized based on it's own auto-calculations, or to a specific size. This must be called manually after ColorBox's content has loaded. The optional parameters object can accept width or innerWidth and height or innerHeight. Without specifying a width or height, ColorBox will attempt to recalculate the height of it's current content.
$.colorbox.remove() Removes all traces of ColorBox from the document. Not the same as $.colorbox.close(), which tucks colorbox away for future use.

Event Hooks

These event hooks fire at the same time as their corresponding callbacks (ie. cbox_complete & onComplete), but can be used to make a universal change to ColorBox, while callbacks are only applied to selected elements.

// Example of using an event listener and public method to build a primitive slideshow:
$(document).bind('cbox_complete', function(){
    setTimeout($.colorbox.next, 1500);
});
cbox_open triggers when ColorBox is first opened, but after a few key variable assignments take place.
cbox_load triggers at the start of the phase where content type is determined and loaded.
cbox_complete triggers when the transition has completed and the newly loaded content has been revealed.
cbox_cleanup triggers as the close method begins.
cbox_closed triggers as the close method ends.

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