Cross Fading Navigation with DHTML - Into the Code

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Ok, so now let’s get into the code, we’ll take it step by step. To start off with, we need to make sure we’re using browsers capable of handling the transitions, and a generic function to find objects.


//=========================================
// browser detection
var ie5   = ( document.getElementById && document.all ); 
var moz   = ( document.getElementById &&! document.all );
var opera    = ( navigator.userAgent.indexOf( 'Opera' ) != -1 );
if ( opera ) ie5 = false;
 
//=========================================
// generic object finder, modify it however you want
function getObject( obj ) {
  var strObj
  if ( document.all ) {
    strObj = document.all.item( obj );
  } else if ( document.getElementById ) {
    strObj = document.getElementById( obj );
  }
  return strObj;
}



Both Internet Explorer and Mozilla are good browser candidates. Opera however, will try to qualify at first pass by meeting the IE5 requirements. Therefore we have to do some string checking, and make sure Opera is identified correctly. For this browser and other non-DHTML friendly browsers, the menus will just pop in and out of existence, without fading.

Visual Manipulation

Now let’s get into the actual visual manipulation. The most efficient route to take, is to fade out the entire navRowSpan, make sure all sub-items are not displayed, display only the desired sub-items, then fade the whole navRowSpan back in. To do this, it’s best to use two functions: one to handle swapping the displayed items, one for the fading.

Let’s start with the first function, and declare the global variables that will be shared between the two:


//=======================================
// instantiate global variables
var wait, goIn, intRightNow, inUse;
 
// first function, swaps the active sub items
function swapNav( intNavSpan ) {
 

 if ( getObject( 'nav' + intNavSpan ).style.display == 'inline' )
  return;



The first thing we need to do is prevent the swapping of the same items simultaneously, or even trying to fade in an object that’s already active (full opacity).

But what happens if a user moves their mouse over another item in the middle of the fade? The best way to handle it is to stop fading in, fade it out quickly, and start on the new one.


if ( intNavSpan != intRightNow ) {
  // clear timeouts
  if ( typeof wait != 'undefined' ) { clearTimeout( wait ); }
  if ( typeof goIn != 'undefined' ) { clearTimeout( goIn ); }

 
  intRightNow = intNavSpan;  // set ‘current item’ placeholder
  inUse = '';
  swapNav( intNavSpan );
  return;
}



Of course we do need to wait until the fader is completely finished it’s work before we start on the next one:


if ( inUse != '' ) {
  wait = setTimeout( 'swapNav( ' + intNavSpan + ' )', 20 );
  return;
}



Here’s where we make the call to fade the whole thing out.

We wait until that process is finished, and then loop through the sub items, and make sure they’re all hidden. For efficiency’s sake, we define the maxInt, the total number of sub item containers, so that we can quickly locate them all.

NOTE  The items do not start with an index of ‘0’ in my example, so maxInt truly reflects the total.


if ( inUse != '' ) {
  wait = setTimeout( 'swapNav( ' + intNavSpan + ' )', 20 );
  return;
}
 
var maxInt = 3;
for ( var i = 1; i <= maxInt; i++ ) {
  getObject( 'nav' + i ).style.display = 'none';
}



Now we simply display the active sub-item container, and fade the block back in. 


  getObject( 'nav' + intNavSpan ).style.display = 'inline';
  fader( 'navRowSub', 'in' );
}



So now let’s get into the actual meat, what we’ve all come here to see: the fancy fading function.

Next: The Fading Function >>
 

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