Create Your Own DHTML Slideshow With a Fading Effect - The Script

(Page 2 of 5 )

The HTML

<h1>My DHTML slideshow gallery</h1>
<div align="center">
<a href="javascript:changeSlide(-1)">Previous</a>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;
<a href="javascript:changeSlide(1)">Next</a>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;
<a href="javascript:setFade(false)">No fade</a>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;
<a href="javascript:setFade(true)">Fade</a><br>
</div>

<div id="slide0" class="slide">
<img src="slide0.jpg" alt="slide0" width="100" height="50">
</div>
<div id="slide1" class="slide">
<img src="slide1.jpg" alt="slide1" width="100" height="50">
</div>
<div id="slide2" class="slide">
<img src="slide2.jpg" alt="slide2" width="50" height="100">
</div>
<div id="slide3" class="slide">
<img src="slide3.jpg" alt="slide3" width="100" height="50">
</div>

This code is simple, but it works. Of course you do not have to name your images slide0.jpg and so on.

The Style Sheet

<style type="text/css">
.slide {
position : absolute;
visibility : hidden;
top : 200px;
left : 50px;
}

#slide0 {
visibility : visible;
}
</style>

Maybe you’re wondering why I didn't set the clipping in the style sheet? The answer is simple: Netscape Navigator 4 can only get the height/width of the block (actually the clipping area), when no clipping is set (apparently it doesn't get the height value properly, but I have never seen a difference of more than 10 pixels).


Explanation
Firstly, the controls are set using anchors:

<div id="slide0" class="slide">
<img src="images/slide0.jpg" alt="slide0" width="100"
height="50" border="0"></div>

This sets the first slide of your DHTML slideshow. The img should be wrapped in a div because NN 4 considers only div's and span's for layers. The case is that NN 4 can only set visibility/clipping of a layer. The class="slide" is for setting the position and visibility of all slides, and the id is to identify the slide that needs to be viewed.

.slide {
position : absolute;
visibility : hidden;
top : 200px;
left : 50px;
}

#slide0 {
visibility : visible;
}

Firstly, the class definition for all of the slides. It sets the position to absolute to get the impression that the next slides comes from below the previous one (so that the user doesn't have to scroll down the page to see the next slide).

visibility : hidden

... prevents the browser from visualizing the slides on the screen, while still reserving the space needed to actually display them. We also set the top and left co-ordinates of the slides (px is short for pixels).

Next: The Slideshow Script >>
 

More JavaScript Articles
More By Martin Tsachev

Comments On: Create Your Own DHTML Slideshow With a Fading Effect

>>> Be the FIRST to comment on this article!