Lightbox Gone Wild
Recently I have been working on our new website, and one of the interface challenges that I have been facing has been modal windows, or windows that block input to other areas of the page until someone closes them. A good example that we are all probably familiar with is JavaScript alert boxes. These are the alert and confirmation windows that appear over your web browser (or sliding out of the top) when a warning is triggered or you are required to provide input. Go to our home page on this site and try to search for a blank term, and you will see what I am talking about.
JavaScript modal windows have their time and place. They are pretty limited in general, and I wanted some way to provide a modal window that will behave much more like a traditional pop-up window. The answer for me was with Lightbox Gone Wild, which is a great JavaScript and CSS creation by the very Chris Campbell over at ParticleTree. Based on the original lighbox.js by Lokesh Dhakar, this group of scripts that is based on the prototype JavaScript library makes creating a clean, browser compatible modal windows very simple. Not only that, but as the name suggests, it provides a clean “lightbox” effect for the content loaded in.
My experience with Lightbox Gone Wild has been positive so far. I agree with Chris, the author of the Gone Wild version, that the original Lightbox.js is a bit limited in it’s abilities, and when comparing the two I am impressed with how flexible the Gone Wild Version is. As a developer is is unobtrusive, required only that the scripts be linked to, and CSS classes be added to markup to add functionality. There are plenty of options, including the placeholder that is displayed while the real lightbox content is being loaded in. Oh, and did I mention that also does not break any accessibility guidelines?
Personally, I have been impressed. I’ve been trying very hard to keep an eye on accessibility and separation of content, formatting and functionality as I develop the new site. Additionally, usability is high in mind, and with tools like Lightbox Gone Wild out there, I am able to work much more efficiently.
