SWFUpload jQuery Plugin
When I first stumbled across SWFUpload about two years ago I was impressed by how easy it was to implement. However, their example code has always bugged me as being rather crap, having to assign a separate global event handler for each event, and the lack of multiple handlers for a single event.
Using jQuery (the solution to all things painful), I've written a plugin to create a real event dispatcher for SWFUpload without modifying the SWFUpload core!
Macquarie online banking interface sucks
My wife and I have a few bank accounts with Macquarie, and although we think we're getting a pretty good deal with no bank fees and higher interest than most standard savings account, it's obvious their online banking interface is stuck in the mid-90's listening to Informer on a Sony Walkman.
Fortunately it's now 2009 and we have the ability to run custom javascript on any website we want, so stop complaining and fix your online banking experience today!
Handy jQuery Plugins/Snippets
It seems almost the entire world has switched to using jQuery, and for good reason too! Here are some simple but helpful plugins and snippets I've written recently.
jQuery.fn.otherwise
jQuery first-timers always seem to be asking "How can I check if my selection didn't match anything?", to which the common answer is "just check the .length property". Try the following for a chainable solution instead.
Usage Example
$('button').click(function(){
$('#msg p:first')
.remove()
.otherwise(function(){
$('#msg').html('<div class="error">There are no more paragraphs to remove!</div>');
});
});
<button type="button">Click me!</button>
<div id="msg">
<p>This is the first paragraph.</p>
<p>This is the second paragraph.</p>
<p>This is the third paragraph.</p>
</div>
Plugin Code
jQuery.fn.otherwise = function(func) {
if (!this.length) {
func.apply(this);
}
return this;
};
jQuery.fn.followLink
This was my first attempt at a jQuery plugin. I wanted to simulate a link being clicked, however .click() only triggers jQuery click handlers and doesn't change the current page.
Usage Example
// navigate prev/next depending on left/right arrows pressed
$(document).keydown(function(e){
if (e.which == 37) {
$('#prev').followLink();
} else if (e.which == 39) {
$('#next').followLink();
}
});
<a href="prev.html" id="prev">Go to the previous page</a><br />
<a href="next.html" id="next">Go to the next page</a>
Plugin Code
jQuery.fn.followLink = function(){
this.attr('href', function(){
window.location = this.href;
});
};
jQuery.fromXMLString
Ever had a string of XML that you'd love to use jQuery on? Although you can pass an XML string to jQuery in Firefox without additional code, it doesn't work in IE7. Try this baby instead!
Usage Example
var strXML = '<people><person id="69"><name>Trent</name><location>Punchy</location></person></people>';
$('#location').text(
$.fromXMLString(strXML).find("person[id='69'] location").text()
);
<p>Trent is from <span id="location"></span>.</p>
Plugin Code
jQuery.fromXMLString = function(strXML){
if (window.DOMParser) {
return jQuery(new DOMParser().parseFromString(strXML, "text/xml"));
} else if (window.ActiveXObject) {
var doc = new ActiveXObject("Microsoft.XMLDOM");
doc.async = "false";
doc.loadXML(strXML);
return jQuery(doc);
} else {
return jQuery(strXML);
}
};
Open external website links in a new window
Want all links away from your site to open in a new window? Although this is not as "jQuery-like" as the previous examples, it's fast and gets the job done.
It only modifies links that don't have a "target" attribute already set. I also like to make all pdfs open in a new window.
$(function(){
$('A, AREA').filter(function(){
return (!this.target && (this.href.indexOf(window.location.hostname) == -1 || this.href.match(/\.pdf$/i)));
}).attr('target', '_blank');
});