A simple JavaScript Lightbox without dependencies
Contents
TLDR
- photo.js: a simple zero-dependencies JavaScript image lightbox.
Abstract
Recently I got back into photography and wanted to show my photos on this website. So I searched the web for a script which would show large versions of the photos on a dark overlay without leaving the page. It should be easy to integrate into websites and pages should still be visible when the user has no JavaScript enabled. And as a rule, I also like smallish pieces of code. Most scripts that I found online consisted of many lines of code, probably because they were developed in a time when browser engines were far less compliant than those of today. Some also required multiple dependencies. And then there were those that lacked a feature I wanted to support: having multiple galleries on a single page.
Given all the possibilities web browsers nowadays give us I didn’t think it would be that hard coding this myself without using dependencies.
W3Schools (♥ you) has a nice little tutorial on how to get to the basics of a Lightbox done.
Starting from that I built a simple image gallery script that I use on this website.
You can see it in action in my IJssel Highwater 2024 and Litterland galleries.
Features
- No dependencies on external libraries
- Multiple galleries on a single page
- Keyboard navigation:
- Left arrow moves back
- Right arrow moves forward
- ESC or x closes the lightbox
- Disabling JavaScript should not break the website
- Themeable using CSS
The Code
This is the version from the time of writing this article. It currently consists of 200-ish lines of code, that’s including JSDoc comments.
The JavaScript code consists essentially of two factory functions. One for the gallery to find the images, the other for the lightbox to show the large versions of the image.
Then there’s a main()
function which loads everything.
It searches for HTML elements with the class gallery
. For each such element, it searches <figure>
elements with an image link in it. The lightbox will show the href
of the <a href="...">
. So when JavaScript is disabled, the links will still work.
Download the JavaScript code here: photo.js
JavaScript
1/**
2 * Photo gallery in JavaScript
3 *
4 * Copyright 2024 Jochem Kossen
5 *
6 * Permission is hereby granted, free of charge, to any person obtaining a
7 * copy ofthis software and associated documentation files (the “Software”),
8 * to deal in the Software without restriction, including without limitation
9 * the rights to use, copy, modify, merge, publish, distribute, sublicense,
10 * and/or sell copies of the Software, and to permit persons to whom the
11 * Software is furnished to do so, subject to the following conditions:
12 *
13 * The above copyright notice and this permission notice shall be included
14 * in all copies or substantial portions of the Software.
15 *
16 * THE SOFTWARE IS PROVIDED “AS IS”, WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS
17 * OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO THE WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY,
18 * FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE AND NONINFRINGEMENT. IN NO EVENT SHALL THE
19 * AUTHORS OR COPYRIGHT HOLDERS BE LIABLE FOR ANY CLAIM, DAMAGES OR OTHER
20 * LIABILITY, WHETHER IN AN ACTION OF CONTRACT, TORT OR OTHERWISE, ARISING
21 * FROM, OUT OF OR IN CONNECTION WITH THE SOFTWARE OR THE USE OR OTHER DEALINGS
22 * IN THE SOFTWARE.
23 *
24 */
25
26/**
27 * Main script loop
28 */
29const main = function () {
30 const galleries = document.getElementsByClassName("gallery");
31
32 for (let i = 0; i < galleries.length; i++) {
33 const gallery = galleries[i];
34 const lightbox = createLightbox();
35 if (gallery instanceof HTMLElement) {
36 createGallery(gallery, lightbox);
37 }
38 }
39};
40
41/**
42 * Create a Lightbox instance
43 *
44 * @returns {object}
45 */
46const createLightbox = function () {
47 const lightbox = document.createElement("div");
48 const lightboxContent = document.createElement("div");
49 const img = document.createElement("img");
50 const closeLink = document.createElement("a");
51 const prevLink = document.createElement("a");
52 const nextLink = document.createElement("a");
53
54 /** @type {function} */
55 let onPrev;
56
57 /** @type {function} */
58 let onNext;
59
60 closeLink.href = "#";
61 closeLink.innerHTML = "×";
62
63 prevLink.href = "#";
64 prevLink.innerHTML = "❮";
65
66 nextLink.href = "#";
67 nextLink.innerHTML = "❯";
68
69 lightbox.id = "lightbox";
70 lightbox.className = "lightbox";
71
72 lightbox.appendChild(closeLink);
73 lightboxContent.appendChild(prevLink);
74 lightboxContent.appendChild(img);
75 lightboxContent.appendChild(nextLink);
76 lightbox.appendChild(lightboxContent);
77
78 /**
79 * @param {function} fn
80 */
81 const setOnPrev = (fn) => (onPrev = fn);
82
83 /**
84 * @param {function} fn
85 */
86 const setOnNext = (fn) => (onNext = fn);
87
88 /**
89 * @param {string} uri
90 */
91 const show = function (uri) {
92 setImage(uri);
93 lightbox.style.display = "block";
94 };
95
96 const hide = function () {
97 lightbox.style.display = "none";
98 };
99
100 /**
101 * @param {string} uri
102 */
103 const setImage = function (uri) {
104 img.src = uri;
105 };
106
107 /**
108 * Make the buttons in the lightbox work
109 */
110 const enableLightboxButtons = function () {
111 closeLink.addEventListener("click", (event) => {
112 event.preventDefault();
113 hide();
114 });
115
116 prevLink.addEventListener("click", (event) => {
117 event.preventDefault();
118 onPrev && onPrev();
119 });
120
121 nextLink.addEventListener("click", (event) => {
122 event.preventDefault();
123 onNext && onNext();
124 });
125
126 window.addEventListener("keydown", (event) => {
127 if (lightbox.style.display !== "block") {
128 return;
129 }
130
131 switch (event.key) {
132 case "ArrowLeft":
133 onPrev && onPrev();
134 break;
135 case "ArrowRight":
136 onNext && onNext();
137 break;
138 case "Escape":
139 case "x":
140 hide();
141 break;
142 }
143 });
144 };
145
146 enableLightboxButtons();
147 document.body.appendChild(lightbox);
148
149 return { show, setOnPrev, setOnNext };
150};
151
152/**
153 * Create a Gallery instance
154 *
155 * @param {HTMLElement} element
156 * @param {object} lightbox
157 */
158const createGallery = function (element, lightbox) {
159 /** @type {Array.<HTMLElement>} */
160 const slides = [];
161
162 /** @type {number} */
163 let prevSlide = 0;
164
165 /** @type {number} */
166 let nextSlide = 1;
167
168 const showLightboxOnClick = function(thumbnail, nr) {
169 thumbnail.firstElementChild?.addEventListener("click", (event) => {
170 event.preventDefault();
171 showLightbox(nr);
172 });
173 }
174
175 const findSlides = function () {
176 const thumbnails = element.getElementsByTagName("figure");
177 for (let i = 0; i < thumbnails.length; i++) {
178 showLightboxOnClick(thumbnails[i], i);
179 slides.push(thumbnails[i]);
180 }
181 };
182
183 /**
184 * @param {number} slideNr
185 */
186 const showLightbox = function (slideNr) {
187 prevSlide = slideNr <= 0 ? slides.length - 1 : slideNr - 1;
188 nextSlide = slideNr >= slides.length - 1 ? 0 : slideNr + 1;
189
190 const link = slides[slideNr].firstElementChild;
191
192 if (link instanceof HTMLAnchorElement) {
193 lightbox.show(link.href);
194 }
195 };
196
197 findSlides();
198
199 lightbox.setOnPrev(() => showLightbox(prevSlide));
200 lightbox.setOnNext(() => showLightbox(nextSlide));
201};
202
203/**
204 * Start up the galleries
205 */
206main();
HTML
1<div class="gallery">
2 <figure>
3 <a href="jpg-1280/DSCF8660-1280.jpg">
4 <img src="jpg-500/DSCF8660-500.jpg" alt="IJssel" />
5 </a>
6 </figure>
7
8 <figure>
9 <a href="jpg-1280/DSCF8663-1280.jpg">
10 <img src="jpg-500/DSCF8663-500.jpg" alt="IJssel" />
11 </a>
12 </figure>
13
14 <figure>
15 <a href="jpg-1280/DSCF8672-1280.jpg">
16 <img src="jpg-500/DSCF8672-500.jpg" alt="IJssel" />
17 </a>
18 </figure>
19</div>
CSS
1div.gallery {
2 display: flex;
3 flex-wrap: wrap;
4 gap: 1rem;
5 justify-content: space-between;
6 max-width: 1200px;
7}
8
9div.gallery > figure {
10 flex: 27%;
11 margin: 0;
12 padding: 0;
13}
14
15div.gallery.two > figure {
16 flex: 47%;
17}
18
19.lightbox {
20 background-color: #000000ef;
21 color: #fafafa;
22 display: none;
23 font-size: 32px;
24 font-weight: 900;
25 height: 100%;
26 left: 0;
27 overflow: auto;
28 position: fixed;
29 top: 0;
30 width: 100%;
31 z-index: 1;
32}
33
34.lightbox a:link,
35.lightbox a:visited {
36 color: #ffffff;
37 text-align: center;
38 text-decoration: none;
39 width: 10%;
40}
41
42.lightbox > a:link,
43.lightbox > a:visited {
44 position: fixed;
45 right: 0px;
46 z-index: 2;
47}
48
49.lightbox > div {
50 align-items: center;
51 display: flex;
52 height: 100%;
53 justify-content: space-between;
54 width: 100%;
55}
56
57.lightbox img {
58 -webkit-animation: fadeIn 0.5s;
59 animation: fadeIn 0.5s;
60 max-height: 90%;
61 max-width: 80%;
62 width: auto;
63}
64/* Media queries */
65@media screen and (max-width: 800px) {
66 div.gallery > figure {
67 flex: 47%;
68 }
69}
Most recent version
The above download link gives you the version at the time of writing this article. The most recent version in Git can be found at Codeberg.