Best way to create an "ENLARGE IMAGE" link...

[corpfan1]

Hi,

I am working on a photo gallery for my online fishing site...but thought this question would be beneficial in general when doing any type of site...

If I want to create a link (either below, or when an image is clicked on) to enlarge an image in a new window, is there a BEST WAY to do this?

Right now, I just link to the large image with _blank as the window.

Is there a "neater" / "different" way to do this?

Thanks!

[GregW]

I think the best way is the most user-friendly way. Here are the most popular options though:

• You can create a pop-up window.
• A lightbox.
• A CSS pop-up, where the enlarged image automatically appears on the page (not disturbing anything).
• Enlarge image on the page with javascript.

Pop-Up Window

I think these are perfect. I have never actually used them myself though. This is basically the same as what you are doing but simply with a smaller window.

http://www.htmlcodetutorial.com/link...amsupp_70.html

Lightbox

These are the cool way of enalrging images these days. Personally I find them quite obtrusive though, so I avoid them.

http://www.huddletogether.com/projects/lightbox/

CSS Popup

These can work well in the right situations. But they will become annoying if you are moving your mouse around the page and images are popping up here there and everywhere. Plus you must be at the right area of the page to see the full image when it pops up, so might take extra scrolling for your visitor to get it right.

http://www.dynamicdrive.com/style/cs...-image-viewer/

Javascript Image enlarge.

This again can be good in the right situation. The downside is that you can only use one image for the enlarged and minimized picture. So you have to choose between large picture size with good quality, or low quality but fast loading time.

http://javascript.internet.com/misce...rge-image.html


I actually found a good one that is like the CSS but centres the image in the middle of the screen, which eliminated the need to scroll to get the enlarged image centered perfectly.

At the end of the day though, the way you are doing it now is the easiest and works great. But the other options are there if you like them. Remember to not use something that will affect your site's usability just because it's a new and cool way of doing things.

[corpfan1]

Great post PokerBank- Thanks!

[MPC]

How do you feel about something like I use in my reviews on mypokerbasics? Here's an example: http://www.mypokerbasics.com/poker-r...er-review.html

click on a screenshot in the middle. The things is a little slow I have to say, but I like the idea of being able to associate images in groups (so you can do previous/next). I also like the transition effect when you "next" on an image that is a different size.

EDIT: This is actually a version of lightbox

[CK]

MPC thats awesome what did you do and does it use alot of code?

[MPC]

No, the coding was super easy. I did this a while back so I don't remember off the top of my head, but the code for the images is:

In my head tags, it has:

And I think that's all there was to it after you downloaded the js and css file (because you can actually tweek the look of it, like changing background colors and what not).

EDIT: OK, that didn't work. lol!

Just got here: http://www.lokeshdhakar.com/projects/lightbox2/

[TheDonk]

I'm using the Lightbox on a new site I'm developing as well. I love the way it works and it's super easy to install. I'm curious why ThePokerBank finds it 'obtrusive'.

Explain?

[Tom]

I'm using the Lightbox on a new site I'm developing as well. I love the way it works and it's super easy to install. I'm curious why ThePokerBank finds it 'obtrusive'.

Explain?

I think the light box looks pretty cool. I also wonder why ThePokerBank finds it obtrusive. On that site, it actually says it is "unobtrusive".

[GregW]

I don't hate it, but for me I feel it just gets in the way. I also feel more in control when the enlarged image appears in a pop-up window, so that I can minimize them/keep them open/open more than one at a time and compare them.

A lightbox forces the visitor to darken out the rest of the screen whilst you wait for the image to load. With a pop-up you give the visitor more control, and with a lightbox I feel that you are taking that away from them.

This is an example of why I don't like them: www.pokerlistings.com/titan-poker - click on the enlarge link and you will see why. You get a big picture (that you cannot see all of) in the middle of the screen that is surprisingly difficult to remove. I like to think I know what I'm doing with computers, but it took me a good 5 seconds to figure out that I had to double click off the image. A lot of less tech-savvy visitors would have sooner clicked the 'back' button.

In addition, if you have a slower computer, you are left with a darkened out webpage with a loading graphic in the middle for a good few secons. With a pop-up you can carry on with what you are doing and browse around until it loads, as opposed to having to stop and wait each time.

It's not a horrible thing, but the pop-up is more user-friendly in my opinion.