Previously - I introduced a nice way to create drop down menus using HTML (lists), Javascript (drop down), and CSS (styling of menu). I put all of this together and called it: Jappler Menus. (See previous post about Jappler Menus).

Since writing that post - I have found a better, faster, cleaner way to work with drop down menus. I had originally seen some nice menus: http://help-developer.com and decided with some changes - that would be a much nicer way to work with menus. For this - I give you Jappler Menus version 2.

Here is an example of Jappler Menus in action: http://jappler.com/downloads/jappler-menus_v2/

There are 3 main components to the Jappler menus: HTML, Javascript (jQuery), and CSS.

The HTML to generate the menu contents. All you need to use to create the menu is create a simple HTML list:
[html]

Home
About Us

Our Story
Our Clients
Our Philosophy

Our Products

WordPress Themes
WordPress Plugins
WordPress Consultation

HOWTOs

bbPress
… [more]

I have recently been asked to create a tabbed interface for a few projects which does not require any page reloading. I am familiar with working with the Yahoo! User Interface Library (YUI) and decided to use their tabview component to make this happen.

What you need:

Yahoo User Interface Library
CSS
HTML (View Source)

A simple example:
Check this code out in action (reusing the tabs I created from the jappler menus).

You can easily “View Source” and use that as an example. The possibilities of customizing the “tabview” component are endless and can also be seen on jappler.com’s home page.

Moral of the story
Check out the YUI library, look at the examples and start using and reusing the code! This speeds up development and will make your life easier!

I have needed a good solution for a “cool” image gallery/slideshow for a few clients and have been very happy with Smooth Gallery. Why do I like this over something else from YUI or jQuery? I think this is by far the most easy to use and customize gallery/slide show. The documentation is clear and easy to read, and adding or changing parameters is extremely easy and clear. The other libraries have similar gallery/slideshow code, but if you are not a javascript fan - this is the one for you.

Please bare with me as I make some changes to my comments code here on my blog. I am trying to make use of an awesome AJAX comments plugin as well as dress up the interface.
[tags]jappler.com, AJAX[/tags]

I know this has been available for awhile, but I wanted to highlight it for anyone who has not heard of it. We all know and love O'Reilly books. I have several. I also have a subscription to Safari Bookshelf in case I have free time and want to read a good technical book. O'Reilly recently began offering Rough Cuts - a preview into some books on cutting edge technology incase you cannot wait until it is published...and they are free to look at. Want to pick up some AJAX skills? There are some AJAX books waiting for you! Enjoy.
[tags]O'Reilly, Sarari Bookshelf, Rough Cuts, AJAX[/tags]

After months of reading about it, I thought I would share some of the best articles on AJAX that I have come across:

Ajax: A New Approach to Web Applications
AJAX blog
24 ways to impress your friends (several AJAX articles)
AJAX Login System using XMLHttpRequest
XMLHttpRequest and AJAX tutorials
AJAX Magazine: AJAX Tutorials

[tags]AJAX, XMLHttpRequest [/tags]

I finally had a few minutes to download the latest Release Candidate of WordPress 2.0 yesterday and install it. Like usual, I created a full backup of my current site files and database, then installed the new version of WordPress and ran the super easy "upgrade" script. I was extrememly surprised when I did not encounter any real issues...especially since I hacked together so much with WordPress 1.5. My plugins worked and this I am able to post! I have not had a lot of time to play around with all the new features (most which are behind the scenes), but I look forward to checking them out soon.

I am including a screenshot of the admin area to show anyone who has not used a CMS or a blog just how easy it is to post content on a web site. If you can type and click a mouse button, you can have your own web site If you have never played with AJAX, there are lot of little AJAX goodies in this latest release!  Good job WordPress developers on the new release!
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