Note: Roundabout is no longer under active development. I've moved the documentation over here to support the exists plugin, but there are known issues and such that won't be fixed. Use at your own risk.
Roundabout is a jQuery plugin that easily converts unordered lists & other nested HTML structures into entertaining, interactive, turntable-like areas.
It’s ready-to-go straight out of the box, but if you want to get crazy, Roundabout is highly-customizable with an extensive API that allows for some pretty amazing results.
Roundabout requires jQuery (at least version 1.2).
Roundabout is equipped to play nicely with a couple of other plugins if they’re made available.
Roundabout Shapes by Fred LeBlanc Roundabout can move in more ways than just a turntable. With Shapes, you have many other ways you can move your content around the page.
jQuery Easing by George McGinley Smith jQuery comes with two easing styles built in, but this plugin adds many, many more. Include this script and use any of its defined easing functions in your Roundabout animations.
Event.drag & Event.drop by ThreeDubMedia In addition to rotating on click, Roundabout can also move by clicking and dragging on the Roundabout element itself. Include these scripts and turn on enableDrag.
The list above is only a list of the plugins that have support baked in, but Roundabout will play nicely with many other plugins. (It’s up to you to integrate those yourself.)
Include the jquery.roundabout.js JavaScript file on your page after you include jQuery itself. Also, either link to the included CSS file, or copy the CSS styles from that file and paste them into your site's CSS file.
To activate Roundabout in its simplest form, you can do this:
$('ul').roundabout();Of course, this will change all of your ul elements into Roundabouts, which probably isn't what you want, but you can easily change the selector to only target the elements you wish to convert
You can set options on Roundabout to change how it behaves. Do this by passing in an object of options into the main Roundabout call upon initialization, like so:
$('ul').roundabout({
btnNext: ".next"
});If you're using the sister plugin Roundabout Shapes, be sure to include the jquery.roundabout-shapes.js file after you include the main Roundabout JavaScript file. Next, you'll select the shape as on of the options that you pass into Roundabout upon initialization:
$('ul').roundabout({
btnNext: ".next",
shape: "figure8"
});Roundabout comes with a number of methods you can call to better control how it works. Calling those methods are done by re-calling roundabout on the element that Roundabout is already working on and passing in the name of the method to use as the first parameter. If the method requires other parameters, pass those in as subsequent parameters.
For example, instead of using the btnNext option, you can manually implement this yourself like this:
$('.btnNext', function(e) {
e.stopPropagation();
e.preventDefault();
// this is the action
$('ul#myRoundabout').roundabout('animateToNextChild');
return false;
});Lately it seems that this doesn't work as well as it once did. Not sure why, but you can still enable it. To do this, you'll need to grab v2 of the jquery.event.drag and jquery.event.drop plugins by ThreeDubMedia. Include them on your page after Roundabout is included.
Next, enable your Roundabout to use drag and drop like so:
$('ul').roundabout({
enableDrag: true
});Autoplay lets you have Roundabout automatically animate on an interval. This functionality is included with the Roundabout core, so no additional scripts are needed to get this working.
To enable autoplay, there are three options you can set:
$('ul').roundabout({
autoplay: true,
autoplayDuration: 5000,
autoplayPauseOnHover: true
});The first option, autoplay will turn on autoplay. The second, autoplayDuration is the length of time in milliseconds between animation triggers. The final option, autoplayPauseOnHover will force autoplay never to figure while the user has their cursor over the Roundabout itself.
Version 2 (the current version) works reasonably well, although if you look in the issues you'll see a number of things that don't work for some people. As mentioned above, this plugin is no longer under active development. Feel free to continue submitting issues for others to see, but no further official action can be guaranteed at all.
Roundabout comes with many settable configuration options that let you customize how it operates.
| Option | Description | Data Type | Default |
|---|---|---|---|
bearing |
The starting direction in which Roundabout should
face relative to the focusBearing.
|
float | 0.0 |
tilt |
Slightly alters the calculations of moving elements.
In the default shape,
it adjusts the apparent tilt. Other shapes
will differ.
|
float | 0.0 |
minZ |
The lowest z-index that will be assigned to a moving
element. This occurs when the moving element is
opposite of (that is, 180° away from) the
focusBearing.
|
integer | 100 |
maxZ |
The greatest z-index that will be assigned to a
moving element. This occurs when the moving element
is at the same bearing as the
focusBearing.
|
integer | 280 |
minOpacity |
The lowest opacity that will be assigned to a moving
element. This occurs when the moving element is
opposite of (that is, 180° away
from) the focusBearing.
|
float | 0.4 |
maxOpacity |
The greatest opacity that will be assigned to a
moving element. This occurs when the moving element
is at the same bearing as the
focusBearing.
|
float | 1.0 |
minScale |
The lowest size (relative to its starting size) that
will be assigned to a moving element. This occurs
when the moving element is opposite of (that is, 180°
away from) the
focusBearing.
|
float | 0.4 |
maxScale |
The greatest size (relative to its starting size)
that will be assigned to a moving element. This
occurs when the moving element is at the same bearing
as the
focusBearing.
|
float | 1.0 |
duration |
The length of time Roundabout will take to move from one child element being in focus to another (when an animation is triggered). This value acts as the default for Roundabout, but each animation action can be given a custom duration for that animation. | integer | 600 |
btnNext |
A jQuery selector of page elements that, when clicked, will trigger the Roundabout to animate to the next moving element. | string | null |
btnNextCallback |
A function that will be called once the animation
triggered by a
btnNext-related
click has finished.
|
function | function() {} |
btnPrev |
A jQuery selector of page elements that, when clicked, will trigger the Roundabout to animate to the previous moving element. | string | null |
btnPrevCallback |
A function that will be called once the animation
triggered by a
btnPrev-releated
click has finished.
|
function | function() {} |
btnToggleAutoplay |
A jQuery selector of page elements that, when
clicked, will toggle the Roundabout’s autoplay state
(either starting or stopping).
|
string | null |
btnStartAutoplay |
A jQuery selector of page elements that, when
clicked, will start the Roundabout’s
autoplay feature
(if it’s currently stopped).
|
string | null |
btnStopAutoplay |
A jQuery selector of page elements that, when
clicked, will stop the Roundabout’s
autoplay
feature (if it’s current playing).
|
string | null |
easing |
The easing function to use when animating Roundabout. With no other plugins, the standard jQuery easing functions are available. When using the jQuery easing plugin, all of its easing functions will also be available. | string | "swing" |
clickToFocus |
When true, Roundabout will bring
non-focused moving elements into focus when they’re
clicked. Otherwise, click events won’t be captured
and will be passed through to the moving child
elements.
|
boolean | true |
clickToFocusCallback |
A function that will be called once the
clickToFocus
animation has completed.
|
function | function() {} |
focusBearing |
The bearing that Roundabout will use as the focus point. All animations that move Roundabout between children will animate the given child element to this bearing. | float | 0.0 |
shape |
The path that moving elements follow. By default,
Roundabout comes with one shape, which is
lazySusan. When using Roundabout with the
Roundabout Shapes
plugin, there are many other shapes available.
|
string | "lazySusan" |
debug |
When true, Roundabout will replace the
contents of moving elements with information about
the moving elements themselves.
|
boolean | false |
childSelector |
A jQuery selector of child elements within the elements Roundabout is called upon that will become the moving elements within Roundabout. By default, Roundabout works on unordered lists, but it can be changed to work with any nested set of child elements. | string | "li" |
startingChild |
The child element that will start at the Roundabout’s
focusBearing
on load. This is a zero-based counter based on the
order of markup.
|
integer | 0 |
reflect |
When true, reverses the direction in which
Roundabout will operate. By default, next
animations will rotate moving elements in a clockwise
direction and previous animations will be
counterclockwise. Using reflect will flip the two.
|
boolean | false |
floatComparisonThreshold |
The maximum distance two values can be from one another to still be considered equal by Roundabout’s standards. This prevents JavaScript rounding errors. | float | 0.001 |
autoplay |
When true, Roundabout will automatically advance the
moving elements to the next child at a regular
interval (settable as
autoplayDuration).
|
boolean | false |
autoplayInitialDelayadded in v2.4 |
The length of time (in milliseconds) to delay the start of
Roundabout’s configured autoplay
option. This only works with setting autoplay to
true, and only on the first start of autoplay.
|
integer | 0 |
autoplayDuration |
The length of time (in milliseconds) between
animation triggers when a
Roundabout’s autoplay
is playing.
|
integer | 1000 |
autoplayPauseOnHover |
When true, Roundabout will pause
autoplay when the
user moves the cursor over the Roundabout container.
|
boolean | false |
enableDrag |
Requires event.drag and event.drop plugins by ThreeDubMedia. Allows a user to rotate Roundabout be clicking and dragging the Roundabout area itself. | boolean | false |
dropDuration |
The length of time (in milliseconds) the animation will take to animate Roundabout to the appropriate child when the Roundabout is “dropped.” | integer | 600 |
dropEasing |
The easing function to use when animating Roundabout after it has been “dropped.” With no other plugins, the standard jQuery easing functions are available. When using the jQuery easing plugin all of its easing functions will also be available. | string | "swing" |
dropAnimateTo |
The animation method to use when a dragged Roundabout is “dropped.” Valid values are next, previous, or nearest. | string | "nearest" |
dropCallback |
A function that will be called once the dropped animation has completed. | function | function() {} |
dragAxis |
The axis along which drag events are measured. Valid values are x and y. | string | "x" |
dragFactor |
Alters the rate at which dragging moves the Roundabout’s moving elements. Higher numbers will cause the moving elements to move less. | integer | 4 |
triggerFocusEvents |
When true, a focus event will
be triggered on the child element that moves into
focus when it does so.
|
boolean | true |
triggerBlurEvents |
When true, a blur event will be
triggered on the child element that moves out of the
focused position when it does so.
|
boolean | true |
responsiveadded in v2.1 |
When true, attaches a resize event onto the
window and will automatically relayout Roundabout’s
child elements as the holder element changes size.
|
boolean | false |
Roundabout does a lot on its own, but all of the methods it uses internally to perform actions are publicly usable as well. Manually calling these methods give even more control over how Roundabout functions.
roundaboutStarts the Roundabout.
.roundabout()
.roundabout(options)
.roundabout(callback)
.roundabout(options, callback)| object |
options is an object of
options to configure how
Roundabout acts
|
| function |
callback is a function
that is called once the Roundabout is ready
|
Returns a jQuery object.
setBearingChanges the bearing of the Roundabout.
.roundabout("setBearing", bearing)
.roundabout("setBearing", bearing, callback)| float |
bearing is a value
between 0.0 and 359.9
|
| function |
callback is a function
that is called once the change completes
|
Returns a jQuery object.
adjustBearingAlters the bearing of the Roundabout by a given amount, either positive or negative degrees.
.roundabout("adjustBearing", delta)
.roundabout("adjustBearing", delta, callback)| float |
delta is the amount by
which the bearing will change
(either positive or negative)
|
| function |
callback is a function
that is called once the change completes
|
Returns a jQuery object.
setTiltChanges the tilt of the Roundabout.
.roundabout("setTilt", tilt)
.roundabout("setTilt", tilt, callback)| tilt |
tilt is a value
typically between -2.0 and
10.0
|
| function |
callback is a function
that is called once the change completes
|
Returns a jQuery object.
adjustTiltAlters the tilt of the Roundabout by a given amount, either in positive or negative mounts.
.roundabout("adjustTilt", delta)
.roundabout("adjustTilt", delta, callback)| tilt |
delta is the amount by
which the tilt will change
(either positive or negative)
|
| function |
callback is a function
that is called once the change completes
|
Returns a jQuery object.
animateToNearestChildAnimates the Roundabout to the nearest child. This animation will not move the Roundabout if any child is already in focus.
.roundabout("animateToNearestChild")
.roundabout("animateToNearestChild", callback)
.roundabout("animateToNearestChild", duration, easing, callback)| integer |
duration is the length
of time (in milliseconds) that the animation
will take to complete; uses Roundabout’s
configured duration if no value
is set here
|
| string |
easing is the name of
the easing function to use for movement;
uses Roundabout’s configured easing
if no value is set here
|
| function |
callback is a function
that is called once the change completes
|
Returns a jQuery object.
animateToChildAnimates the Roundabout to the given childPosition, which is a zero-based counter of children based on the order of markup.
.roundabout("animateToChild", childPosition)
.roundabout("animateToChild", childPosition, callback)
.roundabout("animateToChild", childPosition, duration, easing)
.roundabout("animateToChild", childPosition, duration, easing, callback)| integer |
childPosition is the
zero-based child to which Roundabout
will animate
|
| integer |
duration is the length
of time (in milliseconds) that the animation
will take to complete; uses Roundabout’s
configured duration if no value
is set here
|
| string |
easing is the name of
the easing function to use for movement;
uses Roundabout’s configured easing
if no value is set here
|
| function |
callback is a function
that is called once the change completes
|
Returns a jQuery object.
animateToNextChildAnimates the Roundabout to the next child element.
.roundabout("animateToNextChild")
.roundabout("animateToNextChild", callback)
.roundabout("animateToNextChild", duration, easing)
.roundabout("animateToNextChild", duration, easing, callback)| integer |
duration is the length
of time (in milliseconds) that the animation
will take to complete; uses Roundabout’s
configured duration if no value
is set here
|
| string |
easing is the name of
the easing function to use for movement;
uses Roundabout’s configured easing
if no value is set here
|
| function |
callback is a function
that is called once the change completes
|
Returns a jQuery object. Returns a jQuery object.
animateToPreviousChildAnimates the Roundabout to the previous child element.
.roundabout("animateToPreviousChild")
.roundabout("animateToPreviousChild", callback)
.roundabout("animateToPreviousChild", duration, easing)
.roundabout("animateToPreviousChild", duration, easing, callback)| integer |
duration is the length
of time (in milliseconds) that the animation
will take to complete; uses Roundabout’s
configured duration if no value
is set here
|
| string |
easing is the name of
the easing function to use for movement;
uses Roundabout’s configured easing
if no value is set here
|
| function |
callback is a function
that is called once the change completes
|
Returns a jQuery object.
animateToDeltaAnimates the Roundabout to the given amount of degrees away from its current bearing (either positive or negative degrees).
.roundabout("animateToDelta", degrees)
.roundabout("animateToDelta", degrees, callback)
.roundabout("animateToDelta", degrees, duration, easing)
.roundabout("animateToDelta", degrees, duration, easing, callback)| float |
degrees is the amount
by which the bearing will change
(either positive or negative)
|
| integer |
duration is the length
of time (in milliseconds) that the animation
will take to complete; uses Roundabout’s
configured duration if no value
is set here
|
| string |
easing is the name of
the easing function to use for movement;
uses Roundabout’s configured easing
if no value is set here
|
| function |
callback is a function
that is called once the change completes
|
Returns a jQuery object.
animateBearingToFocusAnimates the Roundabout so that a given bearing ends at the configured focusBearing.
.roundabout("animateBearingToFocus", degrees)
.roundabout("animateBearingToFocus", degrees, callback)
.roundabout("animateBearingToFocus", degrees, duration, easing)
.roundabout("animateBearingToFocus", degrees, duration, easing, callback)| float |
degrees is a value
between 0.0 and 359.9
|
| integer |
duration is the length
of time (in milliseconds) that the animation
will take to complete; uses Roundabout’s
configured duration if no value
is set here
|
| string |
easing is the name of
the easing function to use for movement;
uses Roundabout’s configured easing
if no value is set here
|
| function |
callback is a function
that is called once the change completes
|
Returns a jQuery object.
startAutoplayStarts the Roundabout’s autoplay feature.
.roundabout("startAutoplay")
.roundabout("startAutoplay", callback)| function |
callback is a function
that is called after each autoplay
animation completes
|
Returns a jQuery object.
stopAutoplayStops the Roundabout’s autoplay feature.
.roundabout("stopAutoplay")
.roundabout("stopAutoplay", keepAutoplayBindings)| boolean |
keepAutoplayBindings — when true —
will not destroy any autoplay mouseenter and mouseleave
event bindings that were set by autoplayPauseOnHover
|
Returns a jQuery object.
toggleAutoplayStarts or stops the Roundabout’s autoplay feature (based upon its current state).
.roundabout("toggleAutoplay")
.roundabout("toggleAutoplay", callback)| function |
callback is a function
that is called after each autoplay
animation completes
|
Returns a jQuery object.
isAutoplayingChecks to see if the Roundabout’s autoplay feature is currently playing or not.
.roundabout("isAutoplaying")No parameters.
Returns a boolean.
changeAutoplayDurationChanges the length of time (in milliseconds) that the Roundabout’s autoplay feature waits between attempts to animate to the next child.
.roundabout("changeAutoplayDuration", duration)| integer |
duration is a length of
time (in milliseconds) between attempts to have
autoplay animate to the next child element
|
Returns a jQuery object.
relayoutChildrenRepositions child elements based on new contextual information. This is most helpful when the Roundabout element itself changes size and moving child elements within need readjusting.
.roundabout("relayoutChildren")No parameters.
Returns a jQuery object.
getNearestChildGets the nearest child element to the focusBearing. This number is a zero-based counter based on order of markup.
.roundabout("getNearestChild")No parameters.
Returns a integer.
getChildInFocusGets the child currently in focus. This number is a zero-based counter based on order of markup.
.roundabout("getChildInFocus")No parameters.
Returns a integer.
Roundabout is equipped to trigger events on both the Roundabout element itself and the moving child elements.
readyThis event fires on the Roundabout element once it and its child elements have been initialized. It also fires on each child element once it has been initialized.
focusThis event fires on child elements that land in the focusBearing at the end of an animation. Will only fire if triggerFocusEvents is set to true.
blurThis event fires on child elements that move away from the focusBearing at the start of an animation. Will only fire if triggerBlurEvents is set to true.
childrenUpdatedThis event fires on the Roundabout element when its child elements have been repositioned and are in place.
repositionThis event fires on child elements that have been repositioned and are in place.
bearingSetThis event fires on the Roundabout element when its bearing has been set.
moveClockwiseThroughBackThis event fires on moving child elements when an animation causes them pass through the point that is opposite (or 180°) from the focusBearing in a clockwise motion.
moveCounterclockwiseThroughBackThis event fires on moving child elements when an animation causes them to pass through the point that is opposite (or 180°) from the focusBearing in a counterclockwise motion.
animationStartThis event fires on the Roundabout element at the start of any animation.
animationEndThis event fires on the Roundabout element at the end of any animation.
autoplayStartThis event fires on the Roundabout element when the autoplay feature starts.
autoplayStopThis event fires on the Roundabout element when the autoplay feature stops.