jQuery Bootstrap-style Dropdowns

Backstory

One of my favorite Boostrap plugins is dropdowns, but I had a bit of difficulty getting started with them. The docs say you can apply a jq-dropdown to nearly any element, but they really seem to work best with Bootstrap’s navbar, tab, and pill components. Since I was retrofitting an app that was around long before Bootstrap, this wasn’t going to work for me. That and I was hoping to get a scrollable jq-dropdown (with tips!) and a few other features out of the deal. Thus, this plugin was born.

While the appearance is almost identical to those of Bootstrap’s, it’s important to note that JavaScript for this plugin was developed entirely from scratch. Some CSS was borrowed, however, especially for generating those gorgeous tips.

Wanna see what they look like? Try it! Wanna contribute to this project? It’s on GitHub

Usage

1. Start by including the necessary files into your app:

<link type="text/css" rel="stylesheet" href="jquery.dropdown.css" />
<script type="text/javascript" src="jquery.dropdown.js"></script>

2. Create a jq-dropdown by placing a div with a unique id and the jq-dropdown class immediately before your closing body tag.

For jq-dropdown menus, the div should contain a ul with the jq-dropdown-menu class:

<div id="jq-dropdown-1" class="jq-dropdown jq-dropdown-tip">
    <ul class="jq-dropdown-menu">
        <li><a href="#1">Item 1</a></li>
        <li><a href="#2">Item 2</a></li>
        <li><a href="#3">Item 3</a></li>
        <li class="jq-dropdown-divider"></li>
        <li><a href="#4">Item 4</a></li>
        <li><a href="#5">Item 5</a></li>
        <li><a href="#5">Item 6</a></li>
    </ul>
</div>

For jq-dropdown panels, the div should contain a div with the jq-dropdown-panel class:

<div id="jq-dropdown-1" class="jq-dropdown jq-dropdown-tip">
    <div class="jq-dropdown-panel">
        You can put whatever HTML you want in a panel!
    </div>
</div>

3. Add the data-jq-dropdown attribute to any HTML element, using the id of the jq-dropdown as the value. That’s all you have to do–you don’t even have to initialize it! The plugin also works on dynamically generated triggers.

<a href="#" data-jq-dropdown="#jq-dropdown-1">dropdown</a>

Demos

Dropdowns can be attached to any element that you want:

Here’s a link and here’s a button and here’s a span

Scrolling

Now let’s see a really long jq-dropdown that will scroll: Example

Form Controls

You can add form controls to your dropdowns: Example

Panels

Dropdowns can have regular HTML, too. Example

Special Classes

• To disable the jq-dropdown, add the jq-dropdown-disabled class to the trigger element
• To offset positioning, add data-horizontal-offset="10" and/or data-vertical-offset="10" to the trigger element
• To add a tip to the jq-dropdown, add the jq-dropdown-tip class to the jq-dropdown element
• To make the jq-dropdown anchor to the right, add the jq-dropdown-anchor-right class: Example
• To position a jq-dropdown relative to its parent (as opposed to the document), add the jq-dropdown-relative class to the jq-dropdown container

API

You probably won’t need these, but they’re there just in case:

• attach – attach a jq-dropdown to the selected trigger element(s); pass in the #jq-dropdown-id-1 as value
• detach – detach a jq-dropdown from the selected trigger element(s)
• enable – enables the jq-dropdown and removes the jq-dropdown-disabled class from the trigger
• disable – disables the jq-dropdown and adds the jq-dropdown-disabled class to the trigger
• hide – hide the jq-dropdown
• show – show the jq-dropdown

Example usage: $('#trigger').jqDropdown('method', [value]);

Events

You can attach events to each jq-dropdown:

• show — triggered when the jq-dropdown is shown
• hide — triggered when the jq-dropdown is hidden

Example usage:

$('#jq-dropdown-id-1').on('show', function(event, dropdownData) {
    console.log(dropdownData);
}).on('hide', function(event, dropdownData) {
    console.log(dropdownData);
});

Q&A

• How do I stop the jq-dropdown from going off the screen?
  This plugin was intended to be very lightweight—the initial release is less than 70 lines of code! If you have a very elegant way to keep the jq-dropdown within the viewport without using a dependency, let me know. Otherwise, position them higher or use the jq-dropdown-anchor-right class.
• How do I modify the jq-dropdown menu on the fly?
  Just modify it like any other element, but leave the id intact.
• Do they support submenus?
  No, and they aren’t intended to. That would add a significant amount of complexity to the plugin and is really outside the scope of this project.
• Can I get rid of the tips?
  Sure, just remove the jq-dropdown-tip class from your jq-dropdown.
• Do they work in IE?
  Yes, but you won’t see any tips in IE7 and you won’t see any box-shadows until IE9. They’re completely usable in IE 7/8, they’re just not as pretty.
• Is it free to use?
  Of course! It’s licensed under the MIT license.
• Which version of jQuery is required?
  This plugin will work with jQuery 1.8 and higher.
• Who made this?
  The same guy that runs A Beautiful Site, LLC and Surreal CMS.