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Form Element AJAX Spinner Attachment Using jQuery

Yesterday I showed you how to attach an AJAX spinner next to a form element using my beloved MooTools. Today I'll show you how to implement that same functionality using jQuery.

The XHTML

<select class="ajax">
	<option value="">-- Select a Site--</option>
	<option value="David Walsh Blog">David Walsh Blog</option>
	<option value="Script & Style">Script & Style</option>
	<option value="Band Website Template">Band Website Template</option>
</select>

<br /><br />

<input type="text" id="my-text" class="ajax" />

Elements with the "ajax" CSS class will be our target.

The jQuery JavaScript

$(document).ready(function() {
	//create image
	$('<img src="move-spinner.gif" id="spinner" />').css('position','absolute').hide().appendTo('body');
	//for every field change
	$('.ajax').change(function() {
		//get element position
		var position = $(this).offset();
		//position image
		$('#spinner').css({ top: position.top , left: position.left + $(this).width() + 30 }).fadeIn();
		//ajax
		$.post('<?php echo $_SERVER['REQUEST_URI']; ?>',{
			ajax:1,
			value: $(this).val()
		},function() {
			$('#spinner').fadeOut();
		});
	});
});

We inject the spinner image into the page and reposition it depending on which field is doing the request. Very simple!

Isn't JavaScript fun? Oh yeah...and it makes the user experience better too.

Discussion

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