The jQuery animate() method lets you create custom animations.
jQuery Animations - The animate() Method
The jQuery animate() method is used to create custom animations.
Syntax:
$(selector).animate({params},speed,callback);
The required params parameter defines the CSS properties to be animated.
The optional speed parameter specifies the duration of the effect. It can take the following values: "slow", "fast", or milliseconds.
The optional callback parameter is a function to be executed after the animation completes.
The following example demonstrates a simple use of the animate() method; it moves a <div> element to the right, until it has reached a left property of 250px:
By default, all HTML elements have a static position, and cannot be moved.
To manipulate the position, remember to first set the CSS position property of the element to relative, fixed, or absolute!
jQuery animate() - Manipulate Multiple Properties
Notice that multiple properties can be animated at the same time:
Example
$("button").click(function(){
$("div").animate({
left: '250px',
opacity: '0.5',
height: '150px',
width: '150px'
});
});
Try it Yourself »
Is it possible to manipulate ALL CSS properties with the animate() method?
Yes, almost! However, there is one important thing to remember: all property
names must be camel-cased when used with the animate() method: You will need to
write paddingLeft instead of padding-left, marginRight instead of margin-right, and so on.
Also, color animation is not included in the core jQuery library.
If you want to animate color, you need to download the
Color
Animations plugin from jQuery.com.
jQuery animate() - Using Relative Values
It is also possible to define relative values (the value is then relative to the element's current value). This is done by putting += or -= in front of the value:
Example
$("button").click(function(){
$("div").animate({
left: '250px',
height: '+=150px',
width: '+=150px'
});
});
Try it Yourself »
jQuery animate() - Using Pre-defined Values
You can even specify a property's animation value as "show", "hide", or "toggle":
jQuery animate() - Uses Queue Functionality
By default, jQuery comes with queue functionality for animations.
This means that if you write multiple animate() calls after each other, jQuery creates an "internal" queue with these method calls. Then it runs the animate calls ONE by ONE.
So, if you want to perform different animations after each other, we take advantage of the queue functionality:
Example 1
$("button").click(function(){
var div = $("div");
div.animate({height: '300px', opacity: '0.4'}, "slow");
div.animate({width: '300px', opacity: '0.8'}, "slow");
div.animate({height: '100px', opacity: '0.4'}, "slow");
div.animate({width: '100px', opacity: '0.8'}, "slow");
});
Try it Yourself »
The example below first moves the <div> element to the right, and then increases the font size of the text:
Example 2
$("button").click(function(){
var div = $("div");
div.animate({left: '100px'}, "slow");
div.animate({fontSize: '3em'}, "slow");
});
Try it Yourself »
Test Yourself with Exercises!
Exercise 1 » Exercise 2 » Exercise 3 » Exercise 4 »
jQuery Effects Reference
For a complete overview of all jQuery effects, please go to our jQuery Effect Reference.