Site Update: Lightbox image viewing

I’ve installed a site plugin which enables you to click on an image and view the larger version in a popup. This is a JavaScript application known as Lightbox, which you’ve no doubt seen elsewhere. You can see it in action on the most recent review.

I’d seen this effect on many sites without knowing what it was called. I never really liked it because the way the viewer loaded images felt sluggish. Turns out that’s due to the transitions, which are totally customizable and can be turned off completely. I’ve done so here. If you have scripting turned off in your browser it degrades nicely, another requirement for me. The original script is called Lightbox, and there are numerous versions based on it: the one I chose is Slimbox. It’s installed on this site through the WP-Slimbox2 WordPress plugin. This is a great plugin that allows you to customize everything through WordPress settings (I love WordPress so much).

Please let me know if you have any issues or criticisms about this plugin: is it difficult to navigate, does it not work the way you expect, does it “break” anything in your use of this site? The one thing I don’t like about the Slimbox script is that you can’t just click on the expanded image to close it, as I’ve seen on other scripts (can’t recall which). Accessibility-wise, pressing Escape closes the viewer.