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# YUI Library Examples: Container Family: Creating and Positioning an Overlay

# Container Family: Creating and Positioning an Overlay

Overlays are extensions of Modules and differ in the sense that the float above the normal page flow. They can be positioned in three different ways: By fixing them to the center of the viewport (overlay1 below), by specifying a position (overlay2), and by positioning them relative to a context element (overlay3).

Use the buttons in the example below to show and hide the three Overlay instances.

View example in new window.

overlay1:
overlay2:
overlay3:
Align to me
Overlay #1 from Markup
This is a Overlay that was marked up in the document.
End of Overlay #1

## Setting up Overlays

The Overlay Control is an extension of Module; its role is to facilitate the creation of modular content that is absolutely positioned above the flow of a page. It adds additional functionality to Module, including methods for positioning, multiple custom events for monitoring internal property changes, and a built-in `<iframe>` solution for dealing with `<select>` element bleed-through in Internet Explorer.

Overlay is fundamentally a building block for other UI controls. The concepts presented in this example will form the basis for the way that you interact with all of its subclasses, including Panel and Dialog.

In this tutorial we will build three Overlays with different types of positioning. One of them will be based on existing markup; the other two will be created dynamically using script. In addition to instantiating the Overlays, we will also use the constructor to pass configuration properties for each of our Overlays.

// Build overlay1 based on markup, initially hidden, fixed to the center of the viewport, and 300px wide YAHOO.example.container.overlay1 = new YAHOO.widget.Overlay("overlay1", { fixedcenter:true, visible:false, width:"300px" } ); YAHOO.example.container.overlay1.render(); // Build overlay2 dynamically, initially hidden, at position x:400,y:500, and 300px wide YAHOO.example.container.overlay2 = new YAHOO.widget.Overlay("overlay2", { xy:[400,500], visible:false, width:"300px" } ); YAHOO.example.container.overlay2.setHeader("Overlay #2 from Script"); YAHOO.example.container.overlay2.setBody("This is a dynamically generated Overlay."); YAHOO.example.container.overlay2.setFooter("End of Overlay #2"); YAHOO.example.container.overlay2.render(document.body); // Build overlay3 dynamically, initially hidden, aligned to context element "context", and 200px wide YAHOO.example.container.overlay3 = new YAHOO.widget.Overlay("overlay3", { context:["ctx","tl","bl"], visible:false, width:"200px" } ); YAHOO.example.container.overlay3.setHeader("Overlay #3 from Script"); YAHOO.example.container.overlay3.setBody("This is a dynamically generated Overlay."); YAHOO.example.container.overlay3.setFooter("End of Overlay #3"); YAHOO.example.container.overlay3.render(document.body); YAHOO.util.Event.addListener("show1", "click", YAHOO.example.container.overlay1.show, YAHOO.example.container.overlay1, true); YAHOO.util.Event.addListener("hide1", "click", YAHOO.example.container.overlay1.hide, YAHOO.example.container.overlay1, true); YAHOO.util.Event.addListener("show2", "click", YAHOO.example.container.overlay2.show, YAHOO.example.container.overlay2, true); YAHOO.util.Event.addListener("hide2", "click", YAHOO.example.container.overlay2.hide, YAHOO.example.container.overlay2, true); YAHOO.util.Event.addListener("show3", "click", YAHOO.example.container.overlay3.show, YAHOO.example.container.overlay3, true); YAHOO.util.Event.addListener("hide3", "click", YAHOO.example.container.overlay3.hide, YAHOO.example.container.overlay3, true);

These Overlays introduce a few configuration properties. The `fixedcenter` property, when set to true, will force the Overlay to always be positioned in the center of the viewport — even when the window is scrolled or resized. The `visible` property determines whether the Overlay should be visible, and the `width` property allows a CSS width to be set for the Overlay. In addition, basic pixel-based positioning is available via the `xy` property, which can also be split into separate properties (`x` and `y`).

The `context` property, as shown in `overlay3`, takes an array of arguments. The first argument in the array is the id of the element to which we want to anchor the Overlay. In this case, that element is a `<div&rt;` with an id of `ctx`. The next two arguments specify the positioning of the Overlay — `tl` and `bl` mean, "Anchor my Overlay's top left corner to my context element's bottom left corner." (Other possible values include `tr` and `br` for "top right" and "bottom right", respectively.)

In the next step, we will define CSS styles that allow us to see a clear visual representation of our Overlays; remember, Overlays are building blocks for other controls and as such they are not styled by default. We will also style our `ctx` context element so that it's easy to see:

<style> .yui-overlay { border:1px dotted black;padding:5px;margin:10px; } .yui-overlay .hd { border:1px solid red;padding:5px; } .yui-overlay .bd { border:1px solid green;padding:5px; } .yui overlay .ft { border:1px solid blue;padding:5px; } #ctx { background:orange;width:100px;height:25px; } </style>

The markup for `overlay1`, plus the context element `ctx` and the buttons to show all our Overlays, is displayed below. Note that `overlay1` has an inline style of `visibility:hidden` set in advance. Most browsers are slower to render CSS than inline styles, and we want this marked-up Overlay to be hidden by default. If the inline style isn't present, it may cause a brief "flash of unstyled content" where the Overlay may be visible on slower machines.

<div> overlay1: <button id="show1">Show</button> <button id="hide1">Hide</button> </div> <div> overlay2: <button id="show2">Show</button> <button id="hide2">Hide</button> </div> <div> overlay3: <button id="show3">Show</button> <button id="hide3">Hide</button> </div> <div id="ctx">Align to me</div> <div id="overlay1" style="visibility:hidden"> <div class="hd">Overlay #1 from Markup</div> <div class="bd">This is a Overlay that was marked up in the document.</div> <div class="ft">End of Overlay #1</div> </div>

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### Container Family Examples:

- The Module Control
- Creating and Positioning an Overlay
- Simple Tooltip Example
- One Tooltip, Many Context Elements
- Simple Panel Example
- Skinning a Panel with Custom CSS: Introduction
- Skinning a Panel with Custom CSS: Advanced
- Creating a Modal "Loading" Panel
- Creating a Resizable Panel
- Dialog Quickstart Example
- SimpleDialog Quickstart Example
- Using ContainerEffect Transitions
- Using the Overlay Manager to Manage Multiple Panels
- Implementing Container Keyboard Shortcuts with KeyListener
- Example of Color Picker Built in a Dialog via JavaScript (included with examples for Color Picker Control)
- Layout inside a resizable Panel (included with examples for Layout Manager (beta))
- Calendar inside a Container (included with examples for Calendar Control)
- Menu Buttons (included with examples for Button Control)
- Showing, Hiding, and Reordering Columns. (included with examples for DataTable Control (beta))
- Split Buttons (included with examples for Button Control)
- Calendar Menu Button (included with examples for Button Control)
- Calendar Menu Button (included with examples for Button Control)
- Color Picker Button (included with examples for Button Control)
- Fixed Width Menu Button (included with examples for Button Control)
- OS-Style Programs Menu (included with examples for Menu Family)
- Application Menubar (included with examples for Menu Family)
- Slider Button (included with examples for Button Control)
- Complex Application (included with examples for Layout Manager (beta))

### More Container Family Resources:

- User's Guide (external)
- API Documentation
- Cheat Sheet PDF (external)

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