jQuery Forum

I don't think Shadowbox is very common since it costs money and most
of the jQuery modal windows are free. If you are paying money for it
you should try to get support from the person that sells it. Some of
the other modal windows have great examples, like Thickbox. Maybe try
a modal window that has better examples or a larger user base? jqModal
is another one to consider that is rather popular.
Structurally, most modal windows are div tags wrapped around content.
That is how cfwindow works. The content could be an iframe showing
content from another Web page.
Tip: get your login form working outside of a window first, then move
the code inside of a window.
Tip: get this working without ColdFusion initially. Just use HTML and
JavaScript. Having CF in the mix might be unnecessarily confusing
things. Perform a GET on a text file that contains the exact output
that you would want to return from ColdFusion.
Tip: you don't need to use JSON or XML. You can pass around plain
text. All you are sending is a username and password. Taking JSON out
of the picture will make it easier to understand what is going on.
Here is the concept:
-In a browser you call a JS function that submits a server request via
a POST or GET. This is just like any other form submission or page
request that a user might do.
-The server handles the request and sends a response back to the
browser in the form of text, XML, or JSON.
-The browser calls a JS function when the server response comes back.
That function can change content, close a modal window, or redirect to
another page.
Good luck,
Mike Chabot

Thanks for the tips and overview, Mike!
Of the two you mentioned, Thickbox and jqModal, which
one do you use?
Rick
> -----Original Message-----
> From: jquery-en@googlegroups.com [mailto:jquery-en@googlegroups.com] On Behalf Of Mike Chabot
> Sent: Thursday, December 11, 2008 9:20 PM
> To: jquery-en@googlegroups.com; cf-talk@houseoffusion.com
> Subject: [jQuery] Re: Need help with Ajax-ColdFusion-Modal Login...
>
>
> I don't think Shadowbox is very common since it costs money and most
> of the jQuery modal windows are free. If you are paying money for it
> you should try to get support from the person that sells it. Some of
> the other modal windows have great examples, like Thickbox. Maybe try
> a modal window that has better examples or a larger user base? jqModal
> is another one to consider that is rather popular.
>
> Structurally, most modal windows are div tags wrapped around content.
> That is how cfwindow works. The content could be an iframe showing
> content from another Web page.
>
> Tip: get your login form working outside of a window first, then move
> the code inside of a window.
>
> Tip: get this working without ColdFusion initially. Just use HTML and
> JavaScript. Having CF in the mix might be unnecessarily confusing
> things. Perform a GET on a text file that contains the exact output
> that you would want to return from ColdFusion.
>
> Tip: you don't need to use JSON or XML. You can pass around plain
> text. All you are sending is a username and password. Taking JSON out
> of the picture will make it easier to understand what is going on.
>
> Here is the concept:
> -In a browser you call a JS function that submits a server request via
> a POST or GET. This is just like any other form submission or page
> request that a user might do.
> -The server handles the request and sends a response back to the
> browser in the form of text, XML, or JSON.
> -The browser calls a JS function when the server response comes back.
> That function can change content, close a modal window, or redirect to
> another page.
>
> Good luck,
> Mike Chabot
>
> On Thu, Dec 11, 2008 at 8:36 PM, Rick Faircloth
> <Rick@whitestonemedia.com>

I evaluated the jQuery modal windows a few months back and jqModal and
Thickbox were at the top of the list due to their popularity, good
examples, and they do most everything you want. I would lean towards
jqModal since the author is active with keeping it up to date. The
built-in UI Dialog is certainly worth considering as well. For the
project I was working at the time I decided to use Telerik AJAX
controls (I already had a license). These are expensive controls for
.NET Web sites that ColdFusion can't do much with. I also use jQuery a
lot, but when it comes to making serious business Web applications,
some of the Ajax libraries that cost money end up being a good value.
When you pay money for component libraries you get a lot of
documentation, help, tutorials, training videos, continual upgrades,
etc. The Ajax support built into ColdFusion is quite good. I've used
cfwindow for modal windows before with great success.
-Mike Chabot

Thanks for the perspective, Mike.
Rick