New labs plugin: ui.selectmenu

New labs plugin: ui.selectmenu


Hi all,
Over at Filament, we've worked out a new UI plugin and I just
committed it into labs.
It's called selectmenu, you can check it out here:
http://jquery-ui.googlecode.com/svn/branches/labs/selectmenu/index.html
The component is designed to replace the functionality of a native
form select element, allowing for enhanced skinning and behavior. You
call it on a select element, like this:
$('select').selectmenu();
The original select element will remain in the page (whether visible
or hidden), and the new selectmenu component will control it. This of
course allows for easy form submission as if this plugin was never
there.
We've got a great deal of functionality already in place, such as:
- keyboard accessibility (arrowing, selecting when both open and closed)
- ARIA support - (tested on NVDA - seems to work well)
- different menu types (popup vs. dropdown)
- widget factory driven (incomplete, but it's a start)
- full theming support
- form label association (click label to focus)
- formatting of options: ability to split option text into better
formatted elements in the UI component. This feature could really use
some feedback, especially on the technical implementation side.
We've filled out the wiki page with more info and ideas:
https://jqueryui.pbworks.com/Selectmenu
We'd appreciate any feedback on the functionality and especially the
code, which we realize can be improved to be in line with our coding
practices.
Also, we'll be posting a lab article on our site about this plugin in
the near future.
Thanks for checking it out. Hopefully this plugin can be reworked and
shuffled into an upcoming release!
-Scott