## jQuery.widget( name [, base ], prototype )

Description: Create stateful jQuery plugins using the same abstraction as all jQuery UI widgets.

- #### jQuery.widget( name [, base ], prototype )

  - name
    Type: String
    The name of the widget to create, including the namespace.
  - base
    Type: Function()
    The base widget to inherit from. This must be a constructor that can be instantiated with the `new` keyword. Defaults to `jQuery.Widget`.
  - prototype
    Type: PlainObject
    The object to use as a prototype for the widget.

You can create new widgets from scratch, using just the `$.Widget` object as a base to inherit from, or you can explicitly inherit from existing jQuery UI or third-party widgets. Defining a widget with the same name as you inherit from even allows you to extend widgets in place.

jQuery UI contains many widgets that maintain state and therefore have a slightly different usage pattern than typical jQuery plugins. All of jQuery UI's widgets use the same patterns, which is defined by the widget factory. So if you learn how to use one widget, then you'll know how to use all of them.

Looking for tutorials about the widget factory? Check out the articles on the jQuery Learning Center.

Note: This documentation shows examples using the progressbar widget but the syntax is the same for every widget.

### Initialization

In order to track the state of the widget, we must introduce a full life cycle for the widget. The life cycle starts when the widget is initialized. To initialize a widget, we simply call the plugin on one or more elements.

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    $( "#elem" ).progressbar();

This will initialize each element in the jQuery object, in this case the element with an id of `"elem"`.

### Options

Because `progressbar()` was called with no parameters, the widget was initialized with its default options. We can pass a set of options during initialization to override the defaults:

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    $( "#elem" ).progressbar({ value: 20 });

We can pass as many or as few options as we want during initialization. Any options that we don't pass will just use their default values.

You can pass multiple options arguments. Those arguments will be merged into one object (similar to `$.extend( true, target, object1, objectN )`). This is useful for sharing options between instances, while overriding some settings for each one:

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    var options = { modal: true, show: "slow" };$( "#dialog1" ).dialog( options );$( "#dialog2" ).dialog( options, { autoOpen: false });

All options passed on init are deep-copied to ensure the objects can be modified later without affecting the widget. Arrays are the only exception, they are referenced as-is. This exception is in place to support data-binding, where the data source has to be kept as a reference.

The default values are stored on the widget's prototype, therefore we have the ability to override the values that jQuery UI sets. For example, after setting the following, all future progressbar instances will default to a value of 80:

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    $.ui.progressbar.prototype.options.value = 80;

The options are part of the widget's state, so we can set options after initialization as well. We'll see this later with the option method.

### Methods

Now that the widget is initialized, we can query its state or perform actions on the widget. All actions after initialization take the form of a method call. To call a method on a widget, we pass the name of the method to the jQuery plugin. For example, to call the `value()` method on our progressbar widget, we would use:

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    $( "#elem" ).progressbar( "value" );

If the method accepts parameters, we can pass them after the method name. For example, to pass the parameter `40` to the `value()` method, we can use:

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    $( "#elem" ).progressbar( "value", 40 );

Just like other methods in jQuery, most widget methods return the jQuery object for chaining.

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    $( "#elem" )  .progressbar( "value", 90 )  .addClass( "almost-done" );

Each widget will have its own set of methods based on the functionality that the widget provides. However, there are a few methods that exist on all widgets, which are documented below.

### Events

All widgets have events associated with their various behaviors to notify you when the state is changing. For most widgets, when the events are triggered, the names are prefixed with the widget name and lowercased. For example, we can bind to progressbar's `change` event which is triggered whenever the value changes.

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    $( "#elem" ).bind( "progressbarchange", function() {  alert( "The value has changed!" );});

Each event has a corresponding callback, which is exposed as an option. We can hook into progressbar's `change` callback instead of binding to the `progressbarchange` event, if we want to.

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    $( "#elem" ).progressbar({  change: function() {    alert( "The value has changed!" );  }});

All widgets have a `create` event which is triggered upon instantiation.

### Instance

The widget's instance is stored using `jQuery.data()` with the widget's full name as the key. Therefore, you can use the following to retrieve the progressbar widget's instance object from the element.

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    $( "#elem" ).data( "ui-progressbar" );

Whether an element has a given widget bound to it can be determined using the `:data` selector.

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    $( "#elem" ).is( ":data( 'ui-progressbar' )" ); // true$( "#elem" ).is( ":data( 'ui-draggable' )" ); // false

You can also use `:data` to get a list of all elements that are instances of a given widget.

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    $( ":data( 'ui-progressbar' )" );

### Properties

All widgets have the following set of properties:

- defaultElement: An element to use when a widget instance is constructed without providing an element. For example, since the progressbar's `defaultElement` is `"<div>`", `$.ui.progressbar({ value: 50 })` instantiates a progressbar widget instance on a newly created `<div>`.
- document: A jQuery object containing the `document` that the widget's element is within. Useful if you need to interact with widgets within iframes.
- element: A jQuery object containing the element used to instantiate the widget. If you select multiple elements and call `.myWidget()`, a separate widget instance will be created for each element. Therefore, this property will always contain one element.
- namespace: The location on the global jQuery object that the widget's prototype is stored on. For example a `namespace` of `"ui"` indicates that the widget's prototype is stored on `$.ui`.
- options: An object containing the options currently being used by the widget. On instantiation, any options provided by the user will automatically be merged with any default values defined in `$.myNamespace.myWidget.prototype.options`. User specified options override the defaults.
- uuid: A unique integer identifier for the widget.
- version: The string version of the widget. For jQuery UI widgets this will be set to the version of jQuery UI the widget is using. Widget developers have to set this property in their prototype explicitly.
- widgetEventPrefix: The prefix prepended to the name of events fired from this widget. For example the `widgetEventPrefix` of the draggable widget is `"drag"`, therefore when a draggable is created, the name of the event fired is `"dragcreate"`. By default the `widgetEventPrefix` of a widget is its name. Note: This property is deprecated and will be removed in a later release. Event names will be changed to widgetName:eventName (e.g. `"draggable:create"`).
- widgetFullName: The full name of the widget including the namespace. For `$.widget( "myNamespace.myWidget", {} )`, `widgetFullName` will be `"myNamespace-myWidget"`.
- widgetName: The name of the widget. For `$.widget( "myNamespace.myWidget", {} )`, `widgetName` will be `"myWidget"`.
- window: A jQuery object containing the `window` that the widget's element is within. Useful if you need to interact with widgets within iframes.

## Base Widget

Description: The base widget used by the widget factory.

## QuickNav

## Options

### disabledType: Boolean

Default: `false`
Disables the widget if set to `true`.
Code examples:

Initialize the widget with the `disabled` option specified:

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    $( ".selector" ).widget({ disabled: true });

Get or set the `disabled` option, after initialization:

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    // gettervar disabled = $( ".selector" ).widget( "option", "disabled" ); // setter$( ".selector" ).widget( "option", "disabled", true );

### hideType: Boolean or Number or String or Object

Default: `null`
If and how to animate the hiding of the element.
Multiple types supported:

- Boolean: When set to `false`, no animation will be used and the element will be hidden immediately. When set to `true`, the element will fade out with the default duration and the default easing.
- Number: The element will fade out with the specified duration and the default easing.
- String: The element will be hidden using the specified effect. The value can either be the name of a built-in jQuery animation method, such as `"slideUp"`, or the name of a jQuery UI effect, such as `"fold"`. In either case the effect will be used with the default duration and the default easing.
- Object: If the value is an object, then `effect`, `delay`, `duration`, and `easing` properties may be provided. If the `effect` property contains the name of a jQuery method, then that method will be used; otherwise it is assumed to be the name of a jQuery UI effect. When using a jQuery UI effect that supports additional settings, you may include those settings in the object and they will be passed to the effect. If `duration` or `easing` is omitted, then the default values will be used. If `effect` is omitted, then `"fadeOut"` will be used. If `delay` is omitted, then no delay is used.

Code examples:

Initialize the widget with the `hide` option specified:

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    $( ".selector" ).widget({ hide: { effect: "explode", duration: 1000 } });

Get or set the `hide` option, after initialization:

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    // gettervar hide = $( ".selector" ).widget( "option", "hide" ); // setter$( ".selector" ).widget( "option", "hide", { effect: "explode", duration: 1000 } );

### showType: Boolean or Number or String or Object

Default: `null`
If and how to animate the showing of the element.
Multiple types supported:

- Boolean: When set to `false`, no animation will be used and the element will be shown immediately. When set to `true`, the element will fade in with the default duration and the default easing.
- Number: The element will fade in with the specified duration and the default easing.
- String: The element will be shown using the specified effect. The value can either be the name of a built-in jQuery animation method, such as `"slideDown"`, or the name of a jQuery UI effect, such as `"fold"`. In either case the effect will be used with the default duration and the default easing.
- Object: If the value is an object, then `effect`, `delay`, `duration`, and `easing` properties may be provided. If the `effect` property contains the name of a jQuery method, then that method will be used; otherwise it is assumed to be the name of a jQuery UI effect. When using a jQuery UI effect that supports additional settings, you may include those settings in the object and they will be passed to the effect. If `duration` or `easing` is omitted, then the default values will be used. If `effect` is omitted, then `"fadeIn"` will be used. If `delay` is omitted, then no delay is used.

Code examples:

Initialize the widget with the `show` option specified:

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    $( ".selector" ).widget({ show: { effect: "blind", duration: 800 } });

Get or set the `show` option, after initialization:

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    // gettervar show = $( ".selector" ).widget( "option", "show" ); // setter$( ".selector" ).widget( "option", "show", { effect: "blind", duration: 800 } );

## Methods

### _create()Returns: jQuery (plugin only)

The `_create()` method is the widget's constructor. There are no parameters, but `this.element` and `this.options` are already set.

- This method does not accept any arguments.

Code examples:

Set the background color of the widget's element based on an option.

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    _create: function() {  this.element.css( "background-color", this.options.color );}

### _delay( fn [, delay ] )Returns: Number

Invokes the provided function after a specified delay. Keeps `this` context correct. Essentially `setTimeout()`.

Returns the timeout ID for use with `clearTimeout()`.

- fn
  Type: Function() or String
  The function to invoke. Can also be the name of a method on the widget.
- delay
  Type: Number
  The number of milliseconds to wait before invoking the function. Defaults to `0`.

Code examples:

Call the `_foo()` method on the widget after 100 milliseconds.

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    this._delay( this._foo, 100 );

### _destroy()Returns: jQuery (plugin only)

The public `destroy()` method cleans up all common data, events, etc. and then delegates out to `_destroy()` for custom, widget-specific, cleanup.

- This method does not accept any arguments.

Code examples:

Remove a class from the widget's element when the wiget is destroyed.

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    _destroy: function() {  this.element.removeClass( "my-widget" );}

### _focusable( element )Returns: jQuery (plugin only)

Sets up `element` to apply the `ui-state-focus` class on focus.

The event handlers are automatically cleaned up on destroy.

- element
  Type: jQuery
  The element(s) to apply the focusable behavior to.

Code examples:

Apply focusable styling to a set of elements within the widget.

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    this._focusable( this.element.find( ".my-items" ) );

### _getCreateEventData()Returns: Object

All widgets trigger the `create` event. By default, no data is provided in the event, but this method can return an object which will be passed as the `create` event's data.

- This method does not accept any arguments.

Code examples:

Pass the widget's options to `create` event handlers as an argument.

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    _getCreateEventData: function() {  return this.options;}

### _getCreateOptions()Returns: Object

This method allows the widget to define a custom method for defining options during instantiation. The user-provided options override the options returned by this method, which override the default options.

- This method does not accept any arguments.

Code examples:

Make the widget element's id attribute available as an option.

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    _getCreateOptions: function() {  return { id: this.element.attr( "id" ) };}

### _hide( element, option [, callback ] )Returns: jQuery (plugin only)

Hides an element immediately, using built-in animation methods, or using custom effects. See the hide option for possible `option` values.

- element
  Type: jQuery
  The element(s) to hide.
- option
  Type: Object
  The settings defining how to hide the element.
- callback
  Type: Function()
  Callback to invoke after the element has been fully hidden.

Code examples:

Pass along the `hide` option for custom animations.

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    this._hide( this.element, this.options.hide, function() {   // Remove the element from the DOM when it's fully hidden.  $( this ).remove();});

### _hoverable( element )Returns: jQuery (plugin only)

Sets up `element` to apply the `ui-state-hover` class on hover.

The event handlers are automatically cleaned up on destroy.

- element
  Type: jQuery
  The element(s) to apply the hoverable behavior to.

Code examples:

Apply hoverable styling to all `<div>`s within the element on hover.

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    this._hoverable( this.element.find( "div" ) );

### _init()Returns: jQuery (plugin only)

Widgets have the concept of initialization that is distinct from creation. Any time the plugin is called with no arguments or with only an option hash, the widget is initialized; this includes when the widget is created.

Note: Initialization should only be handled if there is a logical action to perform on successive calls to the widget with no arguments.

- This method does not accept any arguments.

Code examples:

Call the `open()` method if the `autoOpen` option is set.

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    _init: function() {  if ( this.options.autoOpen ) {    this.open();  }}

### _off( element, eventName )Returns: jQuery (plugin only)

Unbinds event handlers from the specified element(s).

- element
  Type: jQuery
  The element(s) to unbind the event handlers from. Unlike the `_on()` method, the elements are required for `_off()`.
- eventName
  Type: String
  One or more space-separated event types.

Code examples:

Unbind all click events from the widget's element.

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    this._off( this.element, "click" );

### _on( [suppressDisabledCheck ] [, element ], handlers )Returns: jQuery (plugin only)

Binds event handlers to the specified element(s). Delegation is supported via selectors inside the event names, e.g., "`click .foo`". The `_on()` method provides several benefits of direct event binding:

- Maintains proper `this` context inside the handlers.
- Automatically handles disabled widgets: If the widget is disabled or the event occurs on an element with the `ui-state-disabled` class, the event handler is not invoked. Can be overridden with the `suppressDisabledCheck` parameter.
- Event handlers are automatically namespaced and cleaned up on destroy.

- suppressDisabledCheck (default: `false`)
  Type: Boolean
  Whether or not to bypass the disabled check.
- element
  Type: jQuery
  Which element(s) to bind the event handlers to. If no element is provided, `this.element` is used for non-delegated events and the widget element is used for delegated events.
- handlers
  Type: Object
  A map in which the string keys represent the event type and optional selector for delegation, and the values represent a handler function to be called for the event.

Code examples:

Prevent the default action of all links clicked within the widget's element.

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    this._on( this.element, {  "click a": function( event ) {    event.preventDefault();  }});

### _setOption( key, value )Returns: jQuery (plugin only)

Called from the `_setOptions()` method for each individual option. Widget state should be updated based on changes.

- key
  Type: String
  The name of the option to set.
- value
  Type: Object
  A value to set for the option.

Code examples:

Update a widget's element when its `height` or `width` option changes.

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    _setOption: function( key, value ) {  if ( key === "width" ) {    this.element.width( value );  }  if ( key === "height" ) {    this.element.height( value );  }  this._super( key, value );}

### _setOptions( options )Returns: jQuery (plugin only)

Called whenever the `option()` method is called, regardless of the form in which the `option()` method was called.

Overriding this is useful if you can defer processor-intensive changes for multiple option changes.

- options
  Type: Object
  A map of option-value pairs to set.

Code examples:

Call a `resize()` method if the `height` or `width` options change.

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    _setOptions: function( options ) {  var that = this,    resize = false;   $.each( options, function( key, value ) {    that._setOption( key, value );    if ( key === "height" || key === "width" ) {      resize = true;    }  });   if ( resize ) {    this.resize();  }}

### _show( element, option [, callback ] )Returns: jQuery (plugin only)

Shows an element immediately, using built-in animation methods, or using custom effects. See the show option for possible `option` values.

- element
  Type: jQuery
  The element(s) to show.
- option
  Type: Object
  The settings defining how to show the element.
- callback
  Type: Function()
  Callback to invoke after the element has been fully shown.

Code examples:

Pass along the `show` option for custom animations.

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    this._show( this.element, this.options.show, function() {   // Focus the element when it's fully visible.  this.focus();}

### _super( [arg ] [, ... ] )Returns: jQuery (plugin only)

Invokes the method of the same name from the parent widget, with any specified arguments. Essentially `.call()`.

- arg
  Type: Object
  Zero to many arguments to pass to the parent widget's method.

Code examples:

Handle `title` option updates and call the parent widget's `_setOption()` to update the internal storage of the option.

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    _setOption: function( key, value ) {  if ( key === "title" ) {    this.element.find( "h3" ).text( value );  }  this._super( key, value );}

### _superApply( arguments )Returns: jQuery (plugin only)

Invokes the method of the same name from the parent widget, with the array of arguments. Essentially `.apply()`.

- arguments
  Type: Array
  Array of arguments to pass to the parent method.

Code examples:

Handle `title` option updates and call the parent widget's `_setOption()` to update the internal storage of the option.

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    _setOption: function( key, value ) {  if ( key === "title" ) {    this.element.find( "h3" ).text( value );  }  this._superApply( arguments );}

### _trigger( type [, event ] [, data ] )Returns: Boolean

Triggers an event and its associated callback.

The option with the name equal to type is invoked as the callback.

The event name is the lowercase concatenation of the widget name and type.

Note: When providing data, you must provide all three parameters. If there is no event to pass along, just pass `null`.

If the default action is prevented, `false` will be returned, otherwise `true`. Preventing the default action happens when the handler returns `false` or calls `event.preventDefault()`.

- type
  Type: String
  The `type` should match the name of a callback option. The full event type will be generated automatically.
- event
  Type: Event
  The original event that caused this event to occur; useful for providing context to the listener.
- data
  Type: Object
  A hash of data associated with the event.

Code examples:

Trigger a `search` event whenever a key is pressed.

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    this._on( this.element, {  keydown: function( event ) {     // Pass the original event so that the custom search event has    // useful information, such as keyCode    this._trigger( "search", event, {       // Pass additional information unique to this event      value: this.element.val()    });  }});

### destroy()Returns: jQuery (plugin only)

Removes the widget functionality completely. This will return the element back to its pre-init state.

- This method does not accept any arguments.

Code examples:

Destroy the widget when any of its anchors are clicked.

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    this._on( this.element, {  "click a": function( event ) {    event.preventDefault();    this.destroy();  }});

### disable()Returns: jQuery (plugin only)

Disables the widget.

- This method does not accept any arguments.

Code examples:

Disable the widget when any of its anchors are clicked.

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    this._on( this.element, {  "click a": function( event ) {    event.preventDefault();    this.disable();  }});

### enable()Returns: jQuery (plugin only)

Enables the widget.

- This method does not accept any arguments.

Code examples:

Enable the widget when any of its anchors are clicked.

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    this._on( this.element, {  "click a": function( event ) {    event.preventDefault();    this.enable();  }});

### option( optionName )Returns: Object

Gets the value currently associated with the specified `optionName`.

- optionName
  Type: String
  The name of the option to get.

Code examples:

Retrieve the value of the `width` option.

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    this.option( "width" );

### option()Returns: PlainObject

Gets an object containing key/value pairs representing the current widget options hash.

- This signature does not accept any arguments.

Code examples:

Log the key and value of each of the widget's options for debugging.

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    var options = this.option();for ( var key in options ) {  console.log( key, options[ key ] );}

### option( optionName, value )Returns: jQuery (plugin only)

Sets the value of the widget option associated with the specified `optionName`.

- optionName
  Type: String
  The name of the option to set.
- value
  Type: Object
  A value to set for the option.

Code examples:

Set the `width` option to `500`.

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    this.option( "width", 500 );

### option( options )Returns: jQuery (plugin only)

Sets one or more options for the widget.

- options
  Type: Object
  A map of option-value pairs to set.

Code examples:

Set the `height` and `width` options to `500`.

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    this.option({  width: 500,  height: 500});

### widget()Returns: jQuery

Returns a `jQuery` object containing the original element or other relevant generated element.

- This method does not accept any arguments.

Code examples:

Place a red border around the widget's original element when it's created.

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    _create: function() {  this.widget().css( "border", "2px solid red" );}

## Events

### create( event, ui )Type: `widgetcreate`

Triggered when the widget is created.

- event
  Type: Event
- ui
  Type: Object

Note: The `ui` object is empty but included for consistency with other events.

Code examples:

Initialize the widget with the create callback specified:

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    $( ".selector" ).widget({  create: function( event, ui ) {}});

Bind an event listener to the widgetcreate event:

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    $( ".selector" ).on( "widgetcreate", function( event, ui ) {} );