See the demo.

Synopsis

<div class="curvy-tabs-container">
  <div style="background-color:lightblue" name="Tab A">
    Content for Tab A goes here.
  </div>
  <div style="background-color:lightgreen" name="Tab B">
    Content for Tab B goes here.
  </div>
</div>

As npm module:

var CurvyTabs = require('curvy-tabs');

From CDN:

<script src="https://unpkg.com/[email protected]/umd/curvy-tabs.js"></script>
<script src="https://unpkg.com/[email protected]/umd/curvy-tabs.min.js"></script>

Any SEMVER string can be used. 2.3 in the above means load the latest of the 2.3.* range. See the npm semver calculator and npm’s semantic versioning page.

API

CurvyTabs constructor

The following instantiates the controller object, collecting all the content divs into a sub-div, and adds the tab bar (a canvas element) above it:

var container = document.querySelector('.curvy-tabs-container'); // or whatever
var tabBar = new CurvyTabs(container, selectedContentElement); // 1st param required, 2nd optional
tabBar.paint();

The tabs are named after the content element names.

selectedContentElement parameter

The first tab is selected by default but this can be overridden on instantiation by defining the optional 2nd parameter:

var selectedContentElement = container.querySelector('[name="Tab B"]');
var tabBar = new CurvyTabs(container, selectedContentElement);

CurvyTabs.version static property

Contains the version string 2.3.1 (major.minor.patch of current version, with no leading v).

CurvyTabs.prototype.getTab(idxOrNamOrEl) method

To get a content element by index or name.

For example, to get a reference to the 2nd tab’s content element:

var tab = tabBar.getTab(1); // by zero-based index (so 1 means 2nd tab)
var tab = tabBar.getTab('Tab B'); // by name

Note that tabBar.getTab(tab) === tab.

CurvyTabs.prototype.selected property

To specify some other tab, set selected to a specific content element:

var tabB = tabBar.getTab(1); // by zero-based index
var tabB = tabBar.getTab('Tab B'); // by name

tabBar.selected = tabB;

CurvyTabs.prototype.select(idxOrNamOrEl) method

Or, use the select convenience method to set the selected property:

tabBar.select(1); // by zero-based index
tabBar.select('Tab B'); // by name
tabBar.select(tabEl); // when you already have a reference to a tab element

CurvyTabs.prototype.clear(idxOrNamOrEl) method

To "clear" (removes all child elements from) the 2nd tab’s content element:

tabBar.clear(1); // by zero-based index
tabBar.clear('Tab B'); // by name
tabBar.clear(tabEl); // when you already have a reference to a tab element

Tab hide/show by index or name

All tabs are visible by default.

To hide the a tab, say the 2nd tab (“Tab B”):

• _Declaratively, before instantiation, use CSS to set a tab’s content element’s display style:

  <style>
      .curvy-tabs-container > div > :nth-child(2) { display: none } /* by one-based (!) indexed */
      .curvy-tabs-container > div > [name="Tab B"] { display: none } /* by name */
  </style>

• _Programmatically, after instantiation:

  tobBar.hide(1); // by zero-based index
  tobBar.hide('Tab B'); // by name

CurvyTabs.prototype.hide(idxOrNamOrEl) method

var idxOrNamOrEl = 1; // by zero-based index
var idxOrNamOrEl = 'Tab B'; // by name
var idxOrNamOrEl = tabEl; // when you already have a reference to a tab element
tabBar.hide(idxOrNamOrEl);

Caveat: Attempts to hide the current tab are ignored with a console warning. Be sure to switch to a visible tab first.

CurvyTabs.prototype.show(idxOrNamOrEl) method

tabBar.show(idxOrNamOrEl);

CurvyTabs.prototype.toggle(idxOrNamOrEl, isVisible) method

To hide if visible or show if hidden:

tabBar.toggle(idxOrNamOrEl);

The optional second parameter isVisible forces visibility:

tabBar.toggle(idxOrNamOrEl, false); // same as tabBar.hide(idxOrNamOrEl)
tabBar.toggle(idxOrNamOrEl, true); // same as tabBar.show(idxOrNamOrEl)

CurvyTabs.prototype.curviness property

To change the curviness of the tab outlines:

tabBar.curviness = 0; // not curvy at all, exactly like Chrome's tabs (prior to version 69)
tabBar.curviness = 0.5; // somewhat curvy
tabBar.curviness = 1; // fully curvy (default)

CurvyTabs.prototype.minWidth property

Tabs are sized proportional to their labels. To make all tabs the same width:

tabBar.minWidth = 100; // Tabs whose text exceeds 100 pixels are widened to accommodate

CurvyTabs.prototype.font property

To change the tab font:

tabBar.font = '12pt cursive'; // accepts full CSS font spec

CurvyTabs.prototype.size property

To set the size (i.e., height) of the tabs (for example to accommodate outsized fonts):

• Before instantiation: Reset the default tab size (initially 29 pixels):

  CurvyTabs.size = 40;

• After instantiation:

  tabBar.size = 40;

CurvyTabs.prototype.width and CurvyTabs.prototype.height property

The container must have a width and height. The default is 500 × 500 pixels.

• Declaratively, before instantiation: Use CSS to change the default (affects all instances):

  <style>
     .curvy-tabs-container { width: 750px; height: 1050px; }
  </style>

• Programmatically, after instantiation: An instance's container width and height can be set programmatically:

  tabBar.width = 750; // sets both the tab bar width and the container width
  tabBar.height = 1050;

CurvyTabs.prototype.css method

The tab bar’s background color, border color, and border width affect both the tab bar and content area and can be set as follows:

• Declaratively, before instantiation: Use CSS (affects all instances):

  <style>
     .curvy-tabs-container > div {
         border: 2x solid red;
         background-color: yellow;
      }
  </style>

• Programmatically, after instantiation: Such styles can be set programmatically using the css method (works like jQuery's css method):

  tabBar.css('borderColor', 'red'); // sets border color
  tabBar.css('borderColor'); // returns border color
  tabBar.css({ borderColor: 'yellow', backgroundColor: 'red' }); // sets both style properties
  tabBar.css(['borderColor', 'backgroundColor']); // returns style dictionary

(Note that the tab bar’s background color is only visible through transparent tabs; there is no point in setting this if all your tabs have defined colors.)

CurvyTabs.prototype.contentCss method

To set styles on all the content divs at once:

• Declaratively, before instantiation: Use CSS (affects all instances):

  <style>
      .curvy-tabs-container > div > * { padding: 3px }
  </style>

• Programmatically, after instantiation: Use the contentCss method (also like jQuery's css method):

  tabBar.contentCss('padding', '2px');

CurvyTabs.prototype.container property

An element (div.curvy-tabs-container in the above) that contains this instance’s tabs.

CurvyTabs.prototype.contents property

A <div>...</div> element, programmatically created by the constructor to group all tabs’ content elements (the container’s children).

CurvyTabs.prototype.forEach(iterator) method

To iterate through all the tabs’ content elements (contents.children):

tabBar.forEach(function(tabEl) {
    console.log(tabEl.getAttribute('name'));
});

The above logs:

Tab A
Tab B

See Array.prototype.forEach for more information, including the definition of iterator.

CurvyTabs.prototype.reset(save) method

Two overloads:

• reset() — Resets each tab to its visibility based on the value of its display style at the time the tab was loaded, or the last time tabBar.reset(true) was called
• reset(true) — Saves the state of each tab’s display style for future reference by a reset() call.

Event Handlers

tabBar.onclick

If defined as a function, this event handler will be fired on every click of any tab. The event object contains content (a reference to the content element to be displayed, whose name attribute is used as the tab label), left (horizontal pixel location of left edge of tab, and width (width of tab).

For example, either of:

tabBar.onclick = function(event) {
    console.log('tab clicked:', event.content.getAttribute('name'));
};
tabBar.addEventListener('click', function(event) {
    console.log('tab clicked:', event.content.getAttribute('name'));
});

event.preventDefault()

Calling event.preventDefault() from this handler will prevent the clicked tab from being selected. Therefore, this is a way of disabling all tabs.

tab.onclick

In addition, each tab may also define its own event handler, fired only when that tab is clicked on.

For example, either of:

tabBar.getTab(0).onclick = function(event) { ... };
tabBar.getTab(0).addEventListener('onclick', function(event) { ... });

event.preventDefault()

As above, calling event.preventDefault() from within will prevent the tab from being selected. This is a way of disabling just this specific tab.

event.stopPropagation()

The event will be propagated to the tabBar.onclick handler (if defined) unless you call event.stopPropagation() from within.

See Also

• curvy-tabs-pager (npm, github) which implements paged content for curvy-tab bars.

Version History

• 2.3.8 (10/12/2018)
  • Fix events to work as advertised
  • Add CustomEvent polyfill for IE 11
• 2.3.7 (10/11/2018)
  • Ignore hidden tabs in click handler
• 2.3.6
  • Correct the global property name set by CDN version
  • Update build.sh to always set correct global property in CDN version
• 2.3.5
  • Update build.sh to always set correct value for CurvyTabs.version property
• 2.3.4
  • Update build.sh to create umd folder for unpkg.com CDN support for this and all future versions. See revised installation snippet above. (curvy-tabs-pager.github.io will no longer be updated with new versions, albeit previous versions will continue to be accessible.)
• 2.3.3
  • Fix width setter (was always throwing error)
  • Set <canvas> element to device’s resolution for crisper imaginge (especially text) on high-DPI devices (like Apple Retina screen)
  • Pull build script out of package.json, which failed on Windows (in GitBash), and put in new file build.sh
• 2.3.2
  • Fix catch that was itself was throwing error (in getTab on unknown tab)
  • Improved build
• 2.3.1
  • Bump CurvyTabs.version
  • Fix bad link to curvy-tabs-pager in README.md
• 2.3.0
  • Attempts to hide the current tab with the hide, toggle, or reset methods are ignored with a console warning.
  • Add reset method
  • All methods that previously had indexOrName overloads now have idxOrNamOrEl overloads — meaning that they all now accept an already known tab element in addition to its index or name. Previously if you already had the element, you couldn't just pass el; you would have had to pass el.getAttribute('name'). This would deref the name just so getTab could then search for the element by name.
• 2.2.0
  • Add forEach method
• 2.1.1
  • Bump version numbers in README.md (again) (doh!)
  • Add CurvyTabs.version static property
  • Adjust build-and-push.sh to keep previous versions
• 2.1.0
  • Add & document getTab, select, clear, hide, show, and toggle methods
  • Tab visibility now respects content div's display style
  • Document how to hide a tab by setting content div's display style
• 2.0.1
  • Bump version numbers in README.md
• 2.0.0
  • Cleaner DOM structure
  • height is now size
  • containerHeight is now height
  • Add contents, ~~contentDivs~~, css, and contentCss
• 1.0.0 — Initial version