Develop Reference

CSS position elements along ring of a circle [duplicate]

How can I position several <img> elements into a circle around another and have those elements all be clickable links as well? I want it to look like the picture below, but I have no idea how to achieve that effect.
Is this even possible?

2020 solution
Here's a more modern solution I use these days.
I start off by generating the HTML starting from an array of images. Whether the HTML is generated using PHP, JS, some HTML preprocessor, whatever... this matters less as the basic idea behind is the same.
Here's the Pug code that would do this:
//- start with an array of images, described by url and alt text
- let imgs = [
- {
- src: 'image_url.jpg',
- alt: 'image alt text'
- } /* and so on, add more images here */
- ];
- let n_imgs = imgs.length;
- let has_mid = 1; /* 0 if there's no item in the middle, 1 otherwise */
- let m = n_imgs - has_mid; /* how many are ON the circle */
- let tan = Math.tan(Math.PI/m); /* tangent of half the base angle */
.container(style=`--m: ${m}; --tan: ${+tan.toFixed(2)}`)
- for(let i = 0; i < n_imgs; i++)
a(href='#' style=i - has_mid >= 0 ? `--i: ${i}` : null)
img(src=imgs[i].src alt=imgs[i].alt)
The generated HTML looks as follows (and yes, you can write the HTML manually too, but it's going to be a pain to make changes afterwards):
<div class="container" style="--m: 8; --tan: 0.41">
<a href='#'>
<img src="image_mid.jpg" alt="alt text"/>
</a>
<a style="--i: 1">
<img src="first_img_on_circle.jpg" alt="alt text"/>
</a>
<!-- the rest of those placed on the circle -->
</div>
In the CSS, we decide on a size for the images, let's say 8em. The --m items are positioned on a circle and it's if they're in the middle of the edges of a polygon of --m edges, all of which are tangent to the circle.
If you have a hard time picturing that, you can play with this interactive demo which constructs the incircle and circumcircle for various polygons whose number of edges you pick by dragging the slider.
This tells us that the size of the container must be twice the radius of the circle plus twice half the size of the images.
We don't yet know the radius, but we can compute it if we know the number of edges (and therefore the tangent of half the base angle, precomputed and set as a custom property --tan) and the polygon edge. We probably want the polygon edge to be a least the size of the images, but how much we leave on the sides is arbitrary. Let's say we have half the image size on each side, so the polygon edge is twice the image size. This gives us the following CSS:
.container {
--d: 6.5em; /* image size */
--rel: 1; /* how much extra space we want between images, 1 = one image size */
--r: calc(.5*(1 + var(--rel))*var(--d)/var(--tan)); /* circle radius */
--s: calc(2*var(--r) + var(--d)); /* container size */
position: relative;
width: var(--s); height: var(--s);
background: silver /* to show images perfectly fit in container */
}
.container a {
position: absolute;
top: 50%; left: 50%;
margin: calc(-.5*var(--d));
width: var(--d); height: var(--d);
--az: calc(var(--i)*1turn/var(--m));
transform:
rotate(var(--az))
translate(var(--r))
rotate(calc(-1*var(--az)))
}
img { max-width: 100% }
See the old solution for an explanation of how the transform chain works.
This way, adding or removing an image from the array of images automatically arranges the new number of images on a circle such that they're equally spaced out and also adjusts the size of the container. You can test this in this demo.
OLD solution (preserved for historical reasons)
Yes, it is very much possible and very simple using just CSS. You just need to have clear in mind the angles at which you want the links with the images (I've added a piece of code at the end just for showing the angles whenever you hover one of them).
You first need a wrapper. I set its diameter to be 24em (width: 24em; height: 24em; does that), you can set it to whatever you want. You give it position: relative;.
You then position your links with the images in the center of that wrapper, both horizontally and vertically. You do that by setting position: absolute; and then top: 50%; left: 50%; and margin: -2em; (where 2em is half the width of the link with the image, which I've set to be 4em - again, you can change it to whatever you wish, but don't forget to change the margin in that case).
You then decide on the angles at which you want to have your links with the images and you add a class deg{desired_angle} (for example deg0 or deg45 or whatever). Then for each such class you apply chained CSS transforms, like this:
.deg{desired_angle} {
transform: rotate({desired_angle}) translate(12em) rotate(-{desired_angle});
}
where you replace {desired_angle} with 0, 45, and so on...
The first rotate transform rotates the object and its axes, the translate transform translates the object along the rotated X axis and the second rotate transform brings back the object into position.
The advantage of this method is that it is flexible. You can add new images at different angles without altering the current structure.
CODE SNIPPET
.circle-container {
position: relative;
width: 24em;
height: 24em;
padding: 2.8em;
/*2.8em = 2em*1.4 (2em = half the width of a link with img, 1.4 = sqrt(2))*/
border: dashed 1px;
border-radius: 50%;
margin: 1.75em auto 0;
}
.circle-container a {
display: block;
position: absolute;
top: 50%; left: 50%;
width: 4em; height: 4em;
margin: -2em;
}
.circle-container img { display: block; width: 100%; }
.deg0 { transform: translate(12em); } /* 12em = half the width of the wrapper */
.deg45 { transform: rotate(45deg) translate(12em) rotate(-45deg); }
.deg135 { transform: rotate(135deg) translate(12em) rotate(-135deg); }
.deg180 { transform: translate(-12em); }
.deg225 { transform: rotate(225deg) translate(12em) rotate(-225deg); }
.deg315 { transform: rotate(315deg) translate(12em) rotate(-315deg); }
<div class='circle-container'>
<a href='#' class='center'><img src='image.jpg'></a>
<a href='#' class='deg0'><img src='image.jpg'></a>
<a href='#' class='deg45'><img src='image.jpg'></a>
<a href='#' class='deg135'><img src='image.jpg'></a>
<a href='#' class='deg180'><img src='image.jpg'></a>
<a href='#' class='deg225'><img src='image.jpg'></a>
<a href='#' class='deg315'><img src='image.jpg'></a>
</div>
Also, you could further simplify the HTML by using background images for the links instead of using img tags.
EDIT: example with fallback for IE8 and older (tested in IE8 and IE7)

Here is the easy solution without absolute positioning:
.container .row {
margin: 20px;
text-align: center;
}
.container .row img {
margin: 0 20px;
}
<div class="container">
<div class="row">
<img src="https://ssl.gstatic.com/s2/oz/images/faviconr2.ico" alt="" width="64" height="64">
<img src="https://ssl.gstatic.com/s2/oz/images/faviconr2.ico" alt="" width="64" height="64">
</div>
<div class="row">
<img src="https://ssl.gstatic.com/s2/oz/images/faviconr2.ico" alt="" width="64" height="64">
<img src="https://ssl.gstatic.com/s2/oz/images/faviconr2.ico" alt="" width="64" height="64">
<img src="https://ssl.gstatic.com/s2/oz/images/faviconr2.ico" alt="" width="64" height="64">
</div>
<div class="row">
<img src="https://ssl.gstatic.com/s2/oz/images/faviconr2.ico" alt="" width="64" height="64">
<img src="https://ssl.gstatic.com/s2/oz/images/faviconr2.ico" alt="" width="64" height="64">
</div>
</div>
http://jsfiddle.net/mD6H6/

Using the solution proposed by #Ana:
transform: rotate(${angle}deg) translate(${radius}px) rotate(-${angle}deg)
I created the following jsFiddle that places circles dynamically using plain JavaScript (jQuery version also available).
The way it works is rather simple:
document.querySelectorAll( '.ciclegraph' ).forEach( ( ciclegraph )=>{
let circles = ciclegraph.querySelectorAll( '.circle' )
let angle = 360-90, dangle = 360 / circles.length
for( let i = 0; i < circles.length; ++i ){
let circle = circles[i]
angle += dangle
circle.style.transform = `rotate(${angle}deg) translate(${ciclegraph.clientWidth / 2}px) rotate(-${angle}deg)`
}
})
.ciclegraph {
position: relative;
width: 500px;
height: 500px;
margin: calc(100px / 2 + 0px);
}
.ciclegraph:before {
content: "";
position: absolute;
top: 0; left: 0;
border: 2px solid teal;
width: calc( 100% - 2px * 2);
height: calc( 100% - 2px * 2 );
border-radius: 50%;
}
.ciclegraph .circle {
position: absolute;
top: 50%; left: 50%;
width: 100px;
height: 100px;
margin: calc( -100px / 2 );
background: teal;
border-radius: 50%;
}
<div class="ciclegraph">
<div class="circle"></div>
<div class="circle"></div>
<div class="circle"></div>
<div class="circle"></div>
<div class="circle"></div>
<div class="circle"></div>
</div>

Building off #Ana's excellent answer, I created this dynamic version that allows you to add and remove elements from the DOM and maintain proportionate spacing between the elements - check out my fiddle: https://jsfiddle.net/skwidbreth/q59s90oy/
var list = $("#list");
var updateLayout = function(listItems) {
for (var i = 0; i < listItems.length; i++) {
var offsetAngle = 360 / listItems.length;
var rotateAngle = offsetAngle * i;
$(listItems[i]).css("transform", "rotate(" + rotateAngle + "deg) translate(0, -200px) rotate(-" + rotateAngle + "deg)")
};
};
$(document).on("click", "#add-item", function() {
var listItem = $("<li class='list-item'>Things go here<button class='remove-item'>Remove</button></li>");
list.append(listItem);
var listItems = $(".list-item");
updateLayout(listItems);
});
$(document).on("click", ".remove-item", function() {
$(this).parent().remove();
var listItems = $(".list-item");
updateLayout(listItems);
});
#list {
background-color: blue;
height: 400px;
width: 400px;
border-radius: 50%;
position: relative;
}
.list-item {
list-style: none;
background-color: red;
height: 50px;
width: 50px;
position: absolute;
top: 50%;
left: 50%;
}
<script src="https://ajax.googleapis.com/ajax/libs/jquery/3.1.1/jquery.min.js"></script>
<ul id="list"></ul>
<button id="add-item">Add item</button>

Here is a version I made in React from the examples here.
CodeSandbox Example
import React, { useRef, useEffect } from "react";
import "./styles.css";
export default function App() {
const graph = useRef(null);
useEffect(() => {
const ciclegraph = graph.current;
const circleElements = ciclegraph.childNodes;
let angle = 360 - 90;
let dangle = 360 / circleElements.length;
for (let i = 0; i < circleElements.length; i++) {
let circle = circleElements[i];
angle += dangle;
circle.style.transform = `rotate(${angle}deg) translate(${ciclegraph.clientWidth /
2}px) rotate(-${angle}deg)`;
}
}, []);
return (
<div className="App">
<div className="ciclegraph" ref={graph}>
<div className="circle" />
<div className="circle" />
<div className="circle" />
<div className="circle" />
<div className="circle" />
<div className="circle" />
</div>
</div>
);
}

You can certainly do it with pure css or use JavaScript. My suggestion:
If you already know that the images number will never change just calculate your styles and go with plain css (pros: better performances, very reliable)
If the number can vary either dynamically in your app or just may vary in the future go with a Js solution (pros: more future-proof)
I had a similar job to do, so I created a script and open sourced it here on Github for anyone who might need it. It just accepts some configuration values and simply outputs the CSS code you need.
If you want to go for the Js solution here's a simple pointer that can be useful to you. Using this html as a starting point being #box the container and .dot the image/div in the middle you want all your other images around:
Starting html:
<div id="box">
<div class="dot"></div>
<img src="my-img.jpg">
<!-- all the other images you need-->
</div>
Starting Css:
#box{
width: 400px;
height: 400px;
position: relative;
border-radius: 100%;
border: 1px solid teal;
}
.dot{
position: absolute;
border-radius: 100%;
width: 40px;
height: 40px;
left: 50%;
top: 50%;
margin-left: -20px;
margin-top: -20px;
background: rebeccapurple;
}
img{
width: 40px;
height: 40px;
position: absolute;
}
You can create a quick function along these lines:
var circle = document.getElementById('box'),
imgs = document.getElementsByTagName('img'),
total = imgs.length,
coords = {},
diam, radius1, radius2, imgW;
// get circle diameter
// getBoundingClientRect outputs the actual px AFTER transform
// using getComputedStyle does the job as we want
diam = parseInt( window.getComputedStyle(circle).getPropertyValue('width') ),
radius = diam/2,
imgW = imgs[0].getBoundingClientRect().width,
// get the dimensions of the inner circle we want the images to align to
radius2 = radius - imgW
var i,
alpha = Math.PI / 2,
len = imgs.length,
corner = 2 * Math.PI / total;
// loop over the images and assign the correct css props
for ( i = 0 ; i < total; i++ ){
imgs[i].style.left = parseInt( ( radius - imgW / 2 ) + ( radius2 * Math.cos( alpha ) ) ) + 'px'
imgs[i].style.top = parseInt( ( radius - imgW / 2 ) - ( radius2 * Math.sin( alpha ) ) ) + 'px'
alpha = alpha - corner;
}
You can see a live example here

There is no way to magically place clickable items in a circle around another element with CSS.
The way how I would do this is by using a container with position:relative;. And then place all the elements with position:absolute; and using top and left to target it's place.
Even though you haven't placed jquery in your tags it might be best to use jQuery / javascript for this.
First step is placing your center image perfectly in the center of the container using position:relative;.
#centerImage {
position:absolute;
top:50%;
left:50%;
width:200px;
height:200px;
margin: -100px 0 0 -100px;
}
After that you can place the other elements around it by using an offset() of the centerImage minus the offset() of the container. Giving you the exact top and left of the image.
var left = $('#centerImage').offset().left - $('#centerImage').parent().offset().left;
var top = $('#centerImage').offset().top - $('#centerImage').parent().offset().top;
$('#surroundingElement1').css({
'left': left - 50,
'top': top - 50
});
$('#surroundingElement2').css({
'left': left - 50,
'top': top
});
$('#surroundingElement3').css({
'left': left - 50,
'top': top + 50
});
What I've done here is placing the elements relative to the centerImage. Hope this helps.

You could do it like this: fiddle
Don't mind the positioning, its a quick example

The first step is to have 6 long columnar boxes:
The second step is to use position: absolute and move them all into the middle of your container:
And now rotate them around the pivot point located at the bottom center. Use :nth-child to vary rotation angles:
div {
transform-origin: bottom center;
#for $n from 0 through 7 {
&:nth-child(#{$n}) {
rotate: (360deg / 6) * $n;
}
}
Now all you have to do is to locate your images at the far end of every column, and compensate the rotation with an anti-rotation :)
Full source:
<div class="flower">
<div class="petal">1</div>
<div class="petal">2</div>
<div class="petal">3</div>
<div class="petal">4</div>
<div class="petal">5</div>
<div class="petal">6</div>
</div>
.flower {
width: 300px;
height: 300px;
// We need a relative position
// so that children can have "position:abolute"
position: relative;
.petal {
// Make sure petals are visible
border: 1px solid #999;
// Position them all in one point
position: absolute; top: 0; left: 50%;
display: inline-block;
width: 30px; height: 150px;
// Rotation
transform-origin: bottom center;
#for $n from 0 through 7 {
&:nth-child(#{$n}) {
// Petal rotation
$angle: (360deg / 6) * $n;
rotate: $angle;
// Icon anti-rotation
.icon { rotate: -$angle; }
}
}
}
}
See CodePen

Trying to make continuous JavaScript slider

The problem with my slider is that when it gets to the last slide and i click next it jumps over the two slides to get to the first one. Similarly when i am on the first slide and click previous, it jumps over slides to get to the last one. I would like to make it that when i get to the last slide and click NEXT the first slide would come from the right to left. (similar concept for the PREVIOUS button on first slide). I tried using insertBefore() and appendChild() for the slides but couldn't figure it out...
Here is my code:
// Slider
const slider_wrapp = document.querySelector('.tract-slider');
const slider = document.querySelector('.tract-slider-wrapp');
var slide = document.getElementsByClassName('tract-slide');
const leftBtn = document.querySelector('.slide-left');
const rightBtn = document.querySelector('.slide-right');
let swWidth = slider_wrapp.clientWidth;
let sliderWidth = swWidth * slide.length;
let slideWidth = 0;
slider.style.width = sliderWidth + "px";
for (var i = 0; i < slide.length; i++) {
slide.item(i).style.width = swWidth + "px";
}
function moveRight() {
slideWidth === sliderWidth - swWidth ? slideWidth = 0 : slideWidth += swWidth;
slider.style.transform = "translateX(" + (-slideWidth) + "px)";
}
function moveLeft() {
slideWidth === 0 ? slideWidth = sliderWidth - swWidth : slideWidth -= swWidth;
slider.style.transform = "translateX(" + (-slideWidth) + "px)";
}
rightBtn.addEventListener("click", function() {
moveRight();
});
leftBtn.addEventListener("click", function() {
moveLeft();
});
.tract-slider {
width: 100%;
height: 75vh;
position: relative;
overflow: hidden;
}
.tract-slider-wrapp {
height: 100%;
position: relative;
-webkit-transition: all 350ms cubic-bezier(.08, .13, 0, .81);
-o-transition: all 350ms cubic-bezier(.08, .13, 0, .81);
transition: all 350ms cubic-bezier(.08, .13, 0, .81);
}
.tract-slide {
height: 100%;
float: left;
position: relative;
display: block;
background-position: center;
-webkit-background-size: cover;
background-size: cover;
}
.tract-slide:nth-child(1) {
background-image: url("https://static.pexels.com/photos/126282/pexels-photo-126282.jpeg");
}
.tract-slide:nth-child(2) {
background-image: url("https://static.pexels.com/photos/29017/pexels-photo-29017.jpg");
}
.tract-slide:nth-child(3) {
background-image: url("https://static.pexels.com/photos/70760/dandelion-dandelion-seeds-taraxacum-fluffy-70760.jpeg");
}
.tract-slider-control {
position: absolute;
left: 0;
bottom: 0;
background: #ffffff;
padding: 1em;
}
.tract-slider-btn {
display: inline-block;
cursor: pointer;
margin-left: 1em;
}
.tract-slider-btn:nth-child(1) {
margin-left: 0;
}
<div class="tract-slider">
<div class="tract-slider-wrapp">
<div class="tract-slide"></div>
<div class="tract-slide"></div>
<div class="tract-slide"></div>
</div>
<div class="tract-slider-control">
<div class="tract-slider-btn slide-left">Prev</div>
<div class="tract-slider-btn slide-right">Next</div>
</div>
</div>
PS. Please use JavaScript for solution

Creating an infinite slider means you need to move your slides around in DOM so they give the impression of a continuous track.
The first thing you need to change is having their backgrounds tied up to their position in DOM. If we want to slide back from first slide to the last one, we need to take the last slide, prepend it before the first one but, considering your current CSS, that will change the backgrounds of all slides, as they are currently bound to their position in DOM (...:nth-child {background-image:...}...).
The second thing that needs changing is positioning the slides into the slider track. If they're floated, whenever we change their order, all the rest of the slides will be affected. By positioning them with position:absolute each slide moves independently, without affecting the others, so it's easier to rearrange them while keeping control.
Long story short, I started from scratch and placed all methods inside a single object: theSlider.
The reset() function does the heavy lifting: it puts before class on first element, current on second and after on all the rest. So you have to put the "last" slide first, because the slider will start with it appended before the "current" one.
The sliding is done by applying go-left and go-right classes to the track. After the transition is done, I just move the first/last slide into the new position, depending on case, and run reset() again (which strips all classes and reapplies them based on new positions).
Animations are handled by CSS. All JavaScript does is apply/remove classes and move the slides in DOM.
var theSlider = {
track : document.querySelector('.tract-slider-wrapp'),
// has to match `transition-duration` in CSS:
duration : 600,
reset : function() {
var slides = document.querySelectorAll('.tract-slider-wrapp > div');
for (var i = 0; i < slides.length; i++) {
slides[i].className = '';
slides[i].classList.add(i > 1? 'after' : (i ? 'current':'before'))
}
},
init : function() {
theSlider.reset();
theSlider.track.classList.remove('not-loaded')
},
next : function() {
theSlider.track.classList.add('go-right');
setTimeout(function(){
var firstSlide = document.querySelector('.tract-slider-wrapp > div:first-child');
theSlider.track.appendChild(firstSlide);
theSlider.reset();
theSlider.track.classList.remove('go-right')
},theSlider.duration)
},
prev : function() {
theSlider.track.classList.add('go-left');
setTimeout(function() {
var lastSlide = document.querySelector('.tract-slider-wrapp > div:last-child');
theSlider.track.insertBefore(lastSlide, theSlider.track.firstChild);
theSlider.reset();
theSlider.track.classList.remove('go-left')
},theSlider.duration)
},
prevButton : document.querySelector('.slide-left'),
nextButton : document.querySelector('.slide-right')
};
window.addEventListener("load", theSlider.init);
theSlider.prevButton.addEventListener('click', theSlider.prev);
theSlider.nextButton.addEventListener('click', theSlider.next);
.tract-slider {
width: 100%;
height: 75vh;
position: relative;
overflow: hidden;
background-color: #f5f5f5;
}
.tract-slider-wrapp {
height: 100%;
transition: all 350ms cubic-bezier(.08, .13, 0, .81);
opacity: 1;
}
.tract-slider-wrapp.not-loaded {
opacity: 0;
}
.tract-slider-wrapp>div {
height: 100%;
position: absolute;
background: transparent no-repeat 50% 50% /cover;
width: 100%;
}
.tract-slider-wrapp > div.before {
margin-left: -100%;
}
.tract-slider-wrapp > div.current + div {
margin-left: 100%;
}
.tract-slider-wrapp > div.after ~ div {
opacity: 0;
}
.tract-slider-control {
position: absolute;
width: 100%;
z-index: 1;
top: 50%;
display: flex;
justify-content: space-between;
transform: translateY(-50%);
}
.tract-slider-control div {
background-color: rgba(0,0,0,.35);
padding: .5rem 1rem;
color: white;
cursor: pointer;
}
.tract-slider-control :first-child {
border-radius: 0 17px 17px 0;
}
.tract-slider-control :last-child {
border-radius: 17px 0 0 17px;
}
body {
margin: 0;
}
.go-right div {
transform: translateX(-100%);
}
.go-left div {
transform: translateX(100%);
}
.go-right div, .go-left div {
transition-property: transform;
transition-timing-function: cubic-bezier(.4,0,.2,1);
/* has to match `duration` in js: */
transition-duration: 600ms;
}
<div class="tract-slider">
<div class="tract-slider-wrapp not-loaded">
<div style="background-image:url('https://static.pexels.com/photos/126282/pexels-photo-126282.jpeg')"></div>
<div style="background-image:url('https://static.pexels.com/photos/29017/pexels-photo-29017.jpg')"></div>
<div style="background-image:url('https://static.pexels.com/photos/70760/dandelion-dandelion-seeds-taraxacum-fluffy-70760.jpeg')"></div>
</div>
<div class="tract-slider-control">
<div class="tract-slider-btn slide-left">Prev</div>
<div class="tract-slider-btn slide-right">Next</div>
</div>
</div>
If you want to change the animation duration you need to change it in both js and css.
The only current limitation is it needs at least 3 slides to work. I guess it could be adjusted to work with only two slides by: cloning the "inactive" slide into third position, removing the clone after transition and cloning the other one.
ToDo's:
prefix CSS so it works in more browsers
replace .classList.add('whatever') with .className += ' whatever' and
.classList.remove('whatever') with .className.replace('whatever', '') if you want to show IE some love.
I told the above just to tell you this: if you want to get going, don't reinvent the wheel.
It's great you use vanilla javascript. But sooner or later you'll end up writing your own wrappers for common things. Depending on how good you are/have become, you'll write your own, limited, custom version of jQuery. Allow me to put things into perspective: Google included a lite version of jQuery into AngularJS. It's that good.
You, as an single developer, do not stand a chance at writing a better, more streamlined and tested version of it. And besides, you don't have to. Use your skill and abilities to go forward, not sideways.

JavaScript Wrap Around Carousel

I am looking for some information from some front end experts on how to go about creating a custom wrap around js carousel gallery. The idea is simple really I have a carousel of images, text, or whatever and when I get to the end I want it to wrap around. I don't want the content to simply fadeIn and out to the next piece of content. This is a gallery of div's currently but suppose it's images or whatever have you.
HTML
<div id="outside-container">
<div id="inside-container" class="cf">
<div class="items" id="item1"></div>
<div class="items" id="item2"></div>
<div class="items" id="item3"></div>
<div class="items" id="item4"></div>
</div>
</div>
<div id="directions">
<h4 id="left-button">Left</h4>
<h4 id="right-button">Right</h4>
</div>
CSS
#outside-container{
display: block;
width: 400px;
height: 125px;
overflow: hidden;
border: 1px solid #000;
margin: 0px auto;
}
#inside-container{
display: block;
width: 800px;
overflow: hidden;
height: 100%;
}
.items{
float: left;
margin: 0px;
width: 200px;
height: 100%;
}
#item1{ background: green; }
#item2{ background: red; }
#item3{ background: blue; }
#item4{ background: yellow; }
#directions{
display: block;
width: 400px;
margin: 0px auto;
text-align: center;
}
#left-button, #right-button{
display: inline-block;
cursor: pointer;
margin: 10px;
}
JS
var move = 0;
$("#left-button").click(function(){
move += 200;
$("#inside-container").animate({
marginLeft: move+"px"
}, 500);
});
$("#right-button").click(function(){
move -= 200;
$("#inside-container").animate({
marginLeft: move+"px"
}, 500);
});
Here is the codepen. So to sum all this up. I am asking for a way to create an infite loop for a gallery. I have always programmed these sorts of things to come to an end and then the user has to go back the other way. If this sounds confusing follow check out the codepen. Thanks in advance.

Here you go
http://codepen.io/nickavi/pen/cpFCE
But for the love of god, please don't use jQuery animate... at least add velocity.js to it, or the GSAP plugin, you don't even have to alter your JS you just add it in and it replaces the animate function with a more efficient one.
Cheers JBSTEW

First set move to the default slider and margin reset amount:
var move = 200;
Then, set the container margin to slide left by the move amount:
var margin_reset = (move * -1) + 'px'
$("#inside-container").css('margin-left', margin_reset);
Then, adjust the animation margin slide using move variable again, and execute a function when the animation is complete that moves the last/first item to the beginning/end of the container using prepend/append.
$("#left-button").click(function(){
$("#inside-container").animate({
marginLeft: 0
}, 500, function() {
$(this).prepend( $(this).find('.items:last') )
.css('margin-left', margin_reset);
});
});
$("#right-button").click(function(){
$("#inside-container").animate({
marginLeft: (move * -2) +"px"
}, 500, function() {
$(this).append( $(this).find('.items:first') )
.css('margin-left', margin_reset);
});
});
To avoid an initial draw jump, you could change the default css #inside-container as:
#inside-container{
...
margin-left: -200px;
}
see: Codepen

how to i get the image to center in my gallery

I have made a simple slider gallery for my site but have found that when I click next the image updates but it does not centre until I have done a full cycle of the images
how can i get the images to align from the start?
HERE IS THE JS FIDDLE > http://jsfiddle.net/8pScd/4
HTML
<div class="view_gallery">view gallery</div>
<div class="prev control"><<</div>
<div class="next control">>></div>
<div class="gallery">
</div>
<div class="overlay"></div>
CSS
.overlay{
display: none;
position: absolute; top: 0; right: 0; bottom: 0; left: 0;
width: 100%; height: 100%;
background: rgba(0,0,0,0.8);
z-index: 100;
}
.gallery{
z-index: 200;
padding: 10px;
position: absolute;
left: 50%;
background: #fff;
}
.control{
position: absolute;
top: 200px;
z-index: 300;
color: #fff;
text-transform: capitalize;
font-size: 2em;
cursor: pointer;
}
.prev{left: 0;}
.next{right:0;}
JQUERY
//images
var pics = new Array();
pics[0] = "cars.jpg";
pics[1] = "cats.png";
pics[2] = "dogs.png";
pics[3] = "bus.jpg"
//total amount of pictures to display
var pictot = pics.length-1;
var nxt = $(".next"),
prv = $(".prev"),
view = $(".view_gallery"),
gal = $(".gallery"),
overlay = $(".overlay"),
num = 0;
//view gallery
view.click(function(){
overlay.show();
gal.show();
// Start gallery off on the first image
gal.html('<img src="' + pics[0] + '" />');
});
nxt.click(function(){
// If on the last image set value to 0. Else add 1
if (num == pictot){num = 0;}else{num++;};
update();
});
prv.click(function(){
// If on first image set value to last image number. Else minus 1
if (num == 0){num = pictot;}else{num--;}
update();
});
function update () {
// update image with next/previous
gal.html('<img src="' + pics[num] + '" />');
//center image (not working very well)
var x = gal.width()/2;
gal.css("marginLeft", -x);
};
//hide
overlay.click(function(){
gal.hide();
$(this).hide();
});

The problem you have is that the "update" function is called immediately after clicking on prev/next. The image has not yet been loaded, so the code does not actually know the new gal.width yet. That's why it works after a full round: the images are now in the cache, and therefore already available.
The best solution would be to use javascript Image objects to preload the pictures; an easier way but possibly problematic is to use the 'load' event (it may not work well in all browsers).

You can align your gallery div with some simple css hack.
1)first define width. (you can define dynamic width with jquery).
2)add position:absolute;
3)add left:0 , right:0;
4)add margin:0 auto;
final code looks like this.
.gallery {
background: none repeat scroll 0 0 #FFFFFF;
left: 0;
margin: 0 auto !important;
padding: 10px;
position: absolute;
right: 0;
width: 600px;
z-index: 200;
}

your math is wrong, look at this example http://jsfiddle.net/8pScd/6/
i've just need to change your math at
var x = $('body').width()/2 - gal.width()/2;
gal.css("margin-left", x + 'px');
and i removed this line at your css
left: 50%;
.gallery{
z-index: 200;
padding: 10px;
position: absolute;
background: #fff;
}

Knowing that .gallery is 920px wide, set left: 50%; margin-left: -470px. Also remove the line in javascript which updates margin-left of the gallery container - gal.css("marginLeft", -x);

Circular rotating/magnifying menu with jquery

I'm trying to make a menu that contains 5 items/icons with the selected one being in the center. Clicking to the left or right of this centered icon, rotates the menu left or right, wrapping round the edges and moving whichever item was closest to the edge back in through the opposite one. Clicking on the centered item takes you to its linked URL.
The menu should also magnify in a way similar to the OS X dock except the magnification levels are set based on position not mouseover.
I've made a diagram which is easier to understand than my ramblings.
(source: yfrog.com)
I've managed to cobble together a simple jQuery version, where the items swap positions as needed, but can't figure out how to animate this movement, especially the wrap around the edges part, and change size based on position.
I'm guessing my code is probably not the best either :)
The HTML is as follows:
<div id="nav">
<div id="leftnav"></div>
<div id="rightnav"></div>
<div id="navblock1" class="navblock">
one
</div>
<div id="navblock2" class="navblock">
two
</div>
<div id="navblock3" class="navblock">
three
</div>
<div id="navblock4" class="navblock">
four
</div>
<div id="navblock5" class="navblock">
five
</div>
And the JS:
function rotateNav(direction) {
var change = (direction=='left')?(-1):(+1);
$('div.navblock').each(function() {
oldPos = parseInt($(this).attr('id').substr(9));
newPos = oldPos+change;
if (newPos == 0)
newPos = 5;
else if (newPos == 6)
newPos = 1;
$(this).attr('id','navblock'+newPos);
});
}
$(document).ready(function(){
$("#leftnav").click(function() {
rotateNav('right');
});
$("#rightnav").click(function() {
rotateNav('left');
});
});
All the .navblock elements are absolutely positionned. The #leftnav and #rightnav elements also and they have a higher z-index so float above the items/icons.
I've looked at various jQuery plugins but none seem close to what I need.

Instead of changing id attributes (which you really shouldn't do in the first place) you can change CSS classes and use jQuery UI's switchClass() method to animate the rotation.
You would also have to do a bit of clone()ing to make it look like the edge navblocks have rotated around to the other side of the widget and some queue()/dequeue()ing to handle multiple clicks.
Working Demo:
http://jsbin.com/ovemu (editable via http://jsbin.com/ovemu/edit)
Full Source:
JavaScript
function rotateNav(direction) {
if (direction === 'left') {
var change = 1;
$('.navblock5').clone()
.removeClass('navblock5')
.addClass('navblock0')
.appendTo('#nav');
}
else {
var change = -1;
$('.navblock1').clone()
.removeClass('navblock1')
.addClass('navblock6')
.appendTo('#nav');
}
$('div.navblock').each(function() {
var oldClassName = this.className.split(' ')[1],
oldPos = parseInt(oldClassName.substr(8)),
newPos = oldPos + change;
$(this).switchClass(
oldClassName,
'navblock'+newPos,
'fast',
function () {
var animated = $('.navblock:animated').length;
if (newPos === 6 || newPos === 0) {
$(this).remove();
}
if (animated === 1) {
$('#nav').dequeue();
}
}
);
});
}
$(document).ready(function(){
$("#leftnav").click(function() {
$('#nav').queue(function(){rotateNav('right');});
});
$("#rightnav").click(function() {
$('#nav').queue(function(){rotateNav('left');});
});
});
CSS
#nav {
width: 580px; height: 120px;
position: relative; left: 150px;
overflow: hidden;
}
.navblock {
height: 100px; width: 100px;
position: absolute; top: 10px; z-index: 50;
background-color: grey;
}
.navblock0 { left: -110px; }
.navblock1 { left: 10px; }
.navblock2 { left: 120px; }
.navblock3 { left: 230px; width: 120px; height: 120px; top: 0;}
.navblock4 { left: 360px; }
.navblock5 { left: 470px; }
.navblock6 { left: 590px; }
#leftnav, #rightnav {
position: absolute; z-index: 100; height: 120px; width: 228px;
}
#leftnav { left: 0; }
#rightnav { right: 0; }
/*Uncomment the following to help debug or see the inner workings */
/*
#nav { border: 1px solid green; overflow: visible; }
#leftnav, #rightnav { border: 1px solid blue; }
*/
HTML
<div id="nav">
<div id="leftnav"></div>
<div id="rightnav"></div>
<div class="navblock navblock1">one</div>
<div class="navblock navblock2">two</div>
<div class="navblock navblock3">three</div>
<div class="navblock navblock4">four</div>
<div class="navblock navblock5">five</div>

Instead of doing this yourself and wasting time on getting this to work properly I suggest you use existing solutions ones. Here a few pointers (I guess many more can be found by using google
jQuery: Mac-like Dock
Mac-like icon dock (v2)
MAC CSS Dock Menu
jQuery mimicking the OS X dock
Simple OSX-like dock with jQuery
iconDock jQuery Plugin

You seem to be on the right track. One issue is that this line
oldPos = parseInt($(this).attr('id').substr(9));
Should use 8 in the substr:
oldPos = parseInt($(this).attr('id').substr(8));