14 Tab-Based Interface Techniques
The popularity of tabs, well-known from tabbed document interfaces (TDI), is rapidly growing, challenging the creativity of both developers and designers. The development of efficient and user-friendly interfaces is quite hard to deal with, and tabs can guarantee a quick access to information without need to open and close dozens of windows at the same time. Tabs-based interfaces allow multiple documents to be contained within a single window and tabs can be used to navigate between them. And exactly this idea is being used more frequently recently.
However, it doesn’t have to be that complex. Using modern approaches, you can create and improve tab-based interfaces in few minutes. With CSS, JavaScript, DHTML and XMLHttpRequest (alltogether Ajax) almost everything is possible. Information isn’t loaded in new windows, but loaded instantly with Ajax-based techniques. You can also use Back-button without worrying about losing your data.
Let’s take a look at some of the most interesting techniques we’ve found in the Web, searching for tab-based interface techniques.
Freeware Tab Interaces
Control.Tabs
Based upon Prototype Javascript Framework.
Javascript Tabs vom Stilbüro
Based upon jQuery | Demo
Yahoo TabView
A part of UI Library | Demos
TabPanel provided by Google Web Toolkit.
Tabbed Panels, provided by Adobe Spry Framework.
AJAX Tabs Content Script
Classic from Dynamic Drive.
Tab Panes
in two versions by DHTMLGoodies, with Close-Buttons. Demo I | Demo II
AJAX Tabs
Ajax Project – Tabbed Page Interface
DOMTab – Navigation tabs with CSS and DOMscripting is presented in two versions.
Tabmenu
Works as MouseOver without mouse click.
Shareware Tab Interaces
dhtmlxTabbar
Sometimes less is really more. It doesn’t have to be so complex – from a shareware package.
ActiveWidgets 2.0
A component of a shareware package.
Zapatec Tabs
Many versions, not freeware.
Mike B
April 18th, 2007 1:16 amGreat list!
thanks.
BTW, its ‘interface’ not ‘inferface’ :)
Vitaly Friedman & Sven Lennartz
April 18th, 2007 1:59 amOMG… thx mike! ;-)
Joey
April 18th, 2007 3:24 amAgain, another great list!
Jose Maria
April 18th, 2007 3:46 amLOL!
Both are wrong!
Its Freeware Tab Interfaces, not Interace
Robert
April 18th, 2007 3:49 amAwesome List. Pulled some good stuff from these, which I needed. I love this website. Can’t wait for the next design showcase post. :)
fijis
April 18th, 2007 4:33 amAre you guys looking over my shoulder? I was working on a cute little tab-based interface – nothing as cool as what you have here. This post should save me a few hours upfront and countless hours in maintenance.
Thanks!
Echilon
April 18th, 2007 4:54 amDid you wait for me to spend four hours yesterday before posting this? :P
Echilon
April 18th, 2007 4:55 amDid you wait for me to spend four hours coding yesterday before posting this? :P
Canadian Soldier
April 18th, 2007 4:57 amThank’s for the great list , as always very nice research ;)
Fernando
April 18th, 2007 7:25 amThanks for the list.
Please note there’s a typo “Interaces” (twice) :-)
工控网
April 18th, 2007 9:28 amGreat list!
thanks.
BTW, its ‘interface’ not ‘inferface’
Gautam
April 18th, 2007 11:53 amGreat list, excellent information. This is my first post but i am a frequent visitor. Please plan a organized section for new designers and developers.
北京
April 18th, 2007 2:13 pm谢谢你的文章！每天会因为看到您的文章而高兴！因为我又可以学到好东西了！
Ozh
April 18th, 2007 2:20 pmI made some research a couple of months ago in search for the perfect tabbed interface. All but Barelyfitz’ Tabber have the same flaw : their markup is semantic non-sense, ie there’s a UL list, then the tabs, which makes absolutely no sense when printed. On the contrary, Tabber starts from correct and sensible markup, and then generates a clean tabbed interface.
Yogi
April 18th, 2007 3:03 pmThanks bro, this is just what I needed :)
szek
April 18th, 2007 3:41 pmgreat list, thanks, i was just starting the other day to look for some examples, as i have to use this method in a project.
great work!
zobla
April 18th, 2007 4:14 pmgreat list, i’ve almost tesed all that solutions, some are great ( JavaScript Tabifier ) but that magic is a little calmed down by some function that aren’t fully cross-browser ( JavaScript Tabifier and ajax loading failing with IE for exemple, or Ajax Tabs Content script ) so take care not choosing a solution, deploying and in fine discovering that it’s broken on some browser.
That’s why i recommande YUI, as it’s the almost unique one which is fully-CP certified.
Boris
April 18th, 2007 4:41 pmYou missed some, like MooTabs and Digitarald’s Tabs for mootools ;-) If you want to know more they are in my mootools plugins list (french).
There was the net4visions.com prototype tabs script too, the original site is down, but you can grab a copy there.
Ian Lloyd
April 18th, 2007 5:23 pmRegarding ‘dhtmlxTabbar ‘
“Eeeek!”
and
“What?!!!”
and
“Step away from the interface and lay down your mouse, sir”
Ivan Minic
April 18th, 2007 6:16 pmBrilliant as usual :)
vickeybird
April 18th, 2007 6:48 pmExcellent list. Very informative, to the point and fun!
Kai
April 18th, 2007 10:05 pmnice examples. i think we will see much more of theses techniques in the near future. thanks
Terinea Tech Tips
April 18th, 2007 10:52 pmJust make sure that you test with all internet browsers!
Brad Harris
April 18th, 2007 11:24 pmExt has a really nice, robust tab interface: http://extjs.com/deploy/ext/examples/tabs/tabs.html
Paul
April 18th, 2007 11:32 pmThis is right on time post :)
Marty
April 19th, 2007 3:25 amAre there any here that can handle 2 rows of tabs? As in, when the number of tabs (or the lengths of their labels) causes the tab row to be wider than the container?
I’ve all but given up on tabs, because I can never get anyone to agree on labels short enough to fit. Fluid layouts complicate this even further…
Jake Teton-Landis
April 19th, 2007 6:46 amIt looks like you forgot Adobe’s Spry tabs. They are neatly integrated into Dreamweaver CS3, but anyone can use them. They are great, incredibly styleable, and very lightweight (if you take out all the comments they leave in for you).
L
April 20th, 2007 3:47 pmthanks! really useful
James
April 21st, 2007 10:29 pmAnother Typo — It should be Interfaces (note the F) you have “Freeware Tab Interaces” and “Shareware Tab Interaces”
PS. Great articles!
Eglence
April 26th, 2007 6:58 pmHimm Very excellent list. I used some tabs ;)
Thanks for share
Agus Suhartono
May 2nd, 2007 2:27 pmHi, you forgot WebFX Tab Pane (http://webfx.eae.net/dhtml/tabpane/tabpane.html). This widget used by Joomla and Mambo CMS.
Vaughn
June 20th, 2007 8:31 amI’ve tried WebFX and cannot get more than 2 tabs to work. I’ve tried to use Adobe Spry Framework and it doesn’t work right of the bat and no support from Adobe. Just other users sayng “I don’t know what to tell you. It works for me.”
I just got a fix from the Adobe forum and am sticking with the Spry stuff altogether.
williams
July 17th, 2007 1:56 pmI am here for the frst time. i got surprised after seeing such detailed informations which are io think not available any where else.
Overall is a good work done!
Isaiah
September 17th, 2007 2:40 pmThe only problem with tabbed interfaces are still the search engines crawling…
Most of the scripts aren’t friendly to search engines.
toon
September 21st, 2007 5:06 pmHow to add tab on the fly? I have used the dhtmlxTabbar on my page and it has button for adding new tab and to delete tab. But I don’t how to make it..
Thanks you
TOON
tricker
December 3rd, 2007 5:37 pmonly u need to add … when user hit the button.. with the help of javascript.. just googled the problem…
Adriaan Nel
January 26th, 2008 9:02 amThis list is good, but it would be way better if you could list the advantages / disadvantages of each…
Cheers
Rahul Bose
January 28th, 2008 3:20 amHow can i make these tabs dynamic adding tabs into tabcontainer according to the fields retrived from database. also along with adding fields have to add dynamically data into it?? any suggestions
thanks
Yogi
February 13th, 2008 6:45 amI’ve also wrote a list of free Ajax tab samples on my blog, you can read it at http://www.geektips.net/108/ajax-tabs-the-amazing-samples.html
rap
September 22nd, 2008 4:29 amthanx
Ilker Turhan
October 3rd, 2008 6:00 pmspecial thanks..
great post..
sunita
April 12th, 2009 2:28 pmvery good tutorial find more
click here
Hasan
April 13th, 2009 8:55 pmthanks…
Teknopaylasim
April 22nd, 2009 12:41 amThanx Nice
rajivk1
April 26th, 2009 9:43 amI want tabs to load external pages data, when clicked.
When a tab is clicked, It would display a waiting icon till the related data is downloaded from an external page linked with that tab.
Tanvir Gaus
May 31st, 2009 10:12 pmYou have a spelling mistake in “Freeware Tab Interaces” it should be Interfaces.
Rajivk1 – if you want to load external data & want to show the loading icon – please use Ajax. In now days you can do it quite easily. :)
balaji
April 28th, 2010 2:46 amGreat list!
Nice collection.
thanks.
Tahsin Hasan
July 29th, 2010 10:03 pmHello,
There also another css tab named boxy tab. you can find it on tahSin’s gaRAge. thanks.
Jignesh
October 9th, 2010 3:33 amYour article helped me a lot
mack
September 15th, 2011 4:36 amPlease correct the spellings in >> “Interaces”, it should be interfaces!