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Antix Web Gallery vs. Alternatives: Fast, Simple, Customizable

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Antix Web Gallery is a minimalist JavaScript/CSS gallery that displays images in a responsive, touch-friendly layout. It typically offers features such as:

  • Click/tap to open images in a lightbox
  • Keyboard navigation (arrow keys, Escape)
  • Optional captions and descriptions
  • No external dependencies (pure JS and CSS)
  • Easy theming via CSS variables or simple styles

Because it’s aimed at static sites, Antix Web Gallery usually works well with static site generators (Hugo, Jekyll) or plain HTML pages.

Quick Setup (Basic Installation)

  1. Download or include the library files:

    • antix-web-gallery.css
    • antix-web-gallery.js

  2. Add CSS to the head of your HTML:

    <link rel="stylesheet" href="path/to/antix-web-gallery.css">

  3. Add the script before the closing body tag:

    <script src="path/to/antix-web-gallery.js"></script>

  4. Create HTML markup for the gallery. A common pattern:

    <div class="antix-gallery" id="myGallery"> <a href="images/photo1-large.jpg" data-caption="Caption 1"> <img src="images/photo1-thumb.jpg" alt="Photo 1 description"> </a> <a href="images/photo2-large.jpg" data-caption="Caption 2"> <img src="images/photo2-thumb.jpg" alt="Photo 2 description"> </a> <!-- more images --> </div>

  5. Initialize the gallery (if required by the script):

    <script> document.addEventListener('DOMContentLoaded', function () { AntixGallery.init('#myGallery', {   // options here }); }); </script>

Note: Some builds may auto-initialize by scanning for .antix-gallery elements; check the specific version’s docs.

Configuration Options

Antix Web Gallery implementations often expose a set of options. While exact names may vary, common options include:

  • container / selector: CSS selector for the gallery element.
  • mode: “lightbox” or “inline” display behavior.
  • startIndex: Index of the image to open first when the gallery loads.
  • loop: true/false — whether navigation loops from last to first slide.
  • captions: true/false — show or hide captions pulled from data attributes.
  • animationDuration: transition time (ms) for opening/closing images.
  • preload: number of images to preload (0 to disable).
  • keyboard: true/false — enable keyboard controls.
  • swipe: true/false — enable touch swipe gestures.
  • thumbnails: true/false — show/hide thumbnail strip.
  • closeOnEsc: true/false — allow closing with Escape key.
  • ariaLabels: customize ARIA labels for accessibility.

Example initialization with options:

AntixGallery.init('#myGallery', {   mode: 'lightbox',   loop: true,   captions: true,   preload: 2,   animationDuration: 300 });

Markup and Data Attributes

Using data attributes on anchor tags lets you supply captions, alt text, and sizes without extra HTML:

  • data-caption=“A short caption”
  • data-description=“Longer description or photographer credit”
  • data-width and data-height — native image dimensions for layout stability
  • data-srcset — for responsive image sources

Example:

<a href="images/photo1-large.jpg"    data-caption="Sunset over the cliffs"    data-description="Photo by Jane Doe"    data-width="3840"    data-height="2160">   <img src="images/photo1-thumb.jpg" alt="Sunset"> </a>

Supplying width and height helps prevent layout shifts (improves CLS).

Theming and Styling

Antix Web Gallery typically uses simple CSS classes and may expose CSS variables for theming. Common customization points:

  • Background overlay color: –antix-overlay-color
  • Caption text color: –antix-caption-color
  • Control button size: –antix-control-size
  • Transition easing/duration: –antix-transition

Example CSS overrides:

:root {   --antix-overlay-color: rgba(0,0,0,0.85);   --antix-caption-color: #fff;   --antix-control-size: 48px; } /* Change caption font */ .antix-gallery .antix-caption {   font-family: "Inter", system-ui, sans-serif;   font-size: 0.95rem; }

You can also hide elements (like the thumbnail strip) or restyle buttons and progress indicators.

Accessibility (A11y) Best Practices

Antix emphasizes accessible interactions but you should ensure:

  • Every img has a meaningful alt attribute.
  • Controls are keyboard-focusable and have ARIA labels.
  • Use data attributes to provide longer descriptions for screen reader users.
  • Ensure focus trap within the lightbox when open, and return focus to the triggering element on close.
  • Announce state changes with ARIA live regions if needed (e.g., “Image 3 of 12”).

Example ARIA attributes:

<button aria-label="Close gallery" class="antix-close">×</button>

Performance Tips

  • Serve appropriately sized images (use srcset and sizes).
  • Use lazy-loading for offscreen thumbnails: .
  • Provide width/height attributes to prevent layout shifts.
  • Pre-generate optimized thumbnails and web-optimized large images (WebP/AVIF where supported).
  • Limit heavy CSS animations; prefer transform/opacity for smoother GPU-accelerated transitions.
  • If you have many images, paginate or load additional images via intersection observer when scrolling.

Advanced Usage

  • Integrate with static site generators: Use templating loops to output gallery items from front-matter or collections.
  • Dynamic galleries: Load images from JSON via fetch and build DOM elements, then call init.
  • Custom controls: Use the gallery’s API (open, close, next, prev, goTo) to connect external buttons or keyboard shortcuts.
  • Analytics: Hook into events (open, close, change) to track engagement.

Example dynamic initialization:

fetch('/gallery-data.json')   .then(r => r.json())   .then(items => {     const gallery = document.querySelector('#myGallery');     gallery.innerHTML = items.map(item => `       <a href="${item.large}" data-caption="${item.caption}" data-width="${item.w}" data-height="${item.h}">         <img src="${item.thumb}" alt="${item.alt}">       </a>     `).join('');     AntixGallery.init('#myGallery');   });

Troubleshooting

  • Gallery not opening: Ensure script is loaded after DOM or call init on DOMContentLoaded.
  • Images oversized/blurry: Check that href large images match the actual high-res files; use correct srcset entries.
  • Keyboard controls not working: Verify keyboard option is enabled and no other scripts are intercepting key events.
  • Layout jump on open: Provide width/height or aspect-ratio CSS to thumbnails.
  • Conflicting CSS: Namespace your overrides to .antix-gallery to avoid global collisions.

Example: Full Minimal Page

<!doctype html> <html lang="en"> <head>   <meta charset="utf-8" />   <meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width,initial-scale=1" />   <link rel="stylesheet" href="antix-web-gallery.css">   <title>Antix Gallery Demo</title>   <style>     :root { --antix-overlay-color: rgba(0,0,0,0.9); }     body { font-family: system-ui, sans-serif; margin: 2rem; }     .antix-gallery img { border-radius: 6px; display: block; }   </style> </head> <body>   <div class="antix-gallery" id="myGallery">     <a href="images/large1.jpg" data-caption="Mountains at dawn" data-width="3000" data-height="2000">       <img src="images/thumb1.jpg" alt="Dawn over mountains" loading="lazy">     </a>     <a href="images/large2.jpg" data-caption="City skyline" data-width="3840" data-height="2160">       <img src="images/thumb2.jpg" alt="City skyline at sunset" loading="lazy">     </a>   </div>   <script src="antix-web-gallery.js"></script>   <script>     document.addEventListener('DOMContentLoaded', function () {       AntixGallery.init('#myGallery', { loop: true, preload: 1, captions: true });     });   </script> </body> </html>

Tips & Best Practices Summary

  • Use descriptive alt text and captions for accessibility.
  • Serve optimized images (WebP/AVIF, responsive srcsets).
  • Provide width/height to avoid layout shifts.
  • Keep the UI minimal and consistent with your site’s design.
  • Use the gallery API for advanced interactions and analytics.

If you want, I can create a template for a specific static site generator (Hugo/Jekyll) or produce a themed CSS override based on your site’s color palette.

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