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TwistyPlugin

On this page:
Twisty section JavaScript library to open/close content dynamically

Introduction

The TwistyPlugin gives you several options to control the appearance of a twisty:

  • use link text or buttons
  • position an icon left or right
  • remember the state at the next visit of the page
  • start the Twisty open or closed
  • start the Twisty open or closed for the first visit
  • use a span or div for the content
  • set a class for the content span or div

Twisty has a fallback mechanism in case JavaScript is not available: all content is displayed and the control buttons are hidden.

Usage examples

Triad

A Twisty consists of 3 elements:

  1. Show button
  2. Hide button
  3. Collapsing content ('Toggle')

The typical TwistyPlugin triad will look like this (pseudo code): 

%TWISTYSHOW{}% %TWISTYHIDE{}%
(there may be other things between buttons and content)
%TWISTYTOGGLE{}% my content %ENDTWISTYTOGGLE%

Shorthand

The Twisty triad is conveniently packed into shorthand %TWISTY{some parameters}% Collapsing content %ENDTWISTY%: 

%TWISTY{}%
my twisty content
%ENDTWISTY%

Will generate:

More... Close my twisty content

You may have noticed that no parameters are passed to %TWISTY{}% but the show and hide links do have text! The default values are fetched from plugin settings TWISTYSHOWLINK and TWISTYHIDELINK, see Plugin Settings below.

ALERT! Attention: The default mode works for content that is a single paragraph. Use the div mode in all other cases: 

%TWISTY{ mode="div" }%
   * Bullet
%ENDTWISTY%

Will generate:

More... Close
  • Bullet

Twisty with icons

We will use mode="div" to put the collapsing content below the button (the default mode is "span"). 

%TWISTY{
  mode="div"
  showlink="Show..."
  hidelink="Hide"
  showimgleft="%ICONURLPATH{toggleopen-small}%"
  hideimgleft="%ICONURLPATH{toggleclose-small}%"
}%
my twisty content
%ENDTWISTY%

It will look like this:

Show... Hide
my twisty content

To put icons at the right side, write 

%TWISTY{
  mode="div"
  showlink="Show "
  hidelink="Hide "
  showimgright="%ICONURLPATH{toggleopen-small}%"
  hideimgright="%ICONURLPATH{toggleclose-small}%"
}%
my twisty content
%ENDTWISTY%

Show  Hide 
my twisty content

Make it remember

To store the last state in a TWIKIPREF cookie, add the parameter remember="on".
To test this, reload the page after toggling. 

%TWISTY{
  showlink="Show..."
  hidelink="Hide"
  remember="on"
}%
my twisty content
%ENDTWISTY%

Show... Hide my twisty content

If a Twisty state has been stored in a TWIKIPREF cookie before, it can be cleared by using remember="off": 

%TWISTY{
  showlink="Show..."
  hidelink="Hide"
  remember="off"
}%
my twisty content
%ENDTWISTY%

Show... Hide my twisty content

NOTE: Twisty ids are generated automatically. If you need control over exactly which Twisty should be remembered, add the parameter id: 

%TWISTY{
  id="currentCustomerList"
  showlink="Show..."
  hidelink="Hide"
  remember="on"
}%
my customer list
%ENDTWISTY%

Note that id sets a sitewide cookie. To create a unique id, add topic or web variables: 

id="%WEB%_%TOPIC%_currentCustomerList"

Make it obey

To let the Twisty start with its content folded open, add parameter start="show". 

%TWISTY{
  showlink="Show..."
  hidelink="Hide"
  start="show"
}%
my twisty content
%ENDTWISTY%

Show... Hide my twisty content

Likewise use start="hide" to start with hidden content. 

%TWISTY{
  showlink="Show..."
  hidelink="Hide"
  start="hide"
}%
my twisty content
%ENDTWISTY%

Show... Hide my twisty content

Make it obey only the first time

To let the Twisty start with its content folded open the first time the visitor sees the Twisty, add the parameter firststart="show". If remember="on" is used, subsequential visits to the page will display the Twisty according the cookie setting. 

%TWISTY{
  showlink="Show..."
  hidelink="Hide"
  firststart="show"
}%
my twisty content
%ENDTWISTY%

Show... Hide my twisty content

Other use: Hide interface if no JavaScript

You can use Twisty to show interface elements that should only be visible with JavaScript enabled. For instance the textbox control buttons in the edit screen need JavaScript to work. If a visitor does not have JavaScript on it would not make sense to show these buttons.

Put the "JavaScript content" in an almost bare bones Twisty. Write showlink="" hidelink="" to not display any default link texts. 

%TWISTY{
  link=""
  noscript="hide"
  start="show"
}%
<input type="submit" class="twikiButton" value="You surely have !JavaScript" />
%ENDTWISTY%

Do not forget to set start="show" to show the Twisty content at all.

When JavaScript is off, the button should be invisible.

This code will show the button when JavaScript is off: 

%TWISTY{
  link=""
  start="show"
}%
<input type="submit" class="twikiButton" value="You might have !JavaScript" />
%ENDTWISTY%

Styling the Twisty

Use parameter class to style the content div or class: 

%TWISTY{
  mode="div"
  showlink="Show..."
  hidelink="Hide"
  class="twikiHelp"
}%
my twisty content
%ENDTWISTY%

Generates:

Show... Hide
my twisty content

Twisty headers

To be able to use header tags like <h2>, use the properties prefix and suffix. Because we have identical show and hide links we can use the shorthand property link. 

%TWISTY{
  prefix="<h4>!!"
  mode="div"
  link="Header"
  showimgleft="%ICONURLPATH{toggleopen}%"
  hideimgleft="%ICONURLPATH{toggleclose}%"
  suffix="</h4>"
}%
my twisty content
%ENDTWISTY%

Add the !! to prevent the twisty header appear in the table of contents when you use %TOC%.

Will create:

!! Header Header

my twisty content

All on, all off

You can toggle all Twisties on or off at once by putting a link or button on the page with class twistyExpandAll or twistyCollapseAll. 

<button class="twistyExpandAll twikiButton">Expand all</button> &nbsp; <button class="twistyCollapseAll twikiButton">Collapse all</button>

Creates these controls:

 

When you want to use links, write: 

#VarTOGGLE

<a href="#TOGGLE" class="twistyExpandAll">Expand all</a> &nbsp; 
<a href="#TOGGLE" class="twistyCollapseAll">Collapse all</a>

Expand all   Collapse all

Special syntax: format tokens

If you use TWiki variables inside TWISTY parameters chances are it will mess up the variable, or the rendered html. Use format tokens to 'delay' rendering of these variables until the Twisty parameters are parsed.

The format tokens are the same as with FormattedSearch:

Escape: Expands To:
$n or $n() New line. Use $n() if followed by alphanumeric character, e.g. write Foo$n()Bar instead of Foo$nBar.
$nop or $nop() Is a "no operation".
$quot Double quote (")
$percnt Percent sign (%)
$dollar Dollar sign ($)

For example, to show an icon inside the link, do not write: 

link="%Y%"

but use format tokens: 

link="$percntY$percnt"

... to get:

DONE DONE
my twisty content

Or a more complex example using SpreadSheetPlugin; do not write: 

link="Count: (%CALC{"$GET(infoCount)"}%)"

but use format tokens: 

link="Count: ($percntCALC{$quot$dollarGET(infoCount)$quot}$percnt)"

Syntax

TWISTY

This renders the button as well as the toggled content section contained within this and the closing ENDTWISTY tag.
Usage: %TWISTY{ ... }% Toggable contents %ENDTWISTY%

Parameter Value Description Remark
id Unique identifier Used to link TWISTYBUTTON and TWISTYTOGGLE optional
link Link label Link label for both show and hide links optional
hidelink Link label Hide link label optional
showlink Link label Show link label optional
mode "div" or "span" Specify if the Twisty Toggle section will use a <div> or a <span> tag. Note that if the contents contains block elements such as div, mode should be div as well to create valid HTML markup. optional, defaults to <span>
showimgleft Image url Specify the url of an image that will be displayed with the show link at the left side of the link.
You may use ICONURLPATH to display one of the TWikiDocGraphics icons. Alternatively use an image attached to the topic. 		optional, defaults to no image
hideimgleft Image url Specify the url of an image that will be displayed with the hide link at the left side of the link.
You may use ICONURLPATH to display one of the TWikiDocGraphics icons. Alternatively use an image attached to the topic. 		optional, defaults to no image
showimgright Image url Specify the url of an image that will be displayed with the show link at the right side of the link.
You may use ICONURLPATH to display one of the TWikiDocGraphics icons. Alternatively use an image attached to the topic. 		optional, defaults to no image
hideimgright Image url Specify the url of an image that will be displayed with the hide link at the right side of the link.
You may use ICONURLPATH to display one of the TWikiDocGraphics icons. Alternatively use an image attached to the topic. 		optional, defaults to no image
remember "on", "off" If "on", the Twisty state is remembered the next time the page is shown. If "off", the stored setting will be cleared.
Note: when used, think carefully about a unique name (id) for the Twisty, otherwise the cookie that is set might affect other Twisties with the same name. Also note that only interaction is stored, not the state of the Twisty when left unclicked. 		optional, no default
start "hide" or "show" Initial state of the Twisty; this will override any setting stored in a cookie (see remember). optional, default no initial state
firststart "hide" or "show" Initial state of the Twisty the first time the visitor gets to see the Twisty; this will NOT override cookie settings (see remember). optional, default no initial state
noscript "hide" Make content hidden in case use does not have JavaScript on optional, default content is shown in case JavaScript if off
class CSS class name Class for Twisty div or span optional, default none
prefix Text Text to display before the show/hide links optional, default none
suffix Text Text to display after the show/hide links optional, default none
img Image url Deprecated, use showimgleft, hideimgleft, showimgright or hideimgright. optional, defaults to no image
imgleft Image url Deprecated, use showimgleft, hideimgleft, showimgright or hideimgright. optional, defaults to no image
imgright Image url Deprecated, use showimgleft, hideimgleft, showimgright or hideimgright. optional, defaults to no image
hideimg Image url Deprecated, use showimgleft, hideimgleft, showimgright or hideimgright. optional, defaults to no image
showimg Image url Deprecated, use showimgleft, hideimgleft, showimgright or hideimgright. optional, defaults to no image

ENDTWISTY

Twisty closure, complements the opening TWISTY tag.

  • Syntax: %ENDTWISTY%

See ENDTWISTYTOGGLE.

Twisty components syntax

Ocassionally you might need to create a custom set of individual Twisty components:

TWISTYBUTTON

Shorthand version for TWISTYSHOW & TWISTYHIDE This is useful if both the show and the hide button take the same arguments.

  • Supported parameters: all parameters supported by TWISTY, except for noscript and class (only used for 'toggle' content)
  • Parameter differences:
    • mode: button mode defaults to span
  • Syntax: %TWISTYBUTTON{id="myid" ... }%
  • Supported parameters:
    Parameter Value Description Remark
    mode "div" or "span" Specify if the Twisty button will use a <div> or a <span> tag. Note that if the contents contains block elements such as div, mode should be div as well to create valid HTML markup. optional, defaults to <span>
  • Example: %TWISTYBUTTON{id="myid" link="more"}%%TWISTYTOGGLE{id="myid"}%content%ENDTWISTYTOGGLE%
  • Related: TWISTYSHOW and TWISTYHIDE

TWISTYSHOW

Show/open link

  • Syntax: %TWISTYSHOW{id="myid" ... }%
  • Supported parameters:
    Parameter Value Description Remark
    id Unique identifier Used to link TWISTYSHOW, TWISTYHIDE and TWISTYTOGGLE required
    link Link label Show link label optional
    mode "div" or "span" Specify if the Twisty Show link will use a <div> or a <span> tag. Note that if the contents contains block elements such as div, mode should be div as well to create valid HTML markup. optional, defaults to <span>
    img Image url Specify the url of an image that will be displayed at the right side of the link.
    You may use ICONURLPATH to display one of the TWikiDocGraphics icons. Alternatively use an image attached to the topic.     		optional, defaults to no image
    imgleft Image url Specify the url of an image that will be displayed at the left side of the link.
    You may use ICONURLPATH to display one of the TWikiDocGraphics icons. Alternatively use an image attached to the topic.     		optional, defaults to no image
    imgright Image url Specify the url of an image that will be displayed at the right side of the link.
    You may use ICONURLPATH to display one of the TWikiDocGraphics icons. Alternatively use an image attached to the topic.     		optional, defaults to no image
    remember "on", "off" If "on", the Twisty state is remembered the next time the page is shown. If "off", the stored setting will be cleared.
    Note: when used, think carefully about a unique name (id) for the Twisty, otherwise the cookie that is set might affect other Twisties with the same name. Also note that only interaction is stored, not the state of the Twisty when left unclicked.     		optional, no default
    start "hide" or "show" Initial state of the Twisty; this will override any setting stored in a cookie (see remember). optional, default no initial state
    firststart "hide" or "show" Initial state of the Twisty the first time the visitor gets to see the Twisty; this will NOT override cookie settings (see remember). optional, default no initial state
  • Example: %TWISTYSHOW{id="demo" link=" Click to Unfold " imgleft="%ICONURLPATH{toggleopen}%"}%
  • Related: TWISTYHIDE and TWISTYTOGGLE

TWISTYHIDE

Hide/close link

  • Syntax: %TWISTYHIDE{id="myid" ... }%
  • Supported parameters:
    Parameter Value Description Remark
    id Unique identifier Used to link TWISTYSHOW, TWISTYHIDE and TWISTYTOGGLE required
    link Link label Hide link label optional
    mode "div" or "span" Specify if the Twisty Hide link will use a <div> or a <span> tag. Note that if the contents contains block elements such as div, mode should be div as well to create valid HTML markup. optional, defaults to <span>
    img Image url Specify the url of an image that will be displayed at the right side of the link.
    You may use ICONURLPATH to display one of the TWikiDocGraphics icons. Alternatively use an image attached to the topic.     		optional, defaults to no image
    remember "on", "off" If "on", the Twisty state is remembered the next time the page is shown. If "off", the stored setting will be cleared.
    Note: when used, think carefully about a unique name (id) for the Twisty, otherwise the cookie that is set might affect other Twisties with the same name. Also note that only interaction is stored, not the state of the Twisty when left unclicked.     		optional, no default
    start "hide" or "show" Initial state of the Twisty; this will override any setting stored in a cookie (see remember). optional, default no initial state
    firststart "hide" or "show" Initial state of the Twisty the first time the visitor gets to see the Twisty; this will NOT override cookie settings (see remember). optional, default no initial state
  • Example: %TWISTYHIDE{id="demo" link=" Click to Fold " imgleft="%ICONURLPATH{toggleclose}%"}%
  • Related: TWISTYSHOW and TWISTYTOGGLE

TWISTYTOGGLE

Twisty Toggle contents section

  • Syntax: %TWISTYTOGGLE{id="myid"}%
  • Supported parameters:
    Parameter Value Description Remark
    id Unique identifier Used to link TWISTYSHOW, TWISTYHIDE and TWISTYTOGGLE. required
    mode "div" or "span" Specify if the Twisty Toggle section will use a <div> or a <span> tag. Note that if the contents contains block elements such as div, mode should be div as well to create valid HTML markup. optional, defaults to <span>
    class CSS class name Class for content div or span optional, default none
    remember "on", "off" If "on", the Twisty state is remembered the next time the page is shown. If "off", the stored setting will be cleared.
    Note: when used, think carefully about a unique name (id) for the Twisty, otherwise the cookie that is set might affect other Twisties with the same name. Also note that only interaction is stored, not the state of the Twisty when left unclicked.     		optional, no default
    start "hide" or "show" Initial state of the Twisty; this will override any setting stored in a cookie (see remember). optional, default no initial state
    firststart "hide" or "show" Initial state of the Twisty the first time the visitor gets to see the Twisty; this will NOT override cookie settings (see remember). optional, default no initial state
    noscript "hide" Make content hidden in case use does not have JavaScript on optional, default content is shown with no JavaScript
  • Example: %TWISTYTOGGLE{id="demo" mode="div" remember="on"}%My content%ENDTWISTYTOGGLE%
  • Related: TWISTYHIDE, TWISTYHIDE an ENDTWISTYTOGGLE

ENDTWISTYTOGGLE

The Twisty closure

  • Syntax: %ENDTWISTYTOGGLE%
    • Will end the most inner unclosed Twisty Toggle section, using the proper tag
  • Example: %ENDTWISTYTOGGLE%
  • Related: TWISTYTOGGLE

The Fine Print

TwistyPlugin is a convenience plugin for TWiki:Plugins.TwistyContrib.

Major features are:

  • When active, the Twisty JavaScript library is included in every topic
  • Provides a convenience syntax to define Twisty areas
  • Automatically generates ids
  • Automatically fills in default values
  • Global preference settings can be set in this topic or locally in individual topics

Plugin Settings

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Plugin settings are stored as preferences settings. Do not change the settings here, they are here only for illustration purposes showing the default values. Define the settings in Main.TWikiPreferences. For example, to customize the TWISTYREMEMBER setting, add a * Set TWISTYPLUGIN_TWISTYREMEMBER = ... bullet in Main.TWikiPreferences.

  • Set TWISTYSHOWLINK = More...
    • For example: More...
  • Set TWISTYHIDELINK = Close
    • For example: Close
  • Set TWISTYMODE =
    • Either div or span; span if nothing set
  • Set TWISTYREMEMBER =
    • Either on or off; default is not specified. If set to on all Twisty states will be stored in a TWIKIPREF cookie; if set to off the TWIKIPREF cookie will be cleared

  • Set SHORTDESCRIPTION = Twisty section JavaScript library to open/close content dynamically
  • Set DEBUG = 0

Plugin Installation Instructions

This plugin is pre-installed. TWiki administrators can upgrade the plugin as needed on the TWiki server.

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  • Download the ZIP file from the Plugin web (see below)
  • Unzip TwistyPlugin.zip in your root ($TWIKI_ROOT) directory. Content:
    File: Description:
    TwistyBundleTWiki04x02_installer  
    TwistyBundleTWiki04x02_installer.pl  
    data/TWiki/TwistyBundleTWiki04x02.txt  
    data/TWiki/BehaviourContrib.txt  
    data/TWiki/TwistyContrib.txt  
    data/TWiki/TwistyPlugin.txt  
    lib/TWiki/Contrib/BehaviourContrib.pm  
    lib/TWiki/Contrib/TwistyBundleTWiki04x02.pm  
    lib/TWiki/Contrib/TwistyContrib.pm  
    lib/TWiki/Plugins/TwistyPlugin.pm  
    pub/TWiki/BehaviourContrib/behaviour.compressed.js  
    pub/TWiki/BehaviourContrib/behaviour.compressed_src.js  
    pub/TWiki/BehaviourContrib/behaviour.js  
    pub/TWiki/BehaviourContrib/behaviour_src.js  
    pub/TWiki/BehaviourContrib/cssQuery/cssQuery-p.js  
    pub/TWiki/BehaviourContrib/cssQuery/src/cssQuery-level2.js  
    pub/TWiki/BehaviourContrib/cssQuery/src/cssQuery-level3.js  
    pub/TWiki/BehaviourContrib/cssQuery/src/cssQuery-standard.js  
    pub/TWiki/BehaviourContrib/cssQuery/src/cssQuery.js  
    pub/TWiki/BehaviourContrib/cssQuery/src/test.html  
    pub/TWiki/BehaviourContrib/cssQuery/test.html  
    pub/TWiki/TwistyContrib/twist.compressed.js  
    pub/TWiki/TwistyContrib/twist.compressed_src.js  
    pub/TWiki/TwistyContrib/twist.css  
    pub/TWiki/TwistyContrib/twist.js  
    pub/TWiki/TwistyContrib/twist_src.js  

  • Optionally, if it exists, run TwistyPlugin_installer to automatically check and install other TWiki modules that this module depends on. You can also do this step manually.
  • Visit configure in your TWiki installation, and enable the plugin in the {Plugins} section.

Plugin Info

Authors: TWiki:Main.RafaelAlvarez, TWiki:Main.ArthurClemens, TWiki:Main.PeterThoeny
Copyright: © 2005 Rafael Alvarez;
© 2006-2008 Arthur Clemens;
© 2010-2018 Peter Thoeny;
© 2005-2018 TWiki:TWiki.TWikiContributor
License: GPL (GNU General Public License)
Dependencies: TwistyContrib (pre-installed)
Plugin Version: 2018-07-06

Show Change History toggleopen.gif Hide Change History toggleclose.gif
2018-07-06: TWikibug:Item7841: Copyright update to 2018
2016-01-09: TWikibug:Item7708: Copyright update to 2016
2015-04-28: TWikibug:Item7648: Less intrusive Twisty link - no dotted underlines on Twisty images
2015-02-16: TWikibug:Item7604: Switch from GPL v2 to v3
2013-03-22: TWikibug:Item7154: Doc fixes
2013-02-16: TWikibug:Item7123: Use TWISTY in plugin settings, installation instructions and change history; change TWIKIWEB to SYSTEMWEB
2012-11-14: TWikibug:Item7020: Categorize TWiki Variable -- TWiki:Main.PeterThoeny
2011-07-10: TWikibug:Item6725: Change global package variables from "use vars" to "our"
2010-05-17: 1.6 TWikibug:Item6433 - doc improvements -- Peter Thoeny
2010-03-31: 1.5 TWikibug:Item6354 - make TwistyPlugin work with TWiki:Plugins/VarCachePlugin; added VarTWISTY variable documentation -- Peter Thoeny
08 Oct 2008 1.4.11, 1.4.12 It is now possible to have a twisty on the same line without a linebreak.
03 Aug 2008 1.4.10 TWiki 4.2.1 release version
13 Dec 2007 1.4.9 fix to the loading order of javascript files in head
24 Nov 2007 1.4.6 - 1.4.8 Arthur Clemens - Added format tokens.
07 Oct 2007 1.4.5 Arthur Clemens - Fix html tag with show/hide controls.
25 Sep 2007 1.4.4 Arthur Clemens - Fix rendering of headers when prefix is used.
11 Jul 2007 1.4.3 Arthur Clemens - Fix invalid html when prefix and suffix is used.
23 Jun 2007 1.4.2 Arthur Clemens - Fixed bugs with parameters firststart and noscript (since version 1.4).
20 Jun 2007 1.4 Arthur Clemens - Updated to work without ugly inserted javascript 'init' calls. This will change nothing to the functionality, but it will produce cleaner HTML, while at the same time the twisty is still set immediately (not at page onload) and graceful fallback in case of no javascript is maintained.
19 Jun 2006 1.3 Arthur Clemens - Updated with TWiki 4 JavaScript files.
25 Oct 2006 1.2 New variables to set default values: TWISTYSHOWLINK, TWISTYHIDELINK, TWISTYMODE, TWISTYREMEMBER; property id is no longer required as this is automatically set (still recommended in some cases with remember="on"); property value remember="off" will clear a previously stored cookie; new properties prefix and suffix; JavaScript to collapse or expand all Twisties on the page.
27 Sep 2006 1.101 Fixes JavaScript handling when AllowInlineScript in configure is not set
11 June 2006 1.100 Added parameters start, firststart, noscript and class; complete JavaScript rewrite for speed
12 Sep 2005 1.000 Initial version
Home: http://TWiki.org/cgi-bin/view/Plugins/TwistyPlugin
Feedback: http://TWiki.org/cgi-bin/view/Plugins/TwistyPluginDev
Appraisal: http://TWiki.org/cgi-bin/view/Plugins/TwistyPluginAppraisal

Related Topics: TwistyContrib, VarTWISTY, TWikiPlugins, DeveloperDocumentationCategory, AdminDocumentationCategory