An introductory guide to creating CSS3 animations with Move.js

On websites, CSS3 transitions and animations are currently the preferred method for creating lightweight animations. Unfortunately, many developers find their own syntax complex and confusing. If this sounds like you, maybe Move.js is the perfect solution for you. Move.js is a simple JavaScript library for creating CSS3 animations using simple functions. This tutorial will explore the basics of Move.js and provide an online demo.

Basic knowledge

Move.js provides the simplest JavaScript API for creating CSS3 animations. Let's assume we have a div with class box and we want to move the element 100 pixels from the left when the mouse moves over the div. In this case, our code would look like this:

.box {
 -webkit-transition: margin 1s;
 -moz-transition: margin 1s;
 -o-transition: margin 1s;
 transition: margin 1s;
}
.box:hover {
 margin-left: 100px;
}

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Using Move.js we can simply call the set() method to achieve the same result, as follows:

move('.box')
 .set('margin-left', 100)
 .end();

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Getting Started

First, visit the Move.js GitHub page and download the latest package. Extract and copy the Move.js file to your working directory. Next, include this file in your html page. The completed page should look like this:

<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
 <head>
 <title>Move.js Demo</title>
 <link rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" href="styles.css"> 
 </head>
 <body>
 <a href="#" id="playButton">Play</a>
 <div class="box"></div>
 <script type="text/javascript" src="js/move.js"></script>
 </body>
</html>

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We have defined a div element with class box and a link with ID playButton for our demo. Let us create a styles.css file and add the following styles. Note that the following styles are not required for Move.js:

.box {
 margin: 10px;
 width: 100px;
 height: 100px;
 background: #7C9DD4;
 box-shadow: 5px 5px 0px #D1D1D1;
}
#playButton {
 display: block;
 font-size: 20px;
 margin: 20px 10px;
 font-weight: bold;
 color: #222;
 text-decoration: none;
}

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Our html page should look like this:

201572284630175.jpg (787×186)

Now, let’s write our first Move.js snippet. We need to attach an onclick event handler to the playButton and move it to the right when clicked. The JavaScript code of the event handler is as follows. This code adds transform:translateX(300px) to the box element:

document.getElementById('playButton').onclick = function(e) {
 move('.box')
 .x(300)
 .end();
};

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The complete code after adding the Move.js code is as follows:

HTML

<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
 <head>
 <title>Move.js Demo</title>
 <link rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" href="styles.css"> 
 </head>
 <body>
 <a href="#" id="playButton">Play</a>
 <div class="box"></div>
 <script type="text/javascript" src="js/move.js"></script>
 <script type="text/javascript">
  document.getElementById('playButton').onclick = function(e){
  move('.box')
   .x(300)
   .end();
  };
 </script>
 </body>
</html>

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CSS

.box {
 margin-left: 10px;
 width: 100px;
 height: 100px;
 background: #7C9DD4;
 box-shadow: 5px 5px 0px #D1D1D1;
}
#playButton {
 display: block;
 font-size: 20px;
 margin: 20px 10px;
 font-weight: bold;
 color: #222;
 text-decoration: none;
}

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Move.js method

In the previous demo, we saw the x() method. Now, let us understand the other methods of Move.js.
set(prop, val)

The

set() method is used to set the css attribute of the element. It takes two parameters: css attribute and attribute value. Example usage:

.set('background-color', '#CCC')
.set('margin-left', 500)
.set('color', '#222')

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add(prop, val)

The add() method is used to add its already set attribute value. This method must have a numeric value in order to be used for increments. This method must have two parameters: the attribute value and its increment:

.add('margin-left', 200)

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After the previous code snippet is called, 200px will be added to its value.
sub(prop, val)

sub() is the inverse process of add(). It accepts the same two parameters, but its value will be subtracted from the attribute value.

.sub('margin-left', 200)

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rotate(deg)

As the name suggests, this method rotates an element by providing a numerical value as a parameter. By attaching to the element's transform property when the method is called. The following code rotates the element 90deg:

.rotate(90)

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This code will add the following css to the element:

transform:rotate(90deg)

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duration(n)

With this method, you can set the playback time of the animation. For example: The following code moves the element 200px from the left to the right in 2 seconds:

.set('margin-left', 200)
.duration('2s')

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Another example, the code below. Move.js will modify the margin attribute of the element, set the background color, and rotate the element 90 degrees within 2 seconds.

.set('margin-left', 200)
.set('background-color', '#CCC')
.rotate(90)
.duration('2s')

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translate(x[, y])

The

translate() method is used to modify the default position of the element, using the provided coordinates as parameters. If only one parameter is set, it will be used as the x coordinate. If a second parameter is provided, it will be used as the y coordinate:

.translate(200, 400)

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x() and y()

The x() method is used to adjust the x coordinate of the element, and the y() method is used to adjust the y coordinate of the element. The parameters of the two methods can be positive or negative, as follows:

.x(300)
.y(-20)

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skew(x, y)

skew() is used to adjust an angle relative to the x and y axes. This method can be divided into two methods: skewX(deg) and skewY(deg):

.skew(30, 40)

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scale(x, y)

This method is used to enlarge or compress the size of the element. For each value provided, the scale method of transform will be called:

.scale(3, 3)

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ease(fn)

If you have used CSS3 transitions, you know that the ease function works on the transition attribute. He specifies the act of transition. Each ease function is in, out, in-out, snap, cubic-bezeir, etc. These functions can be called through the ease() method provided by Move.js. For example:

.ease('in').x(400)
.ease('cubic-bezier(0,1,1,0)').x(400)

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end()

该方法用于Move.js代码片段的结束，他标识动画的结束。技术上，该方法触发动画的播放。该方法接受一个可选的callback回掉函数。代码如下：

move('.box')
 .set('background-color', 'red')
 .duration(1000)
 .end(function() {
 alert("Animation Over!");
 });

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delay(n)

正如方法所暗示的，该方法提供一个时间的数值作为动画的延时。如下：

move('.box')
 .set('background-color', 'red')
 .delay(1000)
 .end();

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then()

该方法是Move.js中一个最重要的函数。他用于分割动画为两个集合，并按顺序执行。如下动画被分为两步，通过then()方法实现分割：

move('.box')
 .set('background-color', 'red')
 .x(500)
 .then()
 .y(400)
 .set('background-color', 'green')
 .end();

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## 使用Move.js创建复杂动画 ##

在本教程中，我们已经写了很多基本的动画来了解各个方法。接下来，我们使用Move.js可以很容易的创建复杂的动画。该demo阐述了Move.js的大部分内容，在demo page

上我们创建了动画的描述，代码如下：

move('.square')
 .to(500, 200)
 .rotate(180)
 .scale(.5)
 .set('background-color', '#FF0551')
 .set('border-color', 'black')
 .duration('3s')
 .skew(50, -10)
 .then()
 .set('opacity', 0)
 .duration('0.3s')
 .scale(0.1)
 .pop()
 .end();

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结论

希望本篇教程能带给你关于Move.js是什么的清晰的认识和如何创建CSS3动画。使用Movejs能帮助你在一个地方正确的组织所有的动画代码。在任何时候你想修复一个动画，你就知道他在那里。