turn.js/readme.md

turn.js 3rd release, local maintenance fork

turn.js is a jQuery plugin that renders HTML pages as a book or magazine with a page-turn transition.

This repository contains a maintained local copy of the original turn.js 3rd release. The current work focuses on making the library easier to test and safer to use with modern jQuery versions while keeping the original API shape.

French version: README.fr.md

Current Status

This fork has been smoke-tested with jQuery 4.0.0 in the minimal demo and covered by automated unit and visual tests. The core plugin can initialize, navigate, resize, add/remove pages, and destroy itself in modern browser test runs.

Compatibility is not yet guaranteed for every modern browser or device. Safari/WebKit, iOS, Android touch behavior, accessibility, and production visual regressions still need dedicated validation.

What Changed

• Updated internal event registration from deprecated jQuery .bind() / .unbind() patterns to .on() / .off().
• Modernized input events to prefer Pointer Events when available, with the existing touch and mouse paths kept as fallbacks.
• Added event namespaces:
  • .turn for book-level and document-level turn.js events.
  • .turnFlip for internal flip-page events.
• Added a public destroy method:
  • stops animations;
  • detaches turn.js event handlers;
  • removes turn and flip wrappers;
  • restores original page elements as direct children;
  • restores original style and class attributes;
  • removes turn.js internal jQuery data while preserving unrelated user data.
• Replaced the internal setInterval animation loop with requestAnimationFrame.
• Fixed animatef(false) so cancelling an animation cancels the scheduled animation frame.
• Modernized CSS output:
  • gradients now use standard linear-gradient(...deg, ...);
  • fold gradients keep normalized 0-100% stops and use softer shadow-only colors;
  • transforms now write standard transform and transform-origin properties, with a prefixed fallback when detected.
• Moved static wrapper styles to turn.css and internal classes, while keeping dynamic size, position, z-index, transform, and gradient values inline.
• Added a minimal browser demo using jQuery 4.0.0.
• Added text and local images to the minimal demo.
• Fixed minimal demo layout so turn.js page measurements match the real rendered page size.
• Added unit tests with Vitest and JSDOM.
• Added Playwright visual tests and reference snapshots for the minimal demo.
• Added npm scripts and project configuration for automated tests.
• Regenerated turn.min.js from the updated source.

Demo

Open the minimal demo directly in a browser:

xdg-open demos/minimal/index.html

The demo loads:

• jQuery 4.0.0 from the jQuery CDN;
• ../../turn.css;
• ../../turn.js;
• local image assets from demos/minimal/assets.

It includes a six-page book, previous/next controls, keyboard navigation, text, and images.

Installation for Development

Install dependencies:

npm install

The development dependencies include:

• jquery 4.0.0;
• vitest;
• jsdom;
• @playwright/test.

Usage

Basic HTML:

<div id="magazine">
  <div>Page 1</div>
  <div>Page 2</div>
  <div>Page 3</div>
  <div>Page 4</div>
</div>

Basic CSS:

#magazine {
  width: 800px;
  height: 400px;
}

#magazine .turn-page {
  background: #f4f4f4;
}

Basic JavaScript:

<link rel="stylesheet" href="turn.css">
<script src="https://code.jquery.com/jquery-4.0.0.min.js"></script>
<script src="turn.js"></script>
<script>
  $('#magazine').turn({
    width: 800,
    height: 400,
    gradients: true,
    acceleration: true
  });
</script>

turn.css contains the static styles for turn.js internal wrappers. turn.js also injects these base rules as a fallback for existing pages that only load the script, but loading the stylesheet explicitly is recommended.

Destroying an instance:

$('#magazine').turn('destroy');

After destroy, the original page elements are restored as direct children of #magazine, turn.js wrappers are removed, and the element can be initialized again.

API Notes

Supported public turn API:

• init / $('#magazine').turn(options)
• page
• next
• previous
• addPage
• removePage
• pages
• size
• display
• disable
• destroy

Methods whose names start with _ are private implementation details. Other legacy helpers may still exist for internal compatibility, but they are not documented as supported API.

The new destroy method is intended for teardown in single-page applications, tests, page transitions, and any workflow where a book needs to be removed or initialized again without leaving DOM wrappers or document event handlers behind.

Tests

Run the full test suite:

npm test

Run only unit tests:

npm run test:unit

Run only Playwright visual tests:

npm run test:visual

Update Playwright snapshots after an intentional visual change:

npm run test:visual:update

The current suite covers:

• plugin registration;
• initialization state;
• initial page selection;
• dynamic addPage / removePage;
• event namespace registration;
• destroy cleanup and re-initialization;
• requestAnimationFrame scheduling and cancellation in animatef;
• standard CSS transform property writing;
• bounded, shadow-only fold gradients during animation;
• minimal demo rendering;
• page turn rendering;
• compact viewport geometry;
• page measurements during animation.

Requirements

• Node.js for development and tests.
• jQuery 4.0.0 for the current maintained demo and test setup.
• A browser supported by Playwright for visual tests.

Older jQuery versions were part of the compatibility spike, but this repository now uses jQuery 4.0.0 as the modern target for its demo and automated tests.

Browser Support

The original README listed Chrome 12, Safari 5, Firefox 10, and IE 9 for the historical 3rd release.

This maintained copy targets modern browsers, but the current automated coverage is limited to the configured Playwright browsers and the local test environment. Treat Safari/WebKit, mobile touch devices, and accessibility behavior as open validation work.

License

Released under the original non-commercial BSD license. See license.txt.

Original Project

• Original site: turnjs.com
• Original documentation: GitHub wiki reference