This example looks into creating a really simple tabbed interface using just plain HTML and CSS with the functionality and interface manipulated using jQuery. Tabbed interfaces are great for maximizing the amount of space you have on your site.

Lets take a look at whats going on. We start with the document ready function. The first line of code hides all the tab containers, we then show the first one, and add the class ‘active’ to the first ‘li’ in the tab headers. Then whenever a tab is clicked it simply remove the class ‘active’ from all the tabs, then add it to the tab thats been clicked. We then take the href from the clicked tab and show it. Simple as that! You can get the complete file by grabbing the download and the demos at the bottom also.

The Code

$(document).ready(function(){
$('#tabs div').hide();
$('#tabs div:first').show();
$('#tabs ul li:first').addClass('active');

$('#tabs ul li a').click(function(){
$('#tabs ul li').removeClass('active');
$(this).parent().addClass('active');
var currentTab = $(this).attr('href');
$('#tabs div').hide();
$(currentTab).show();
return false;
});
});

The HTML

<div id="tabs">
   <ul>
     <li><a href="#tab-1">This is Tab 1</a></li>
     <li><a href="#tab-2">Tab Two</a></li>
     <li><a href="#tab-3">Tab Three</a></li>
     <li><a href="#tab-4">Tab Four</a></li>
   </ul>
   <div id="tab-1">
     <h3>This is a really simple tabbed interface</h3>
     <p><img src="/images/t1.png" width="120" height="120" class="thumbs"/> Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetuer adipiscing elit. Curabitur enim. Nullam id ligula in nisl tincidunt feugiat. Curabitur eu magna porttitor ligula bibendum rhoncus. Etiam dignissim. Duis lobortis porta risus. Quisque velit metus, dignissim in, rhoncus at, congue quis, mi. Praesent vel lorem. Suspendisse ut dolor at justo tristique dapibus. Morbi erat mi, rutrum a, aliquam nec, mattis semper, leo. Maecenas blandit risus vitae quam. Vivamus ut odio. Pellentesque mollis arcu nec metus. Nullam bibendum scelerisque turpis. Aliquam erat volutpat. <br/>
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   </div>
   <div id="tab-2">
     <h3>Tab 2</h3>
     <p><img src="/images/t2.png" width="120" height="120" class="thumbs"/> Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetuer adipiscing elit. Curabitur enim. Nullam id ligula in nisl tincidunt feugiat. Curabitur eu magna porttitor ligula bibendum rhoncus. Etiam dignissim. Duis lobortis porta risus. Quisque velit metus, dignissim in, rhoncus at, congue quis, mi. Praesent vel lorem. Suspendisse ut dolor at justo tristique dapibus. Morbi erat mi, rutrum a, aliquam nec <br/>
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   </div>
   <div id="tab-3">
     <h3>Tab 3</h3>
     <p><img src="/images/t3.png" width="120" height="120" class="thumbs"/> Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetuer adipiscing elit. Curabitur enim. Nullam id ligula in nisl tincidunt feugiat. Curabitur eu magna porttitor ligula bibendum rhoncus. Etiam dignissim. Duis lobortis porta risus. Quisque velit metus, dignissim in, rhoncus at, congue quis, mi. Praesent vel lorem. Suspendisse ut dolor at justo tristique dapibus. Morbi erat mi, rutrum a, aliquam nec, mattis semper, leo. Maecenas blandit risus vitae quam. Vivamus ut odio.<br/>
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   </div>
   <div id="tab-4">
     <h3>Tab 4</h3>
     <p>Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetuer adipiscing elit. Curabitur enim. Nullam id ligula in nisl tincidunt feugiat. Curabitur eu magna porttitor ligula bibendum rhoncus. Etiam dignissim. Duis lobortis porta risus. Quisque velit metus, dignissim in, rhoncus at, congue quis, mi. Praesent vel lorem. Suspendisse ut dolor at justo tristique dapibus. Morbi erat mi, rutrum a, aliquam nec, mattis semper, leo. Maecenas blandit risus vitae quam. Vivamus ut odio. Pellentesque mollis arcu nec metus.<br/>
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   </div>
 </div>