Preloading images with jQuery

Question

I'm looking for a quick and easy way to preload images with JavaScript. I'm using jQuery if that's important.

I saw this here (http://nettuts.com...):

function complexLoad(config, fileNames) {
  for (var x = 0; x < fileNames.length; x++) {
    $("<img>").attr({
      id: fileNames[x],
      src: config.imgDir + fileNames[x] + config.imgFormat,
      title: "The " + fileNames[x] + " nebula"
    }).appendTo("#" + config.imgContainer).css({ display: "none" });
  }
};

But, it looks a bit over-the-top for what I want!

I know there are jQuery plugins out there that do this but they all seem a bit big (in size); I just need a quick, easy and short way of preloading images!

Thanks! :-D

Answer 1

Quick and easy:

function preload(arrayOfImages) {
    $(arrayOfImages).each(function(){
        $('<img/>')[0].src = this;
        // Alternatively you could use:
        // (new Image()).src = this;
    });
}

// Usage:

preload([
    'img/imageName.jpg',
    'img/anotherOne.jpg',
    'img/blahblahblah.jpg'
]);

Or, if you want a jQuery plugin:

$.fn.preload = function() {
    this.each(function(){
        $('<img/>')[0].src = this;
    });
}

// Usage:

$(['img1.jpg','img2.jpg','img3.jpg']).preload();

Answer 2

truth be told, that looks like a pretty concise way of handling the problem? What exactly is it about this code that is over the top? at the end of the day, does it meet your requirement of preloading imgs?

Answer 3

thenkyou it is great