jQuery BlockUI vs. jqModal

Question

I need a modal windows that tells the user to wait until I've finished some work on the server. Looks like both BlockUI and jqModal can do this.

Do you have any experiences with any of them? Pros and cons? I'm using ASP.NET MVC.

Answer 1

Yes, I've been using jqModal and I absolutely recommend it... although I can't compare because I haven't tried BlockUI

Answer 2

I've used jqModal quite a bit and really like it. It is very easy-to-implement and flexible, however its primary purpose is the modal dialog.

I have not used BlockUI, although it does seem to provide some different functionality. Rather than just displaying content in modal windows, it can prevent the user from access the whole UI or parts of it.

Another option is the jQuery UI Dialog which is more generic and can be used to build upon. I use this in one application, and although it does not have the out-of-the-box functionality of jqModal, I think it would be very useful if I wanted to build a custom plug-in that integrated with it.

Answer 3

I did proof of concept modal dialogs with both jqModal and BlockUI, and I can say without a doubt that BlockUI is the "thinnest" of them. It allows much simpler blocking access to anything that jQuery can select, and you simply pass it a "message" parameter of the modal DIV. It will automatically set display:block and set it on top of the modal overlay.

In addition to standard modal dialogs, I use it to set a "please wait" dialog on on my ajax interfaces if the $.ajax call takes longer than 250ms.

Answer 4

I'm using BlockUI and love it, but word to the wise, It's known to be VERY slow on Firefox in linux. It peaks CPUs to 100%