Creating a favorite icon like Gmail's star using jQuery

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1

Hey everyone! I’m trying to make a cool favorite icon for my web app. You know, like the star in Gmail or Stack Overflow.

I’ve got a list of items with some controls already. There’s a checkbox for stuff like archiving or deleting in bulk. Now I want to add a favorite feature.

What’s the best way to make it look awesome with jQuery? Any tips on how to make it interactive and eye-catching? I’m thinking of using an icon that changes when clicked, but I’m not sure about the details.

Has anyone done something similar before? I’d love to hear your ideas or see some examples if you’ve got them. Thanks in advance for your help!

2

hey there! i’ve done smthing similar before. you could use font awesome icons for the star, toggling classes on click. smthing like:

$(‘.fav-icon’).click(function() {
$(this).toggleClass(‘fas far’);
});

this swaps between filled/empty star. add some css transitions for smooth effect. hope this helps!

3

I’ve actually implemented a similar feature in a project I worked on recently. One thing I found really helpful was using SVG sprites for the icons. It’s more efficient than loading individual images or using icon fonts.

Here’s a quick example of how you could set it up:

<svg class='icon-star' data-favorited='false'>
  <use xlink:href='#star-icon'></use>
</svg>

Then in your jQuery:

$('.icon-star').on('click', function() {
  var $this = $(this);
  var isFavorited = $this.attr('data-favorited') === 'true';
  $this.attr('data-favorited', !isFavorited);
  // Update server here
});

You can then use CSS to style the icon based on the data-favorited attribute. This approach gives you a lot of flexibility for styling and animations. Just remember to handle the server-side updates to persist the state across sessions.

4

I’ve implemented a similar feature in a project recently. For optimal performance and maintainability, I’d suggest using SVG icons instead of font icons. You can easily toggle between filled and outlined states with CSS classes. Here’s a basic implementation:

$('.favorite-icon').on('click', function() {
    $(this).toggleClass('active');
    // AJAX call to update server-side state
});

Pair this with appropriate CSS transitions for a smooth effect. Remember to handle the server-side state update to persist user preferences across sessions. Also, consider accessibility by adding proper ARIA attributes and ensuring keyboard navigation works correctly.