Changing color of jQuery UI Buttons

Question

Is there an easy way to change the color of a jQuery UI Button? Modifying the css is discouraged from the documentation and doing so anyway is tricky. They say, "We recommend using the ThemeRoller tool to create and download custom themes that are easy to build and maintain." I understand how to change the theme, but then how do you get different colored buttons on the same page?

Answer 1

I just did this: create a new theme with the new colour button; copy the ..hard.. and ..soft... gradient files from the new theme images folder; rename them so as to not confuse them with the main theme; and finally add the style to the button. This caters for the gradient and the colour...

I just tried this for a green button:

a.green-button
{
    background: url(Images/GreenBGHardGrad.png) repeat-x center;
    border: 1px solid #132b14;
    color:#FFFFFF;
}
a.green-button:hover
{ 
    background: url(Images/GreenBGSoftGrad.png) repeat-x center;
    border: 1px solid #132b14;
    color:#FFFFFF;
}
a.green-button:active
{
    background-color:#FFFFFF;
    border: 1px solid #132b14;
    color:#132b14;
}

Answer 2

Simplest way would be to add a class to your buttons (for different colors) and then have some css that overwrites the jquery-ui css.

Example

var $button = $(document.createElement('a'));
//add class
$button.addClass('redButton');
//call the jquery-ui button function
$button.button();

Css

.ui-button.redButton {
    background-color: red;
}
.ui-button.greenButton {
    background-color: green;
}

Answer 3

Try this:

HTML:

<button type="button" id="change_color"> change button </button>

jQuery:

$("#change_color").css("background","green");

Answer 4

There are two (three?) types of JQueryUI buttons ; Basically you make a button like this:

<span class="myButtons">Click here</span>

Then you tell JQueryUI that it's a button:

$('span.myButtons').button()

Thus producing this markup:

<span class="myButtons ui-button ui-corner-all ui-widget" role="button">Click here</span>

And you can style this the "classic" way: (.myButtons {}, .myButtons:hover {} etc.)

But !

If your "button" is one of checkboxradio or controlgroup then it's another markup:

<fieldset>
  <legend>Select a Location: </legend>
  <label for="radio-1">New York</label>
  <input type="radio" name="radio-1" id="radio-1">
  <label class"danger" for="radio-2">Paris</label>
  <input type="radio" name="radio-1" id="radio-2">
  <label for="radio-3">London</label>
  <input type="radio" name="radio-1" id="radio-3">
</fieldset>

Then if you apply the method:

$( "input" ).checkboxradio();

You get this generated markup (the 2nd pseudo button, "Paris" is checked/clicked):

<fieldset>
      <legend>Select a Location: </legend>
      <label for="radio-1" class="ui-checkboxradio-label ui-corner-all ui-button ui-widget ui-checkboxradio-radio-label"><span class="ui-checkboxradio-icon ui-corner-all ui-icon ui-icon-background ui-icon-blank"></span><span class="ui-checkboxradio-icon-space"> </span>New York</label>
      <input name="radio-1" id="radio-1" class="ui-checkboxradio ui-helper-hidden-accessible" type="radio">
      <label for="radio-2" class="ui-checkboxradio-label ui-corner-all ui-button ui-widget ui-checkboxradio-radio-label ui-checkboxradio-checked ui-state-active"><span class="ui-checkboxradio-icon ui-corner-all ui-icon ui-icon-background ui-icon-blank"></span><span class="ui-checkboxradio-icon-space"> </span>Paris</label>
      <input name="radio-1" id="radio-2" class="ui-checkboxradio ui-helper-hidden-accessible" type="radio">
      <label for="radio-3" class="ui-checkboxradio-label ui-corner-all ui-button ui-widget ui-checkboxradio-radio-label"><span class="ui-checkboxradio-icon ui-corner-all ui-icon ui-icon-background ui-icon-blank"></span><span class="ui-checkboxradio-icon-space"> </span>London</label>
      <input name="radio-1" id="radio-3" class="ui-checkboxradio ui-helper-hidden-accessible" type="radio">
</fieldset>

And then those classes can (must?) be used to style the pseudo "buttons":

.ui-visual-focus {
  box-shadow: none;
}

label.ui-checkboxradio.ui-state-default {
  color: black;
  background-color: teal;
}

label.ui-checkboxradio.danger.ui-state-active {
  background-color: red;
}