Custom Read More and Read Less using jQuery/ Javascript Function.

You can always find jQuery plugins or libraries for any type of requirement. But if we try to add plugins for every specific requirement, then we end up with a bunch heavy loaded library set which can take much time to load and can badly affect page efficiency. So I personally prefer to always try to code some specific function or method which can easily do the stuff without causing any hassle to page load time and including big sized libraries which always and have not required features which we will never need in future.

Here we will talk about very simple but very important function which can make longer texts look more concise and user-friendly. When we have a web page with longer texts in every section, it becomes very difficult for users to scroll those lengthy documents either they are on desktops or mobile devices. So “Read More” functionality comes to the rescue. This feature adds a read more link after longer texts trimming to 2-3 lines. So if a user wants to read the whole text, they can simply click on “Read More” and see the whole text.

Demo Here

Let’s begin this easy implementation.

Step 1 – You need to include the jQuery library and Some Style CSS, After adding your page header section will look something as follows.

<head>

<script src="https://code.jquery.com/jquery-1.12.4.js"></script> 

<style>
    .addReadMore.showlesscontent .SecSec,
    .addReadMore.showlesscontent .readLess {
        display: none;
    }

    .addReadMore.showmorecontent .readMore {
        display: none;
    }

    .addReadMore .readMore,
    .addReadMore .readLess {
        font-weight: bold;
        margin-left: 2px;
        color: blue;
        cursor: pointer;
    }

    .addReadMoreWrapTxt.showmorecontent .SecSec,
    .addReadMoreWrapTxt.showmorecontent .readLess {
        display: block;
    }
    </style>

 </head>

Step 2 – Now add that function and click event which will replace longer texts to short snippets with “Read More” link.

<script>

function AddReadMore() {
    //This limit you can set after how much characters you want to show Read More.
    var carLmt = 280;
    // Text to show when text is collapsed
    var readMoreTxt = " ... Read More";
    // Text to show when text is expanded
    var readLessTxt = " Read Less";


    //Traverse all selectors with this class and manupulate HTML part to show Read More
    $(".addReadMore").each(function() {
        if ($(this).find(".firstSec").length)
            return;

        var allstr = $(this).text();
        if (allstr.length > carLmt) {
            var firstSet = allstr.substring(0, carLmt);
            var secdHalf = allstr.substring(carLmt, allstr.length);
            var strtoadd = firstSet + "<span class='SecSec'>" + secdHalf + "</span><span class='readMore'  title='Click to Show More'>" + readMoreTxt + "</span><span class='readLess' title='Click to Show Less'>" + readLessTxt + "</span>";
            $(this).html(strtoadd);
        }

    });
    //Read More and Read Less Click Event binding
    $(document).on("click", ".readMore,.readLess", function() {
        $(this).closest(".addReadMore").toggleClass("showlesscontent showmorecontent");
    });
}
$(function() {
    //Calling function after Page Load
    AddReadMore();
});

</script>

Step 3 – Now you can add text in any DIV or P tag with above class “addReadmore” and also class “showLessContent” as follows:

<p class="addReadMore showlesscontent">Es ist ein lang erwiesener Fakt, dass ein Leser vom Text abgelenkt wird, wenn er sich ein Layout ansieht. Der Punkt, Lorem Ipsum zu nutzen, ist, dass es mehr oder weniger die normale Anordnung von Buchstaben darstellt und somit nach lesbarer Sprache aussieht. Viele Desktop Publisher und Webeditoren nutzen mittlerweile Lorem Ipsum als den Standardtext, auch die Suche im Internet nach "lorem ipsum" macht viele Webseiten sichtbar, wo diese noch immer vorkommen. Mittlerweile gibt es mehrere Versionen des Lorem Ipsum, einige zufällig, andere bewusst (beeinflusst von Witz und des eigenen Geschmacks)Es ist ein lang erwiesener Fakt, dass ein Leser vom Text abgelenkt wird, wenn er sich ein Layout ansieht. Der Punkt, Lorem Ipsum zu nutzen, ist, dass es mehr oder weniger die normale Anordnung von Buchstaben darstellt und somit nach lesbarer Sprache aussieht. Viele Desktop Publisher und Webeditoren nutzen mittlerweile Lorem Ipsum als den Standardtext, auch die</p>

Now your final HTML will look something like as follows:

<!doctype html>
<html lang="en">

<head>
    <meta charset="utf-8">
    <meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1">
    <title>Custom Read More Read Less Using jQuery - - Demo :: www.FreakyJolly.com</title>
    <script src="https://code.jquery.com/jquery-1.12.4.js"></script>
    <script>
    function AddReadMore() {
        //This limit you can set after how much characters you want to show Read More.
        var carLmt = 80;
        // Text to show when text is collapsed
        var readMoreTxt = " ... Read More";
        // Text to show when text is expanded
        var readLessTxt = " Read Less";


        //Traverse all selectors with this class and manupulate HTML part to show Read More
        $(".addReadMore").each(function() {
            if ($(this).find(".firstSec").length)
                return;

            var allstr = $(this).text();
            if (allstr.length > carLmt) {
                var firstSet = allstr.substring(0, carLmt);
                var secdHalf = allstr.substring(carLmt, allstr.length);
                var strtoadd = firstSet + "<span class='SecSec'>" + secdHalf + "</span><span class='readMore'  title='Click to Show More'>" + readMoreTxt + "</span><span class='readLess' title='Click to Show Less'>" + readLessTxt + "</span>";
                $(this).html(strtoadd);
            }

        });
        //Read More and Read Less Click Event binding
        $(document).on("click", ".readMore,.readLess", function() {
            $(this).closest(".addReadMore").toggleClass("showlesscontent showmorecontent");
        });
    }
    $(function() {
        //Calling function after Page Load
        AddReadMore();
    });
    </script>
    <style>
    .addReadMore.showlesscontent .SecSec,
    .addReadMore.showlesscontent .readLess {
        display: none;
    }

    .addReadMore.showmorecontent .readMore {
        display: none;
    }

    .addReadMore .readMore,
    .addReadMore .readLess {
        font-weight: bold;
        margin-left: 2px;
        color: blue;
        cursor: pointer;
    }

    .addReadMoreWrapTxt.showmorecontent .SecSec,
    .addReadMoreWrapTxt.showmorecontent .readLess {
        display: block;
    }
    </style>
</head>

<body>
    <h3>Show More Content</h3>
    <p class="addReadMore showlesscontent">Es ist ein lang erwiesener Fakt, dass ein Leser vom Text abgelenkt wird, wenn er sich ein Layout ansieht. Der Punkt, Lorem Ipsum zu nutzen, ist, dass es mehr oder weniger die normale Anordnung von Buchstaben darstellt und somit nach lesbarer Sprache aussieht. Viele Desktop Publisher und Webeditoren nutzen mittlerweile Lorem Ipsum als den Standardtext, auch die Suche im Internet nach "lorem ipsum" macht viele Webseiten sichtbar, wo diese noch immer vorkommen. Mittlerweile gibt es mehrere Versionen des Lorem Ipsum, einige zufällig, andere bewusst (beeinflusst von Witz und des eigenen Geschmacks)Es ist ein lang erwiesener Fakt</p>
</body>

</html>

You can have a look at Demo here.

Let me know in comment section if you have any feedback

Category: jQuery