This jQuery plugin supplies an easy way to unobtrusively add a letter-based navigation widget to any UL or OL list. An easily stylable (via CSS) nav bar appears above the list, showing the user the letters A-through-Z. Clicking one of the letters filters the list to show only the items in the list that start with that letter. Hovering over a letter (optionally) shows a count above the letter, indicating how many items will be displayed if that letter is clicked. Other options give you control over the basic functionality.

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Usability and accessibility are all the rage right now and that’s great because it’s slowly making the web a better place. Unfortunately, some of the goodies in our bags of tricks aren’t quite up to snuff when it comes to these two areas. One such goody is the good old select element—specifically with the multiple attribute enabled. How about we do away with them and try something different?

Why not replace that cumbersome select box with a scrollable checklist?

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