How to generate a simple popup using jQuery

Something this simple doesn't need a plugin. This might look like a lot of code but it's really pretty simple.

First the CSS - tweak this however you like:

a.selected {
  background-color:#1F75CC;
  color:white;
  z-index:100;
}
.messagepop {
  background-color:#FFFFFF;
  border:1px solid #999999;
  cursor:default;
  display:none;
  margin-top: 15px;
  position:absolute;
  text-align:left;
  width:394px;
  z-index:50;
  padding: 25px 25px 20px;
}

label {
  display: block;
  margin-bottom: 3px;
  padding-left: 15px;
  text-indent: -15px;
}
.messagepop p, .messagepop.div {
  border-bottom: 1px solid #EFEFEF;
  margin: 8px 0;
  padding-bottom: 8px;
}

And the JavaScript:

    $(function() {
        $("#contact").live('click', function(event) {
            $(this).addClass("selected").parent().append('<div class="messagepop pop"><form method="post" id="new_message" action="/messages"><p><label for="email">Your email or name</label><input type="text" size="30" name="email" id="email" /></p><p><label for="body">Message</label><textarea rows="6" name="body" id="body" cols="35"></textarea></p><p><input type="submit" value="Send Message" name="commit" id="message_submit"/> or <a class="close" href="/">Cancel</a></p></form></div>');
            $(".pop").slideFadeToggle(function() { 
                $("#email").focus();
            });
            return false;
        });

        $(".close").live('click', function() {
            $(".pop").slideFadeToggle(function() { 
                $("#contact").removeClass("selected");
            });
            return false;
        });
    });

    $.fn.slideFadeToggle = function(easing, callback) {
        return this.animate({ opacity: 'toggle', height: 'toggle' }, "fast", easing, callback);
    }; 

The appending of the div is an ajax call in my app - you might want to change the append code.

And finally the html:

<a href="/contact" id="contact">Contact Us</a>

Hopefully this code is less weird for you.