.effects

.effects( targets:String | Element | Array, config:Object | null ) : Array

Adds parallax elements that should be managed by the ScrollSmoother

Parameters

• targets: String | Element | Array

  The target elements that should have the effects applied. You can use selector text like ".box" or use an element reference or an Array of elements.

• config: Object | null

  A config object that can contain speed and/or lag properties like {speed: 1, lag: 0.3}. If omitted, ScrollSmoother will just use each element's data-speed or data-lag attribute value. Function-based values are accepted as well just like most places in GSAP.

Returns : Array

An Array of ScrollTrigger instances that were created to handle the effects

Details

Adds speed or lag effects to the supplied targets. Use "speed" to get parallax effects. Think of a "lag" like making the element lazy, allowing it to drift from its normal scroll position, taking a certain amount of time to "catch up". You can assign slightly different lags to elements in close proximity to give them a staggered effect when scrolling that's quite pleasing to the eye. If you set effects: true on the ScrollSmoother.create() config, it'll automatically find any elements with the data-lag attribute and apply that effect, or you can use this function to apply them via JavaScript:

let smoother = ScrollSmoother.create(...);

// use the data-speed and data-lag attributes found on each .box element
smoother.effects(".box");

// or specify values:
smoother.effects(".circle", {speed: 0.9, lag: 0.3});

You can remove effects by setting them to the defaults like:

// remove effects by setting back to defaults
smoother.effects(".box", { speed: 1, lag: 0 });

When an effect is applied to an element, ScrollSmoother just creates a ScrollTrigger instance to manage the effect, and it returns an Array of those ScrollTrigger instances. So if you apply a "speed" effect to 5 elements, the returned Array will contain 5 ScrollTrigger instances. You can also get an Array of ALL effects by using the method as a getter:

// returns an Array of all the ScrollTrigger instances that are managing the effects
let effects = smoother.effects(); // getter

// kill all the effects:
smoother.effects().forEach((t) => t.kill());

"auto" speed

When you set the speed to "auto", it will calculate how far it can move inside its parent container in the direction of the largest gap (up or down). So it's perfect for parallax effects - just make the child larger than its parent, align it where you want it (typically its top edge at the top of the container, or the bottom edge at the bottom of the container) and let ScrollSmoother do its magic. Obviously set overflow: hidden on the parent so it clips the child.

You can even use function-based values to make things even more dynamic:

smoother.effects(".box", {
  speed: (index, element) => 0.5 + index * 0.1,
  lag: (index, element) => 0.3 + index * 0.05,
});

These function-based values will get refreshed whenever ScrollTrigger.refresh() is called.

data-speed alignment

Keep in mind that the elements will hit their "natural" position in the CENTER of the viewport. Here's a visual demo:

PluginsScrollSmootherScrollTrigger