Set a jQuery cookie to show popup only once

Question

I'm an absolute newbie in jQuery. I'm learning, but there is a Christmas message that I need to get up and running within no time.

I've included these in the header of the page:

<script type="text/javascript" src="scripts/jquery-1.7.min.js"></script>
<script type="text/javascript" src="scripts/jquery.cookies.2.2.0.min.js"></script>` 

Then follows the message using a jQuery popup. Here it is:

<script type="text/javascript">
$(document).ready(function() {  
        var id = '#dialog';

        //Get the screen height and width
        var maskHeight = $(document).height();
        var maskWidth = $(window).width();

        //Set height and width to mask to fill up the whole screen
        $('#mask').css({'width':maskWidth,'height':maskHeight});

        //transition effect     
        $('#mask').fadeIn(1000);    
        $('#mask').fadeTo("slow",0.7);  

        //Get the window height and width
        var winH = $(window).height();
        var winW = $(window).width();

        //Set the popup window to center
        $(id).css('top',  winH/2-$(id).height()/2);
        $(id).css('left', winW/2-$(id).width()/2-220);

        //transition effect
        $(id).fadeIn(2000);     

    //if close button is clicked
    $('.window .close').click(function (e) {
        //Cancel the link behavior
        e.preventDefault();

        $('#mask').hide();
        $('.window').hide();
    });     

    //if mask is clicked
    $('#mask').click(function () {
        $(this).hide();
        $('.window').hide();
    });     

});

</script>

In the body I've put the message:

<div style="top: 199.5px; left: 200px; display: none;" id="dialog" class="window">  
XMAS MESSAGE
<a href="#" class="close">Shut this popup.</a>
</div>

So far so good. The next step would be not to bore my returning visitors with the same message over and over (postpone for sixty days would be good enough).

So I want to set a cookie using the jQuery cookie plug-in:

function setCookie() {
    $.cookie('test_status', '1', { path: '/', expires: 60 });
    return false;
}

Which is then found the next time a visitor hits the same page and the Christmas message is not shown till the message expires.

Now if-else statements are the higher kind of jQuery I'm not familiar with just yet. So, could anyone explain it to me?

Answer 1

Something of this kind might be of help:

$(document).ready(function(){
   if ($.cookie('test_status') != '1') {
    //show popup here
    $.cookie('test_status', '1', { expires: 60}); }
   });