Carousel Anything turns saved Elementor templates into a carousel, so each slide can hold any layout you can build in Elementor: text, images, buttons, forms or other widgets.
This overview lists every setting of the Carousel Anything widget in The Plus Addons for Elementor, what it does, its default, and whether it is in the free plugin or needs Pro.
Requirement – This widget is a part of The Plus Addons for Elementor, make sure it’s installed & activated to enjoy all its powers.
Before You Start
- Edition: the widget is Free. Several options need Pro; they are marked below. In the free plugin those options show a PRO badge or an upgrade notice.
- Elementor installed and activated, and The Plus Addons for Elementor installed and activated.
- Slides: one saved Elementor template per slide, created under Templates > Saved Templates and published.
Activate the Widget
- Go to The Plus Addons > Widgets.
- Search for Carousel Anything and turn on its switch.
Content
Slides
- Add the widget and open Content. Each item is one slide; click Add Item for more.
- Title only names the item in the panel. It is not shown on the page.
- Set Content Type to Template and pick a saved template in Select Content (Content in Pro).
- Or set Content Type to Shortcode and paste the template shortcode, for example
, into Enter Elementor Template Shortcode.
- A template that is not published shows an Unauthorized Access notice instead of the slide.
- A slide without a template shows Select Template.
Extra Options
| Setting | What it does | Default | Edition |
|---|---|---|---|
| Slide Random Order | Shuffles the slides every time the page loads. In our test, seven page loads gave seven different orders. | Off | Pro |
| Overflow Hidden | Clips anything that sticks out of a slide. | Off | Free |
| Unique Carousel ID | An ID that other widgets use to control this carousel. Use letters, numbers, dashes or underscores, no spaces. | Empty | Free |
Connect Other Widgets
With the same ID in both widgets, these widgets can drive the carousel. The ID field in Carousel Anything is free; the connection option in the other widget needs Pro.
- Tabs/Tours: clicking a tab shows the slide with the same number.
- Accordion: opening an item shows the matching slide.
- Info Box (Carousel layout): hovering or clicking an item shows the matching slide.
- Process/Steps: hovering or clicking a step shows the matching slide.
- Carousel Remote: separate Next/Prev buttons and dots.
Style: Carousel Options
Movement
| Setting | What it does | Default | Edition |
|---|---|---|---|
| Slider Mode | Horizontal or Vertical (slides stacked, moving up and down). | Horizontal | Vertical: Pro |
| Slide Direction | Left to Right or Right to Left. Hidden for Vertical. | Left to Right | Free |
| Slide Speed | Duration of each move in milliseconds (0-10000). | 1500 | Free |
| Slide Animation | Default (slide) or Fade in/Fade out. Hidden for Vertical. | Default | Fade: Pro (no effect in the free plugin) |
| Animation Type | With Hold (eases in and out) or Continuous (steady speed). | With Hold | Continuous: Pro |
Desktop, Tablet and Mobile
The options below sit in the Desktop tab. The Tablet and Mobile tabs (Pro) have their own column count and Next Previous, and a Responsive Tablet / Responsive Mobile switch that unlocks separate draggable, loop, autoplay, dots, arrows and center mode settings for that device.
| Setting | What it does | Default | Edition |
|---|---|---|---|
| Desktop Columns | Slides visible at once. More about columns. | Column 1 | Column 1 free; Column 2-12 Pro |
| Next Previous | One Column or All Visible Columns per arrow click. | One Column | Free |
| Slide Padding | Space around each slide. | 10 px left and right | Free |
| Draggable | Lets visitors drag the slides with the mouse. | On | Free |
| Multi Drag | A long drag can move several slides instead of one. | Off | Pro (no effect in the free plugin) |
| Infinite Mode | Loops from the last slide back to the first. More. | On | Pro |
| Pause On Hover | Stops autoplay while the pointer is over the carousel. | Off | Pro |
| Adaptive Height | Resizes the carousel to the height of the current slide. | Off | Free |
| Autoplay / Autoplay Speed | Moves slides on a timer (500-10000 ms). More. | On / 3000 | Pro |
| Show Dots / Dots Style | Dot navigation. More. | On / Style 1 | Style 1 free; Style 2-7 Pro |
| Overlay Content Dots | Dots over the bottom of the slides instead of below. | On | Free |
| Direction Dots / On Hover Dots | Vertical dots / dots only on hover. | Off | Pro |
| Show Arrows / Arrows Style | Previous and next arrows. | Off / Style 1 | Show Arrows free (one fixed arrow look); styles and colours Pro |
| Outer Content Arrow / On Hover Arrow | Arrows outside the slides / arrows only on hover. | Off | Pro |
| Center Mode | Keeps the active slide in the middle, with padding and a Scale or Shadow effect. More. | Off | Pro |
How It Behaves
- The time between two autoplay moves is Autoplay Speed plus Slide Speed. With the Pro defaults a slide changed about every 4.5 seconds.
- Adaptive Height: in our test the carousel was 280 px tall on a short slide and 560 px on a tall one. Without it, the carousel kept the height of the tallest slide.
- Multi Drag: a long drag across a three-column carousel moved two slides with the option on and one slide with it off.
- Continuous moves the slides at a steady speed from start to end; With Hold speeds up and slows down.
- Autoplay does not run inside the Elementor editor, only on the page.
- Tablet columns are used below 1024 px and mobile columns below 768 px.
Limitations
- Fade in/Fade out only works with one column. With Column 3 the slides were drawn on top of each other in the first column and the rest of the carousel stayed empty. The panel notes: “Just for single column layout.”
- Turning on Responsive Tablet or Responsive Mobile switches on autoplay and the loop for that device, even if they are off for desktop.
- An ID with a space does not connect to other widgets.
- In the free plugin the carousel always loops and never autoplays, shows one slide at a time, and Multi Drag and Fade in/Fade out have no effect, although both are shown without a PRO badge. The arrows always use the same small style.
- On Scroll View Animation for this widget is a Pro section.
Troubleshooting
A slide shows “Unauthorized Access”
The template is not published. Open Templates > Saved Templates and publish it.
A slide shows “Select Template”
Pick a template in the slide item, or switch Content Type to Shortcode and paste one.
Autoplay does not start
Check the published page, not the editor, and make sure Pro is active: in the free plugin Autoplay only shows an upgrade notice.
