The Document interface represents any web page loaded in the browser and serves as an entry point into the web page's content, which is the DOM tree. The DOM tree includes elements such as <body> and <table>, among many others. It provides functionality global to the document, like how to obtain the page's URL and create new elements in the document.
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a:hover text { fill: #0095DD; pointer-events: all;}
The Document interface describes the common properties and methods for any kind of document. Depending on the document's type (e.g. HTML, XML, SVG, …), a larger API is available: HTML documents, served with the text/html content type, also implement the HTMLDocument interface, whereas XML and SVG documents implement the XMLDocument interface.
Properties
This interface also inherits from the Node and EventTarget interfaces.
Document.all- Provides access to all elements with an
id. This is a legacy, non-standard interface and you should use thedocument.getElementById()method instead. Document.async- Used with
Document.loadto indicate an asynchronous request. Document.characterSetRead only- Returns the character set being used by the document.
Document.charsetRead only- Alias of
Document.characterSet. Use this property instead. Document.compatModeRead only- Indicates whether the document is rendered in quirks or strict mode.
Document.contentTypeRead only- Returns the Content-Type from the MIME Header of the current document.
Document.doctypeRead only- Returns the Document Type Definition (DTD) of the current document.
Document.documentElementRead only- Returns the
Elementthat is a direct child of the document. For HTML documents, this is normally the<html>element. Document.documentURIRead only- Returns the document location as a string.
Document.domConfig- Should return a
DOMConfigurationobject. Document.fullscreentruewhen the document is infull-screen mode.Document.hiddenRead only- …
Document.implementationRead only- Returns the DOM implementation associated with the current document.
Document.inputEncodingRead only- Alias of
Document.characterSet. Use this property instead. Document.lastStyleSheetSetRead only- Returns the name of the style sheet set that was last enabled. Has the value
nulluntil the style sheet is changed by setting the value ofselectedStyleSheetSet. Document.mozSyntheticDocument- Returns a
Booleanthat istrueonly if this document is synthetic, such as a standalone image, video, audio file, or the like. Document.mozFullScreenElementRead only- The element that's currently in full screen mode for this document.
Document.mozFullScreenEnabledRead onlytrueif callingElement.mozRequestFullscreen()would succeed in the curent document.Document.pointerLockElementRead only- Returns the element set as the target for mouse events while the pointer is locked.
nullif lock is pending, pointer is unlocked, or if the target is in another document. Document.preferredStyleSheetSetRead only- Returns the preferred style sheet set as specified by the page author.
Document.scrollingElementRead only- Returns a reference to the
Elementthat scrolls the document. Document.selectedStyleSheetSet- Returns which style sheet set is currently in use.
Document.styleSheetsRead only- Returns a list of the style sheet objects on the current document.
Document.styleSheetSetsRead only- Returns a list of the style sheet sets available on the document.
Document.timelineRead only- …
Document.undoManagerRead only- …
Document.visibilityStateRead only-
Returns a
stringdenoting the visibility state of the document. Possible values arevisible,hidden,prerender, andunloaded. Document.xmlEncoding- Returns the encoding as determined by the XML declaration.
Document.xmlStandaloneObsolete since Gecko 10.0- Returns
trueif the XML declaration specifies the document to be standalone (e.g., An external part of the DTD affects the document's content), elsefalse. Document.xmlVersionObsolete since Gecko 10.0- Returns the version number as specified in the XML declaration or
"1.0"if the declaration is absent.
The Document interface is extended with the ParentNode interface:
ParentNode.childrenRead only- Returns a live
HTMLCollectioncontaining all objects of typeElementthat are children of thisParentNode. ParentNode.firstElementChildRead only- Returns the
Elementthat is the first child of thisParentNode, ornullif there is none. ParentNode.lastElementChildRead only- Returns the
Elementthat is the last child of thisParentNode, ornullif there is none. ParentNode.childElementCountRead only- Returns an
unsigned longgiving the amount of children that the object has.
Extension for HTML document
The Document interface for HTML documents inherits from the HTMLDocument interface or, since HTML5, is extended for such documents.
Document.activeElementRead only- Returns the currently focused element.
Document.alinkColor- Returns or sets the color of active links in the document body.
Document.anchors- Returns a list of all of the anchors in the document.
Document.applets- Returns an ordered list of the applets within a document.
Document.bgColor- Gets/sets the background color of the current document.
Document.body- Returns the
<body>element of the current document. Document.cookie- Returns a semicolon-separated list of the cookies for that document or sets a single cookie.
Document.defaultViewRead only- Returns a reference to the window object.
Document.designMode- Gets/sets the ability to edit the whole document.
Document.dirRead only- Gets/sets directionality (rtl/ltr) of the document.
Document.domain- Gets/sets the domain of the current document.
Document.embedsRead only- Returns a list of the embedded
<embed>elements within the current document. document.fgColor- Gets/sets the foreground color, or text color, of the current document.
Document.formsRead only- Returns a list of the
<form>elements within the current document. Document.headRead only- Returns the
<head>element of the current document. Document.height- Gets/sets the height of the current document.
Document.imagesRead only- Returns a list of the images in the current document.
Document.lastModifiedRead only- Returns the date on which the document was last modified.
Document.linkColor- Gets/sets the color of hyperlinks in the document.
Document.linksRead only- Returns a list of all the hyperlinks in the document.
Document.locationRead only- Returns the URI of the current document.
Document.pluginsRead only- Returns a list of the available plugins.
Document.readyStateRead only- Returns loading status of the document.
Document.referrerRead only- Returns the URI of the page that linked to this page.
Document.scriptsRead only- Returns all the
<script>elements on the document. Document.title- Sets or gets the title of the current document.
Document.URLRead only- Returns the document location as a string.
Document.vlinkColor- Gets/sets the color of visited hyperlinks.
Document.width- Returns the width of the current document.
Event handlers
Document.onafterscriptexecute- Represents the event handling code for the
afterscriptexecuteevent. Document.onbeforescriptexecute- Represents the event handling code for the
beforescriptexecuteevent. Document.oncopy- Represents the event handling code for the
copyevent. Document.oncut- Represents the event handling code for the
cutevent. Document.onfullscreenchange- Is an
EventHandlerrepresenting the code to be called when thefullscreenchangeevent is raised. Document.onfullscreenerror- Is an
EventHandlerrepresenting the code to be called when thefullscreenerrorevent is raised. Document.onpaste- Represents the event handling code for the
pasteevent. Document.onpointerlockchange- Represents the event handling code for the
pointerlockchangeevent. Document.onpointerlockerror- Represetnts the event handling code for the
pointerlockerrorevent. Document.onreadystatechange- Represents the event handling code for the
readystatechangeevent. Document.onselectionchange- Is an
EventHandlerrepresenting the code to be called when theselectionchangeevent is raised. Document.onwheel- Represents the event handling code for the
wheelevent.
The Document interface is extended with the GlobalEventHandlers interface:
GlobalEventHandlers.onabortEventHandler representing the code to be called when the abort event is raised.GlobalEventHandlers.onanimationcancel EventHandler called when an animationcancel event is sent, indicating that a running CSS animation has been canceled.GlobalEventHandlers.onanimationend EventHandler called when an animationend event is sent, indicating that a CSS animation has stopped playing.GlobalEventHandlers.onanimationiteration EventHandler called when an animationiteration event has been sent, indicating that a CSS animation has begun playing a new iteration of the animation sequence.GlobalEventHandlers.onanimationstart EventHandler called when an animationstart event is sent, indicating that a CSS animation has started playing.GlobalEventHandlers.onauxclick EventHandler called when an auxclick event is sent, indicating that a non-primary button has been pressed on an input device (e.g. a middle mouse button).GlobalEventHandlers.onblurEventHandler representing the code to be called when the blur event is raised.GlobalEventHandlers.onerrorOnErrorEventHandler representing the code to be called when the error event is raised.GlobalEventHandlers.onfocusEventHandler representing the code to be called when the focus event is raised.GlobalEventHandlers.oncancelEventHandler representing the code to be called when the cancel event is raised.GlobalEventHandlers.oncanplayEventHandler representing the code to be called when the canplay event is raised.GlobalEventHandlers.oncanplaythroughEventHandler representing the code to be called when the canplaythrough event is raised.GlobalEventHandlers.onchangeEventHandler representing the code to be called when the change event is raised.GlobalEventHandlers.onclickEventHandler representing the code to be called when the click event is raised.GlobalEventHandlers.oncloseEventHandler representing the code to be called when the close event is raised.GlobalEventHandlers.oncontextmenuEventHandler representing the code to be called when the contextmenu event is raised.GlobalEventHandlers.oncuechangeEventHandler representing the code to be called when the cuechange event is raised.GlobalEventHandlers.ondblclickEventHandler representing the code to be called when the dblclick event is raised.GlobalEventHandlers.ondragEventHandler representing the code to be called when the drag event is raised.GlobalEventHandlers.ondragendEventHandler representing the code to be called when the dragend event is raised.GlobalEventHandlers.ondragenterEventHandler representing the code to be called when the dragenter event is raised.GlobalEventHandlers.ondragexitEventHandler representing the code to be called when the dragexit event is raised.GlobalEventHandlers.ondragleaveEventHandler representing the code to be called when the dragleave event is raised.GlobalEventHandlers.ondragoverEventHandler representing the code to be called when the dragover event is raised.GlobalEventHandlers.ondragstartEventHandler representing the code to be called when the dragstart event is raised.GlobalEventHandlers.ondropEventHandler representing the code to be called when the drop event is raised.GlobalEventHandlers.ondurationchangeEventHandler representing the code to be called when the durationchange event is raised.GlobalEventHandlers.onemptiedEventHandler representing the code to be called when the emptied event is raised.GlobalEventHandlers.onendedEventHandler representing the code to be called when the ended event is raised.GlobalEventHandlers.ongotpointercaptureIs an EventHandler representing the code to be called when the gotpointercapture event type is raised.
GlobalEventHandlers.oninputEventHandler representing the code to be called when the input event is raised.GlobalEventHandlers.oninvalidEventHandler representing the code to be called when the invalid event is raised.GlobalEventHandlers.onkeydownEventHandler representing the code to be called when the keydown event is raised.GlobalEventHandlers.onkeypressEventHandler representing the code to be called when the keypress event is raised.GlobalEventHandlers.onkeyupEventHandler representing the code to be called when the keyup event is raised.GlobalEventHandlers.onloadEventHandler representing the code to be called when the load event is raised.GlobalEventHandlers.onloadeddataEventHandler representing the code to be called when the loadeddata event is raised.GlobalEventHandlers.onloadedmetadataEventHandler representing the code to be called when the loadedmetadata event is raised.GlobalEventHandlers.onloadendEventHandler representing the code to be called when the loadend event is raised (when progress has stopped on the loading of a resource.)GlobalEventHandlers.onloadstartEventHandler representing the code to be called when the loadstart event is raised (when progress has begun on the loading of a resource.)GlobalEventHandlers.onlostpointercaptureIs an EventHandler representing the code to be called when the lostpointercapture event type is raised.
GlobalEventHandlers.onmousedownEventHandler representing the code to be called when the mousedown event is raised.GlobalEventHandlers.onmouseenterEventHandler representing the code to be called when the mouseenter event is raised.GlobalEventHandlers.onmouseleaveEventHandler representing the code to be called when the mouseleave event is raised.GlobalEventHandlers.onmousemoveEventHandler representing the code to be called when the mousemove event is raised.GlobalEventHandlers.onmouseoutEventHandler representing the code to be called when the mouseout event is raised.GlobalEventHandlers.onmouseoverEventHandler representing the code to be called when the mouseover event is raised.GlobalEventHandlers.onmouseupEventHandler representing the code to be called when the mouseup event is raised.GlobalEventHandlers.onmousewheelEventHandler representing the code to be called when the mousewheel event is raised.GlobalEventHandlers.onpauseEventHandler representing the code to be called when the pause event is raised.GlobalEventHandlers.onplayEventHandler representing the code to be called when the play event is raised.GlobalEventHandlers.onplayingEventHandler representing the code to be called when the playing event is raised.GlobalEventHandlers.onpointerdownEventHandler representing the code to be called when the pointerdown event is raised.GlobalEventHandlers.onpointermoveEventHandler representing the code to be called when the pointermove event is raised.GlobalEventHandlers.onpointerupEventHandler representing the code to be called when the pointerup event is raised.GlobalEventHandlers.onpointercancelEventHandler representing the code to be called when the pointercancel event is raised.GlobalEventHandlers.onpointeroverEventHandler representing the code to be called when the pointerover event is raised.GlobalEventHandlers.onpointeroutEventHandler representing the code to be called when the pointerout event is raised.GlobalEventHandlers.onpointerenterEventHandler representing the code to be called when the pointerevent event is raised.GlobalEventHandlers.onpointerleaveEventHandler representing the code to be called when the pointerleave event is raised.GlobalEventHandlers.onpointerlockchange EventHandler representing the code to be called when the pointerlockchange event is raised.GlobalEventHandlers.onpointerlockerror EventHandler representing the code to be called when the pointerlockerror event is raised.GlobalEventHandlers.onprogressEventHandler representing the code to be called when the progress event is raised.GlobalEventHandlers.onratechangeEventHandler representing the code to be called when the ratechange event is raised.GlobalEventHandlers.onresetEventHandler representing the code to be called when the reset event is raised.GlobalEventHandlers.onscrollEventHandler representing the code to be called when the scroll event is raised.GlobalEventHandlers.onseekedEventHandler representing the code to be called when the seeked event is raised.GlobalEventHandlers.onseekingEventHandler representing the code to be called when the seeking event is raised.GlobalEventHandlers.onselectEventHandler representing the code to be called when the select event is raised.GlobalEventHandlers.onselectstartEventHandler representing the code to be called when the selectionchange event is raised, i.e. when the user starts to make a new text selection on a web page.GlobalEventHandlers.onselectionchangeEventHandler representing the code to be called when the selectionchange event is raised, i.e. when the text selected on a web page changes.GlobalEventHandlers.onshowEventHandler representing the code to be called when the show event is raised.GlobalEventHandlers.onsort EventHandler representing the code to be called when the sort event is raised.GlobalEventHandlers.onstalledEventHandler representing the code to be called when the stalled event is raised.GlobalEventHandlers.onsubmitEventHandler representing the code to be called when the submit event is raised.GlobalEventHandlers.onsuspendEventHandler representing the code to be called when the suspend event is raised.GlobalEventHandlers.ontimeupdateEventHandler representing the code to be called when the timeupdate event is raised.GlobalEventHandlers.onvolumechangeEventHandler representing the code to be called when the volumechange event is raised.GlobalEventHandlers.ontouchcancelEventHandler representing the code to be called when the touchcancel event is raised.GlobalEventHandlers.ontouchendEventHandler representing the code to be called when the touchend event is raised.GlobalEventHandlers.ontouchmoveEventHandler representing the code to be called when the touchmove event is raised.GlobalEventHandlers.ontouchstartEventHandler representing the code to be called when the touchstart event is raised.GlobalEventHandlers.ontransitioncancelEventHandler called when a transitioncancel event is sent, indicating that a CSS transition has been cancelled.GlobalEventHandlers.ontransitionendEventHandler called when a transitionend event is sent, indicating that a CSS transition has finished playing.GlobalEventHandlers.onwaitingEventHandler representing the code to be called when the waiting event is raised.Methods
This interface also inherits from the Node and EventTarget interfaces.
Document.adoptNode()- Adopt node from an external document.
Document.captureEvents()- See
Window.captureEvents. Document.caretPositionFromPoint()- Gets the
CaretPositionat or near the specified coordinates. Document.caretRangeFromPoint()- Gets a
Rangeobject for the document fragment under the specified coordinates. Document.createAttribute()- Creates a new
Attrobject and returns it. Document.createAttributeNS()- Creates a new attribute node in a given namespace and returns it.
Document.createCDATASection()- Creates a new CDATA node and returns it.
Document.createComment()- Creates a new comment node and returns it.
Document.createDocumentFragment()- Creates a new document fragment.
Document.createElement()- Creates a new element with the given tag name.
Document.createElementNS()- Creates a new element with the given tag name and namespace URI.
Document.createEntityReference()- Creates a new entity reference object and returns it.
Document.createEvent()- Creates an event object.
Document.createNodeIterator()- Creates a
NodeIteratorobject. Document.createProcessingInstruction()- Creates a new
ProcessingInstructionobject. Document.createRange()- Creates a
Rangeobject. Document.createTextNode()- Creates a text node.
Document.createTouch()- Creates a
Touchobject. Document.createTouchList()- Creates a
TouchListobject. Document.createTreeWalker()- Creates a
TreeWalkerobject. Document.elementFromPoint()- Returns the topmost element at the specified coordinates.
Document.elementsFromPoint()- Returns an array of all elements at the specified coordinates.
Document.enableStyleSheetsForSet()- Enables the style sheets for the specified style sheet set.
Document.exitPointerLock()- Release the pointer lock.
Document.getAnimations()- Returns an array of all
Animationobjects currently in effect, whose target elements are descendants of thedocument. Document.getElementsByClassName()- Returns a list of elements with the given class name.
Document.getElementsByTagName()- Returns a list of elements with the given tag name.
Document.getElementsByTagNameNS()- Returns a list of elements with the given tag name and namespace.
Document.importNode()- Returns a clone of a node from an external document.
Document.normalizeDocument()- Replaces entities, normalizes text nodes, etc.
Document.registerElement()- Registers a web component.
Document.releaseCapture()- Releases the current mouse capture if it's on an element in this document.
Document.releaseEvents()- See
Window.releaseEvents(). Document.routeEvent()Obsolete since Gecko 24- See
Window.routeEvent(). Document.mozSetImageElement()- Allows you to change the element being used as the background image for a specified element ID.
The Document interface is extended with the ParentNode interface:
document.getElementById(String id)- Returns an object reference to the identified element.
document.querySelector(String selector)- Returns the first Element node within the document, in document order, that matches the specified selectors.
document.querySelectorAll(String selector)- Returns a list of all the Element nodes within the document that match the specified selectors.
The Document interface is extended with the XPathEvaluator interface:
document.createExpression(String expression, XPathNSResolver resolver)- Compiles an
XPathExpressionwhich can then be used for (repeated) evaluations. document.createNSResolver(Node resolver)- Creates an
XPathNSResolverobject. document.evaluate(String expression, Node contextNode, XPathNSResolver resolver, Number type, Object result)- Evaluates an XPath expression.
Extension for HTML documents
The Document interface for HTML documents inherit from the HTMLDocument interface or, since HTML5, is extended for such documents:
document.clear()- In majority of modern browsers, including recent versions of Firefox and Internet Explorer, this method does nothing.
document.close()- Closes a document stream for writing.
document.execCommand(String command[, Boolean showUI[, String value]])- On an editable document, executes a formating command.
document.getElementsByName(String name)- Returns a list of elements with the given name.
document.getSelection()- Returns a
Selectionobject related to text selected in the document. document.hasFocus()- Returns
trueif the focus is currently located anywhere inside the specified document. document.open()- Opens a document stream for writing.
document.queryCommandEnabled(String command)- Returns true if the formating command can be executed on the current range.
document.queryCommandIndeterm(String command)- Returns true if the formating command is in an indeterminate state on the current range.
document.queryCommandState(String command)- Returns true if the formating command has been executed on the current range.
document.queryCommandSupported(String command)- Returns true if the formating command is supported on the current range.
document.queryCommandValue(String command)- Returns the current value of the current range for a formating command.
document.write(String text)- Writes text in a document.
document.writeln(String text)- Writes a line of text in a document.
Specifications
Browser compatibility notes
Firefox notes
Mozilla defines a set of non-standard properties made only for XUL content:
document.currentScript- Returns the
<script>element that is currently executing. document.documentURIObject- (Mozilla add-ons only!) Returns the
nsIURIobject representing the URI of the document. This property only has special meaning in privileged JavaScript code (with UniversalXPConnect privileges). document.popupNode- Returns the node upon which a popup was invoked.
document.tooltipNode- Returns the node which is the target of the current tooltip.
Mozilla also define some non-standard methods:
document.execCommandShowHelpObsolete since Gecko 14.0- This method never did anything and always threw an exception, so it was removed in Gecko 14.0 (Firefox 14.0 / Thunderbird 14.0 / SeaMonkey 2.11).
document.getBoxObjectFor- Use the
Element.getBoundingClientRect()method instead. document.loadOverlay- Loads a XUL overlay dynamically. This only works in XUL documents.
document.queryCommandTextObsolete since Gecko 14.0- This method never did anything but throw an exception, and was removed in Gecko 14.0 (Firefox 14.0 / Thunderbird 14.0 / SeaMonkey 2.11).
Internet Explorer notes
Microsoft defines some non-standard properties:
document.fileSize*- Returns size in bytes of the document. Starting with Internet Explorer 11, that property is no longer supported. See MSDN.
- Internet Explorer does not support all methods from the
Nodeinterface in theDocumentinterface:
document.contains- As a work-around,
document.body.contains()can be used.
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