Document.importNode()

Creates a copy of a node from an external document that can be inserted into the current document.

Syntax

var node = document.importNode(externalNode, deep);

node

The new node that is imported into the document. The new node's parentNode is null, since it has not yet been inserted into the document tree.

externalNode

The node from another document to be imported.

deep

A boolean, indicating whether the descendants of the imported node need to be imported.

Example

var iframe = document.getElementsByTagName("iframe")[0];
var oldNode = iframe.contentWindow.document.getElementById("myNode");
var newNode = document.importNode(oldNode, true);
document.getElementById("container").appendChild(newNode);

Notes

The original node is not removed from the original document. The imported node is a clone of the original.

Nodes from external documents should be cloned using document.importNode() (or adopted using document.adoptNode()) before they can be inserted into the current document. For more on the Node.ownerDocument issues, see the W3C DOM FAQ.

Firefox doesn't currently enforce this rule (it did for a while during the development of Firefox 3, but too many sites break when this rule is enforced). We encourage Web developers to fix their code to follow this rule for improved future compatibility.

Specifications

Browser compatibility

See also

• document.adoptNode()