Element
Element is the most general base class from which all element objects (i.e. objects that represent elements) in a Document inherit. It only has methods and properties common to all kinds of elements. More specific classes inherit from Element.
For example, the HTMLElement interface is the base interface for HTML elements, while the SVGElement interface is the basis for all SVG elements. Most functionality is specified further down the class hierarchy.
Languages outside the realm of the Web platform, like XUL through the XULElement interface, also implement Element.
Instance properties
Element inherits properties from its parent interface, Node, and by extension that interface's parent, EventTarget.
- Element.assignedSlotRead only
- 
    Returns a HTMLSlotElementrepresenting the<slot>the node is inserted in.
- Element.attributesRead only
- 
    Returns a NamedNodeMapobject containing the assigned attributes of the corresponding HTML element.
- Element.childElementCountRead only
- 
    Returns the number of child elements of this element. 
- Element.childrenRead only
- 
    Returns the child elements of this element. 
- Element.classListRead only
- 
    Returns a DOMTokenListcontaining the list of class attributes.
- Element.className
- 
    A string representing the class of the element. 
- Element.clientHeightRead only
- 
    Returns a number representing the inner height of the element. 
- Element.clientLeftRead only
- 
    Returns a number representing the width of the left border of the element. 
- Element.clientTopRead only
- 
    Returns a number representing the width of the top border of the element. 
- Element.clientWidthRead only
- 
    Returns a number representing the inner width of the element. 
- Element.elementTimingExperimental
- 
    A string reflecting the elementtimingattribute which marks an element for observation in thePerformanceElementTimingAPI.
- Element.firstElementChildRead only
- 
    Returns the first child element of this element. 
- Element.id
- 
    A string representing the id of the element. 
- Element.innerHTML
- 
    A string representing the markup of the element's content. 
- Element.lastElementChildRead only
- 
    Returns the last child element of this element. 
- Element.localNameRead only
- 
    A string representing the local part of the qualified name of the element. 
- Element.namespaceURIRead only
- 
    The namespace URI of the element, or nullif it is no namespace.Note: In Firefox 3.5 and earlier, HTML elements are in no namespace. In later versions, HTML elements are in the http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtmlnamespace in both HTML and XML trees.
- Element.nextElementSiblingRead only
- 
    An Element, the element immediately following the given one in the tree, ornullif there's no sibling node.
- Element.outerHTML
- 
    A string representing the markup of the element including its content. When used as a setter, replaces the element with nodes parsed from the given string. 
- Element.part
- 
    Represents the part identifier(s) of the element (i.e. set using the partattribute), returned as aDOMTokenList.
- Element.prefixRead only
- 
    A string representing the namespace prefix of the element, or nullif no prefix is specified.
- Element.previousElementSiblingRead only
- 
    An Element, the element immediately preceding the given one in the tree, ornullif there is no sibling element.
- Element.scrollHeightRead only
- 
    Returns a number representing the scroll view height of an element. 
- Element.scrollLeft
- 
    A number representing the left scroll offset of the element. 
- Element.scrollLeftMaxNon-standard Read only
- 
    Returns a number representing the maximum left scroll offset possible for the element. 
- Element.scrollTop
- 
    A number representing number of pixels the top of the element is scrolled vertically. 
- Element.scrollTopMaxNon-standard Read only
- 
    Returns a number representing the maximum top scroll offset possible for the element. 
- Element.scrollWidthRead only
- 
    Returns a number representing the scroll view width of the element. 
- Element.shadowRootRead only
- 
    Returns the open shadow root that is hosted by the element, or null if no open shadow root is present. 
- Element.slot
- 
    Returns the name of the shadow DOM slot the element is inserted in. 
- Element.tagNameRead only
- 
    Returns a string with the name of the tag for the given element. 
Instance properties included from ARIA
The Element interface includes the following properties, defined on the ARIAMixin mixin.
- Element.ariaAtomic
- 
    A string reflecting the aria-atomicattribute, which indicates whether assistive technologies will present all, or only parts of, the changed region based on the change notifications defined by thearia-relevantattribute.
- Element.ariaAutoComplete
- 
    A string reflecting the aria-autocompleteattribute, which indicates whether inputting text could trigger display of one or more predictions of the user's intended value for a combobox, searchbox, or textbox and specifies how predictions would be presented if they were made.
- Element.ariaBusy
- 
    A string reflecting the aria-busyattribute, which indicates whether an element is being modified, as assistive technologies may want to wait until the modifications are complete before exposing them to the user.
- Element.ariaChecked
- 
    A string reflecting the aria-checkedattribute, which indicates the current "checked" state of checkboxes, radio buttons, and other widgets that have a checked state.
- Element.ariaColCount
- 
    A string reflecting the aria-colcountattribute, which defines the number of columns in a table, grid, or treegrid.
- Element.ariaColIndex
- 
    A string reflecting the aria-colindexattribute, which defines an element's column index or position with respect to the total number of columns within a table, grid, or treegrid.
- Element.ariaColSpan
- 
    A string reflecting the aria-colspanattribute, which defines the number of columns spanned by a cell or gridcell within a table, grid, or treegrid.
- Element.ariaCurrent
- 
    A string reflecting the aria-currentattribute, which indicates the element that represents the current item within a container or set of related elements.
- Element.ariaDescription
- 
    A string reflecting the aria-descriptionattribute, which defines a string value that describes or annotates the current element.
- Element.ariaDisabled
- 
    A string reflecting the aria-disabledattribute, which indicates that the element is perceivable but disabled, so it is not editable or otherwise operable.
- Element.ariaExpanded
- 
    A string reflecting the aria-expandedattribute, which indicates whether a grouping element owned or controlled by this element is expanded or collapsed.
- Element.ariaHasPopup
- 
    A string reflecting the aria-haspopupattribute, which indicates the availability and type of interactive popup element, such as menu or dialog, that can be triggered by an element.
- 
    A string reflecting the aria-hiddenattribute, which indicates whether the element is exposed to an accessibility API.
- Element.ariaKeyShortcuts
- 
    A string reflecting the aria-keyshortcutsattribute, which indicates keyboard shortcuts that an author has implemented to activate or give focus to an element.
- Element.ariaLabel
- 
    A string reflecting the aria-labelattribute, which defines a string value that labels the current element.
- Element.ariaLevel
- 
    A string reflecting the aria-levelattribute, which defines the hierarchical level of an element within a structure.
- Element.ariaLive
- 
    A string reflecting the aria-liveattribute, which indicates that an element will be updated, and describes the types of updates the user agents, assistive technologies, and user can expect from the live region.
- Element.ariaModal
- 
    A string reflecting the aria-modalattribute, which indicates whether an element is modal when displayed.
- Element.ariaMultiline
- 
    A string reflecting the aria-multilineattribute, which indicates whether a text box accepts multiple lines of input or only a single line.
- Element.ariaMultiSelectable
- 
    A string reflecting the aria-multiselectableattribute, which indicates that the user may select more than one item from the current selectable descendants.
- Element.ariaOrientation
- 
    A string reflecting the aria-orientationattribute, which indicates whether the element's orientation is horizontal, vertical, or unknown/ambiguous.
- Element.ariaPlaceholder
- 
    A string reflecting the aria-placeholderattribute, which defines a short hint intended to aid the user with data entry when the control has no value.
- Element.ariaPosInSet
- 
    A string reflecting the aria-posinsetattribute, which defines an element's number or position in the current set of listitems or treeitems.
- Element.ariaPressed
- 
    A string reflecting the aria-pressedattribute, which indicates the current "pressed" state of toggle buttons.
- Element.ariaReadOnly
- 
    A string reflecting the aria-readonlyattribute, which indicates that the element is not editable, but is otherwise operable.
- Element.ariaRelevantNon-standard
- 
    A string reflecting the aria-relevantattribute, which indicates what notifications the user agent will trigger when the accessibility tree within a live region is modified. This is used to describe what changes in anaria-liveregion are relevant and should be announced.
- Element.ariaRequired
- 
    A string reflecting the aria-requiredattribute, which indicates that user input is required on the element before a form may be submitted.
- Element.ariaRoleDescription
- 
    A string reflecting the aria-roledescriptionattribute, which defines a human-readable, author-localized description for the role of an element.
- Element.ariaRowCount
- 
    A string reflecting the aria-rowcountattribute, which defines the total number of rows in a table, grid, or treegrid.
- Element.ariaRowIndex
- 
    A string reflecting the aria-rowindexattribute, which defines an element's row index or position with respect to the total number of rows within a table, grid, or treegrid.
- Element.ariaRowSpan
- 
    A string reflecting the aria-rowspanattribute, which defines the number of rows spanned by a cell or gridcell within a table, grid, or treegrid.
- Element.ariaSelected
- 
    A string reflecting the aria-selectedattribute, which indicates the current "selected" state of elements that have a selected state.
- Element.ariaSetSize
- 
    A string reflecting the aria-setsizeattribute, which defines the number of items in the current set of listitems or treeitems.
- Element.ariaSort
- 
    A string reflecting the aria-sortattribute, which indicates if items in a table or grid are sorted in ascending or descending order.
- Element.ariaValueMax
- 
    A string reflecting the aria-valueMaxattribute, which defines the maximum allowed value for a range widget.
- Element.ariaValueMin
- 
    A string reflecting the aria-valueMinattribute, which defines the minimum allowed value for a range widget.
- Element.ariaValueNow
- 
    A string reflecting the aria-valueNowattribute, which defines the current value for a range widget.
- Element.ariaValueText
- 
    A string reflecting the aria-valuetextattribute, which defines the human-readable text alternative of aria-valuenow for a range widget.
Instance methods
Element inherits methods from its parents Node, and its own parent, EventTarget.
- EventTarget.addEventListener()
- 
    Registers an event handler to a specific event type on the element. 
- Element.after()
- 
    Inserts a set of Nodeobjects or strings in the children list of theElement's parent, just after theElement.
- Element.attachShadow()
- 
    Attaches a shadow DOM tree to the specified element and returns a reference to its ShadowRoot.
- Element.animate()
- 
    A shortcut method to create and run an animation on an element. Returns the created Animation object instance. 
- Element.append()
- 
    Inserts a set of Nodeobjects or strings after the last child of the element.
- Element.before()
- 
    Inserts a set of Nodeobjects or strings in the children list of theElement's parent, just before theElement.
- Element.closest()
- 
    Returns the Elementwhich is the closest ancestor of the current element (or the current element itself) which matches the selectors given in parameter.
- Element.computedStyleMap()
- 
    Returns a StylePropertyMapReadOnlyinterface which provides a read-only representation of a CSS declaration block that is an alternative toCSSStyleDeclaration.
- EventTarget.dispatchEvent()
- 
    Dispatches an event to this node in the DOM and returns a boolean value that indicates whether no handler canceled the event. 
- Element.getAnimations()
- 
    Returns an array of Animation objects currently active on the element. 
- Element.getAttribute()
- 
    Retrieves the value of the named attribute from the current node and returns it as a string. 
- Element.getAttributeNames()
- 
    Returns an array of attribute names from the current element. 
- Element.getAttributeNode()
- 
    Retrieves the node representation of the named attribute from the current node and returns it as an Attr.
- Element.getAttributeNodeNS()
- 
    Retrieves the node representation of the attribute with the specified name and namespace, from the current node and returns it as an Attr.
- Element.getAttributeNS()
- 
    Retrieves the value of the attribute with the specified namespace and name from the current node and returns it as a string. 
- Element.getBoundingClientRect()
- 
    Returns the size of an element and its position relative to the viewport. 
- Element.getBoxQuads()Experimental
- 
    Returns a list of DOMQuadobjects representing the CSS fragments of the node.
- Element.getClientRects()
- 
    Returns a collection of rectangles that indicate the bounding rectangles for each line of text in a client. 
- Element.getElementsByClassName()
- 
    Returns a live HTMLCollectionthat contains all descendants of the current element that possess the list of classes given in the parameter.
- Element.getElementsByTagName()
- 
    Returns a live HTMLCollectioncontaining all descendant elements, of a particular tag name, from the current element.
- Element.getElementsByTagNameNS()
- 
    Returns a live HTMLCollectioncontaining all descendant elements, of a particular tag name and namespace, from the current element.
- Element.hasAttribute()
- 
    Returns a boolean value indicating if the element has the specified attribute or not. 
- Element.hasAttributeNS()
- 
    Returns a boolean value indicating if the element has the specified attribute, in the specified namespace, or not. 
- Element.hasAttributes()
- 
    Returns a boolean value indicating if the element has one or more HTML attributes present. 
- Element.hasPointerCapture()
- 
    Indicates whether the element on which it is invoked has pointer capture for the pointer identified by the given pointer ID. 
- Element.insertAdjacentElement()
- 
    Inserts a given element node at a given position relative to the element it is invoked upon. 
- Element.insertAdjacentHTML()
- 
    Parses the text as HTML or XML and inserts the resulting nodes into the tree in the position given. 
- Element.insertAdjacentText()
- 
    Inserts a given text node at a given position relative to the element it is invoked upon. 
- Element.matches()
- 
    Returns a boolean value indicating whether or not the element would be selected by the specified selector string. 
- Element.prepend()
- 
    Inserts a set of Nodeobjects or strings before the first child of the element.
- Element.querySelector()
- 
    Returns the first Nodewhich matches the specified selector string relative to the element.
- Element.querySelectorAll()
- 
    Returns a NodeListof nodes which match the specified selector string relative to the element.
- Element.releasePointerCapture()
- 
    Releases (stops) pointer capture that was previously set for a specific pointer event.
- Element.remove()
- 
    Removes the element from the children list of its parent. 
- Element.removeAttribute()
- 
    Removes the named attribute from the current node. 
- Element.removeAttributeNode()
- 
    Removes the node representation of the named attribute from the current node. 
- Element.removeAttributeNS()
- 
    Removes the attribute with the specified name and namespace, from the current node. 
- EventTarget.removeEventListener()
- 
    Removes an event listener from the element. 
- Element.replaceChildren()
- 
    Replaces the existing children of a Nodewith a specified new set of children.
- Element.replaceWith()
- 
    Replaces the element in the children list of its parent with a set of Nodeobjects or strings.
- Element.requestFullscreen()
- 
    Asynchronously asks the browser to make the element fullscreen. 
- Element.requestPointerLock()
- 
    Allows to asynchronously ask for the pointer to be locked on the given element. 
- Element.scroll()
- 
    Scrolls to a particular set of coordinates inside a given element. 
- Element.scrollBy()
- 
    Scrolls an element by the given amount. 
- Element.scrollIntoView()
- 
    Scrolls the page until the element gets into the view. 
- Element.scrollIntoViewIfNeeded()Non-standard
- 
    Scrolls the current element into the visible area of the browser window if it's not already within the visible area of the browser window. Use the standard Element.scrollIntoView()instead.
- Element.scrollTo()
- 
    Scrolls to a particular set of coordinates inside a given element. 
- Element.setAttribute()
- 
    Sets the value of a named attribute of the current node. 
- Element.setAttributeNode()
- 
    Sets the node representation of the named attribute from the current node. 
- Element.setAttributeNodeNS()
- 
    Sets the node representation of the attribute with the specified name and namespace, from the current node. 
- Element.setAttributeNS()
- 
    Sets the value of the attribute with the specified name and namespace, from the current node. 
- Element.setCapture()Non-standard Deprecated
- 
    Sets up mouse event capture, redirecting all mouse events to this element. 
- Element.setHTML()Experimental
- 
    Parses and sanitizes a string of HTML and inserts into the DOM as a subtree of the element. 
- Element.setPointerCapture()
- 
    Designates a specific element as the capture target of future pointer events. 
- Element.toggleAttribute()
- 
    Toggles a boolean attribute, removing it if it is present and adding it if it is not present, on the specified element. 
Events
Listen to these events using addEventListener() or by assigning an event listener to the oneventname property of this interface.
- beforematchExperimental
- 
    Fires on an element that is in the hidden until found state, when the browser is about to reveal its content because the user has found the content through the "find in page" feature or through fragment navigation. 
- cancel
- 
    Fires on a <dialog>when the user instructs the browser that they wish to dismiss the currently open modal dialog. The browser fires this event when the user presses the Esc key to close the modal dialog.
- contentvisibilityautostatechangeExperimental
- 
    Fires on any element with content-visibility: autoset on it when it starts or stops being relevant to the user and skipping its contents.
- error
- 
    Fired when a resource failed to load, or can't be used. For example, if a script has an execution error or an image can't be found or is invalid. 
- scroll
- 
    Fired when the document view or an element has been scrolled. 
- securitypolicyviolation
- 
    Fired when a Content Security Policy is violated. 
- select
- 
    Fired when some text has been selected. 
- wheel
- 
    Fired when the user rotates a wheel button on a pointing device (typically a mouse). 
Clipboard events
- copy
- 
    Fired when the user initiates a copy action through the browser's user interface. Also available via the oncopyproperty.
- cut
- 
    Fired when the user initiates a cut action through the browser's user interface. Also available via the oncutproperty.
- paste
- 
    Fired when the user initiates a paste action through the browser's user interface. Also available via the onpasteproperty.
Composition events
- compositionend
- 
    Fired when a text composition system such as an input method editor completes or cancels the current composition session. 
- compositionstart
- 
    Fired when a text composition system such as an input method editor starts a new composition session. 
- compositionupdate
- 
    Fired when a new character is received in the context of a text composition session controlled by a text composition system such as an input method editor. 
Focus events
Fullscreen events
- fullscreenchange
- 
    Sent to an Elementwhen it transitions into or out of fullscreen mode.
- fullscreenerror
- 
    Sent to an Elementif an error occurs while attempting to switch it into or out of fullscreen mode.
Keyboard events
Mouse events
- auxclick
- 
    Fired when a non-primary pointing device button (e.g., any mouse button other than the left button) has been pressed and released on an element. 
- click
- 
    Fired when a pointing device button (e.g., a mouse's primary button) is pressed and released on a single element. 
- 
    Fired when the user attempts to open a context menu. 
- dblclick
- 
    Fired when a pointing device button (e.g., a mouse's primary button) is clicked twice on a single element. 
- DOMActivateDeprecated
- 
    Occurs when an element is activated, for instance, through a mouse click or a keypress. 
- mousedown
- 
    Fired when a pointing device button is pressed on an element. 
- mouseenter
- 
    Fired when a pointing device (usually a mouse) is moved over the element that has the listener attached. 
- mouseleave
- 
    Fired when the pointer of a pointing device (usually a mouse) is moved out of an element that has the listener attached to it. 
- mousemove
- 
    Fired when a pointing device (usually a mouse) is moved while over an element. 
- mouseout
- 
    Fired when a pointing device (usually a mouse) is moved off the element to which the listener is attached or off one of its children. 
- mouseover
- 
    Fired when a pointing device is moved onto the element to which the listener is attached or onto one of its children. 
- mouseup
- 
    Fired when a pointing device button is released on an element. 
- webkitmouseforcechangedNon-standard
- 
    Fired each time the amount of pressure changes on the trackpadtouchscreen. 
- webkitmouseforcedownNon-standard
- 
    Fired after the mousedown event as soon as sufficient pressure has been applied to qualify as a "force click". 
- webkitmouseforcewillbeginNon-standard
- 
    Fired before the mousedownevent.
- webkitmouseforceupNon-standard
- 
    Fired after the webkitmouseforcedownevent as soon as the pressure has been reduced sufficiently to end the "force click".
Touch events
- touchcancel
- 
    Fired when one or more touch points have been disrupted in an implementation-specific manner (for example, too many touch points are created). 
- touchend
- 
    Fired when one or more touch points are removed from the touch surface. 
- touchmove
- 
    Fired when one or more touch points are moved along the touch surface. 
- touchstart
- 
    Fired when one or more touch points are placed on the touch surface. 
Specifications
Browser compatibility
BCD tables only load in the browser