Programatically trigger an onClick event?

[Mike Gratee]

Is it possible to use JavaScript to cause the browser to click a link on a
page and have the browser act exactly like the user had clicked on the link
directly?

In other words, I need to programmaticall y issue a JavaScript statement
which causes the browser to act just like the user clicked on a link in my
page. And if that link has an onClick JS event defined, I'd want that
onClick event to execute too, exactly the same as if the user actually
clicked on the link.

I know you may be thinking that I should just call the onClick event for the
link directly rather than trying to simulate a click using JavaScript.
However this is not sufficient. In my case I need to use JS to cause the
browser to click a link just like the user had clicked it, have any
corresponding events that may be defined fire (such as onClick), and then
have the browser follow the href for the link to its appropriate
target/page. Think of it as a macro-like operation I am trying to do
whereby I am simulating an action of and end user that is clicking a link.

Can someone let me know if this is possible, and if so, how? I need it to
work with IE 5 and higher, and the later versions of Netscape/Opera/Mozilla
if possible.

I'm thinking that someone I may be able to access the properties of an href
tag programmaticall y and call a method on it to simulate a real click. Any
code samples or snippets would be MUCH appreciated.

Thanks!!

** Mike

[Berislav Lopac]

Re: Programatically trigger an onClick event?

Mike Gratee wrote:[color=blue]
> Is it possible to use JavaScript to cause the browser to click a link
> on a page and have the browser act exactly like the user had clicked
> on the link directly?[/color]

var link = document.getEle mentById['yourLinksIdAtt rbuteValue'];
link.click();

--
If the Internet is a Marx Brothers movie, and Web, e-mail, and IRC are
Groucho, Chico, and Harpo, then Usenet is Zeppo.

[Mike Gratee]

Re: Programatically trigger an onClick event?

Great - thanks alot. However I don't think that will work with Netscape 6,
Mozilla or Opera right? How would I change it to work with those?

Mike

"Berislav Lopac" <berislav.lopac @dimedia.hr> wrote in message
news:cd55ve$1rj $1@ls219.htnet. hr...[color=blue]
> Mike Gratee wrote:[color=green]
> > Is it possible to use JavaScript to cause the browser to click a link
> > on a page and have the browser act exactly like the user had clicked
> > on the link directly?[/color]
>
> var link = document.getEle mentById['yourLinksIdAtt rbuteValue'];
> link.click();
>
> --
> If the Internet is a Marx Brothers movie, and Web, e-mail, and IRC are
> Groucho, Chico, and Harpo, then Usenet is Zeppo.
>
>[/color]

[Berislav Lopac]

Re: Programatically trigger an onClick event?

Mike Gratee wrote:[color=blue][color=green]
>> var link = document.getEle mentById['yourLinksIdAtt rbuteValue'];
>> link.click();[/color]
>
> Great - thanks alot. However I don't think that will work with
> Netscape 6, Mozilla or Opera right? How would I change it to work
> with those?[/color]

Have you tried? If not, why do you think if it won't work? If yes, what
exactly happens?

Berislav

--
If the Internet is a Marx Brothers movie, and Web, e-mail, and IRC are
Groucho, Chico, and Harpo, then Usenet is Zeppo.

[Mike Gratee]

Re: Programatically trigger an onClick event?

I was under the impression that getElementById would not work like this with
some of the older browsers. Wasn't there a different approach to getting to
an element under older versions of Netscape and Opera? What is that
approach? What versions of Netscape and Opera started supporting
getElementById? Thank you!

Mike

"Berislav Lopac" <berislav.lopac @dimedia.hr> wrote in message
news:cd7ubv$lsr $1@ls219.htnet. hr...[color=blue]
> Mike Gratee wrote:[color=green][color=darkred]
> >> var link = document.getEle mentById['yourLinksIdAtt rbuteValue'];
> >> link.click();[/color]
> >
> > Great - thanks alot. However I don't think that will work with
> > Netscape 6, Mozilla or Opera right? How would I change it to work
> > with those?[/color]
>
> Have you tried? If not, why do you think if it won't work? If yes, what
> exactly happens?
>
> Berislav
>
> --
> If the Internet is a Marx Brothers movie, and Web, e-mail, and IRC are
> Groucho, Chico, and Harpo, then Usenet is Zeppo.
>
>[/color]

[Lasse Reichstein Nielsen]

Re: Programatically trigger an onClick event?

"Mike Gratee" <nospam@me.or g> writes:

A previous poster wrote:[color=blue][color=green][color=darkred]
>>>> var link = document.getEle mentById['yourLinksIdAtt rbuteValue'];[/color][/color][/color]

That should be:
var link = document.getEle mentById('yourL inksIdAttrbuteV alue');
getElementById is a function, not an array.
[color=blue]
> I was under the impression that getElementById would not work like
> this with some of the older browsers. Wasn't there a different
> approach to getting to an element under older versions of Netscape
> and Opera? What is that approach?[/color]

Netscape 4 had document.layers , a collection which only contains
<layer> elements and <div> elements with CSS position:absolu te.
[color=blue]
> What versions of Netscape and Opera started supporting
> getElementById?[/color]

Netscape: version 6 (after basing it on the Mozilla project).
Opera: version 4


--
Lasse Reichstein Nielsen - lrn@hotpop.com
DHTML Death Colors: <URL:http://www.infimum.dk/HTML/rasterTriangleD OM.html>
'Faith without judgement merely degrades the spirit divine.'

[Henry Lafleur]

Re: Programatically trigger an onClick event?

"Berislav Lopac" <berislav.lopac @dimedia.hr> wrote in message news:<cd7ubv$ls r$1@ls219.htnet .hr>...[color=blue]
> Mike Gratee wrote:[color=green][color=darkred]
> >> var link = document.getEle mentById['yourLinksIdAtt rbuteValue'];
> >> link.click();[/color]
> >
> > Great - thanks alot. However I don't think that will work with
> > Netscape 6, Mozilla or Opera right? How would I change it to work
> > with those?[/color]
>
> Have you tried? If not, why do you think if it won't work? If yes, what
> exactly happens?
>
> Berislav[/color]

It does not work with FireFox 9.1 (latest) which runs Mozilla Gecko engine:

Error: lnkNode.click is not a function
Source File: http://blah/WebApplication1/TreeNode.js
Line: 250

Works fine in IE.

Searching for an answer...


Henry.

[Grant Wagner]

Re: Programatically trigger an onClick event?

Henry Lafleur wrote:
[color=blue]
> "Berislav Lopac" <berislav.lopac @dimedia.hr> wrote in message news:<cd7ubv$ls r$1@ls219.htnet .hr>...[color=green]
> > Mike Gratee wrote:[color=darkred]
> > >> var link = document.getEle mentById['yourLinksIdAtt rbuteValue'];
> > >> link.click();
> > >
> > > Great - thanks alot. However I don't think that will work with
> > > Netscape 6, Mozilla or Opera right? How would I change it to work
> > > with those?[/color]
> >
> > Have you tried? If not, why do you think if it won't work? If yes, what
> > exactly happens?
> >
> > Berislav[/color]
>
> It does not work with FireFox 9.1 (latest) which runs Mozilla Gecko engine:
>
> Error: lnkNode.click is not a function
> Source File: http://blah/WebApplication1/TreeNode.js
> Line: 250
>
> Works fine in IE.
>
> Searching for an answer...
>
> Henry.[/color]

This might work for you:

<a href="http://www.yahoo.com" onclick="alert( 'hi');return true;">Yahoo!</a>
<form>
<input type="button" onclick="naviga teLink(0);" value="Click link index 0">
</form>
<script type="text/javascript">
function navigateLink(li nkIndex) {
var link = document.links[linkIndex];
if (link.onclick && link.onclick()) {
if (link.target) {
window.open(lin k.href, link.target);
} else {
window.location .href = link.href;
}
}
}
</script>

Of course it won't completely mimic the user clicking the link, if the link has a target and Javascript
is disabled, a user-initiated click would still open a new window (assuming that TARGET attributes are
honored by the user agent). Also, a TARGET attribute probably has a better chance of opening a new
window then window.open() does, given the current state of popup blockers.

--
Grant Wagner <gwagner@agrico reunited.com>
comp.lang.javas cript FAQ - http://jibbering.com/faq

[Henry Lafleur]

Re: Programatically trigger an onClick event?

"Berislav Lopac" <berislav.lopac @dimedia.hr> wrote in message news:<cd7ubv$ls r$1@ls219.htnet .hr>...[color=blue]
> Mike Gratee wrote:[color=green][color=darkred]
> >> var link = document.getEle mentById['yourLinksIdAtt rbuteValue'];
> >> link.click();[/color]
> >
> > Great - thanks alot. However I don't think that will work with
> > Netscape 6, Mozilla or Opera right? How would I change it to work
> > with those?[/color]
>
> Have you tried? If not, why do you think if it won't work? If yes, what
> exactly happens?
>
> Berislav[/color]

Here's a solution (should handle IE and Netscape 6+/Mozilla
1.2/FireFox):

/**
* Emulate the IE link.click method.
* plnkNode - The link object to emulate the click on.
*/
function MozillaLinkClic k(plnkNode)
{
// Emulate click on Mozilla
var bolFollowLink = true;
var strTarget = null;

// Run the link onClick event.
if (plnkNode.oncli ck)
{
if (plnkNode.oncli ck() == false)
{
bolFollowLink = false;
}
}

// Get the link target.
if (plnkNode.targe t)
{
strTarget = plnkNode.target ;
}
if (bolFollowLink)
{
if (strTarget == null)
{
// Open using the default target if not set on the link.
window.open(pln kNode.href);
} else {
// Open using the link target.
window.open(pln kNode.href, strTarget);
}
}
}

// Assume a link object called Link:
if (Link.click)
Link.click();
else
MozillaLinkClic k(Link);


Note that under normal behavior if the onClick event returns false,
the link should not be followed.

Henry.

[Thomas 'PointedEars' Lahn]

Re: Programatically trigger an onClick event?

Lasse Reichstein Nielsen wrote:[color=blue]
> "Mike Gratee" <nospam@me.or g> writes:[color=green][color=darkred]
>>>>> var link = document.getEle mentById['yourLinksIdAtt rbuteValue'];[/color][/color]
>
> That should be:
> var link = document.getEle mentById('yourL inksIdAttrbuteV alue');
> getElementById is a function, not an array.[/color]

The proper correction would have been: "getElementById () is a method,
not a non-function property." ECMAScript/J(ava)Script has no concept
of associative arrays, the above referencing would be used as bracket
property accessor on *any* object.


PointedEars

[Thomas 'PointedEars' Lahn]

Re: Programatically trigger an onClick event?

Henry Lafleur wrote:[color=blue]
> "Berislav Lopac" <berislav.lopac @dimedia.hr> wrote in message news:<cd7ubv$ls r$1@ls219.htnet .hr>...[/color]

Please do not write attribution novels. Duplicating header information
of second-level interest is a waste of bandwidth and makes discussions
less legible.
[color=blue][color=green]
>> Mike Gratee wrote:[color=darkred]
>>>> var link = document.getEle mentById['yourLinksIdAtt rbuteValue'];
>>>> link.click();
>>>
>>> Great - thanks alot. However I don't think that will work with
>>> Netscape 6, Mozilla or Opera right? How would I change it to work
>>> with those?[/color]
>>
>> Have you tried? If not, why do you think if it won't work? If yes, what
>> exactly happens?
>> [...][/color][/color]

Please quote only what you are referring to. Explicitely
*do not* quote signatures if you are not referring to them.

<http://netmeister.org/news/learn2quote.htm l>
[color=blue]
> It does not work with FireFox 9.1 (latest) [...][/color]

The latest version ist Firefox 0.9.1.
[color=blue]
> which runs Mozilla Gecko engine:[/color]

Firefox uses the Netscape Gecko engine. But Gecko is a *rendering*
engine, not a script engine. The script engine used in Mozilla/5.0
user agents is SpiderMonkey, a JavaScript 1.5 engine written in C++.
It is this engine which puts messages like the following to the
JavaScript console:
[color=blue]
> Error: lnkNode.click is not a function
> Source File: http://blah/WebApplication1/TreeNode.js
> Line: 250
>
> Works fine in IE.
>
> Searching for an answer...[/color]

The answer is that Mozilla/5.0 and IE implement different Document
Object Models (DOMs). Mozilla/5.0 implements the Gecko DOM, IE
implements the IE DOM.

<http://www.mozilla.org/docs/dom/>
<http://msdn.microsoft. com/workshop/author/dhtml/reference/dhtml_reference _entry.asp>

An object or property of one DOM needs not to be available in another
and apart of that, different UAs implement different scripting
languages. This is why client-side scripting is much more challenging
that it at first may seem and good scripts much more sophisticated than
the usual copy & pray scripts may (and some even explicitely and falsely
do) suggest.

<http://pointedears.de/scripts/test/whatami>


PointedEars

[Frederic Banaszak]

Re: Programatically trigger an onClick event?

On Sun, 18 Jul 2004 02:46:12 +0200, Thomas 'PointedEars' Lahn
<PointedEars@nu rfuerspam.de> wrote:
[color=blue]
>
>The latest version ist Firefox 0.9.1.
>[/color]

The latest version is Firefox 0.9.2.

[Thomas 'PointedEars' Lahn]

Re: Programatically trigger an onClick event?

Frederic Banaszak wrote:[color=blue]
> On Sun, 18 Jul 2004 02:46:12 +0200, Thomas 'PointedEars' Lahn
> <PointedEars@nu rfuerspam.de> wrote:[/color]

Please do not write attribution novels. Reasons have been pointed out
before.
[color=blue][color=green]
>> The latest version ist Firefox 0.9.1.[/color]
>
> The latest version is Firefox 0.9.2.[/color]

With a branch/trunk release scheme for different operating systems and
platforms as mozilla.org uses, it remains to be discussed what can be
considered the latest version. For me, for example the latest version
to date is Mozilla/5.0 (X11; U; Linux i686; en-US; rv:1.8a3)
Gecko/20040717 Firefox/0.9.1+, a GNU/Linux Nightly Build as of
yesterday. The latest release is 0.9.2, but available as binary only
for 32 bit Windows. The latest public binaries for GNU/Linux and MacOS
X are of version 0.9.1.


PointedEars

[Frederic Banaszak]

Re: Programatically trigger an onClick event?

On Sun, 18 Jul 2004 14:55:15 +0200, Thomas 'PointedEars' Lahn
<PointedEars@nu rfuerspam.de> wrote:
[color=blue]
>
>Please do not write attribution novels. Reasons have been pointed out
>before.
>[/color]
I have not written any novel, attribution or otherwise. My newsreader
does what it does. Since you are the only person ever, in all my years
on Usenet, to complain about such a thing, I really do not think that
I will be changing it any time soon.

[color=blue][color=green][color=darkred]
>>> The latest version ist Firefox 0.9.1.[/color]
>>
>> The latest version is Firefox 0.9.2.[/color]
>
>With a branch/trunk release scheme for different operating systems and
>platforms as mozilla.org uses, it remains to be discussed what can be
>considered the latest version. For me, for example the latest version
>to date is Mozilla/5.0 (X11; U; Linux i686; en-US; rv:1.8a3)
>Gecko/20040717 Firefox/0.9.1+, a GNU/Linux Nightly Build as of
>yesterday. The latest release is 0.9.2, but available as binary only
>for 32 bit Windows. The latest public binaries for GNU/Linux and MacOS
>X are of version 0.9.1.
>[/color]

I stand corrected, I suppose, but since you are such a stickler for
precision, with one glaring exception, I thought that it should be
mentioned that a 0.9.2 version does exist (for Windows).

[Dr John Stockton]

Re: Programatically trigger an onClick event?

JRS: In article <40FA7333.10009 08@PointedEars. de>, seen in
news:comp.lang. javascript, Thomas 'PointedEars' Lahn
<PointedEars@nu rfuerspam.de> posted at Sun, 18 Jul 2004 14:55:15 :[color=blue]
>Frederic Banaszak wrote:[color=green]
>> On Sun, 18 Jul 2004 02:46:12 +0200, Thomas 'PointedEars' Lahn
>> <PointedEars@nu rfuerspam.de> wrote:[/color]
>
>Please do not write attribution novels. Reasons have been pointed out
>before.[/color]

Incorrectly, which is possibly why people ignore your intolerant
demands. AISB, you should read

http://www.ietf.org/internet-drafts/draft-ietf-usefor-article-13.txt

http://www.ietf.org/internet-drafts/draft-ietf-usefor-useage-00.txt

in order to learn current thinking on the subject.

It is that it is acceptable to include poster's name, E-address, the
newsgroup name, and the precursor article's date/time and message-ID.

Many people find these helpful under various circumstances - one example
is when someone such as yourself resurrects ancient threads without
warning

I have repeatedly pointed out to you, publicly, the unreasonablenes s of
your demands. However, as you claim to have the anti-social habit of
kill-filing those who disagree with you, you may not have seen all of
those.

The net effect, of course, is to make you appear a dictatorial, juvenile
prat.


Have you noticed how rapidly the number of articles posted to this
newsgroup per week has been dropping since you began to post?

--
© John Stockton, Surrey, UK. ?@merlyn.demon. co.uk Turnpike v4.00 MIME ©
Web <URL:http://www.uwasa.fi/~ts/http/tsfaq.html> -> Timo Salmi: Usenet Q&A.
Web <URL:http://www.merlyn.demo n.co.uk/news-use.htm> : about usage of News.
No Encoding. Quotes before replies. Snip well. Write clearly. Don't Mail News.