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 which is global to the document, such as obtaining the page's URL and creating new elements in the document.
<div id="interfaceDiagram" style="display: inline-block; position: relative; width: 100%; padding-bottom: 11.666666666666666%; vertical-align: middle; overflow: hidden;"><svg style="display: inline-block; position: absolute; top: 0; left: 0;" viewbox="-50 0 600 70" preserveAspectRatio="xMinYMin meet"><a xlink:href="https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/API/EventTarget" target="_top"><rect x="1" y="1" width="110" height="50" fill="#fff" stroke="#D4DDE4" stroke-width="2px" /><text x="56" y="30" font-size="12px" font-family="Consolas,Monaco,Andale Mono,monospace" fill="#4D4E53" text-anchor="middle" alignment-baseline="middle">EventTarget</text></a><polyline points="111,25 121,20 121,30 111,25" stroke="#D4DDE4" fill="none"/><line x1="121" y1="25" x2="151" y2="25" stroke="#D4DDE4"/><a xlink:href="https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/API/Node" target="_top"><rect x="151" y="1" width="75" height="50" fill="#fff" stroke="#D4DDE4" stroke-width="2px" /><text x="188.5" y="30" font-size="12px" font-family="Consolas,Monaco,Andale Mono,monospace" fill="#4D4E53" text-anchor="middle" alignment-baseline="middle">Node</text></a><polyline points="226,25 236,20 236,30 226,25" stroke="#D4DDE4" fill="none"/><line x1="236" y1="25" x2="266" y2="25" stroke="#D4DDE4"/><a xlink:href="https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/API/Document" target="_top"><rect x="266" y="1" width="80" height="50" fill="#F4F7F8" stroke="#D4DDE4" stroke-width="2px" /><text x="306" y="30" font-size="12px" font-family="Consolas,Monaco,Andale Mono,monospace" fill="#4D4E53" text-anchor="middle" alignment-baseline="middle">Document</text></a></svg></div>
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, wherease SVG documents implement the SVGDocument
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.load
to indicate an asynchronous request. Document.characterSet
Read only- Returns the character set being used by the document.
Document.charset
Read only- Alias of
Document.characterSet
. Use this property instead. Document.compatMode
Read only- Indicates whether the document is rendered in quirks or strict mode.
Document.contentType
Read only- Returns the Content-Type from the MIME Header of the current document.
Document.doctype
Read only- Returns the Document Type Definition (DTD) of the current document.
Document.documentElement
Read only- Returns the
Element
that is a direct child of the document. For HTML documents, this is normally the HTML element. Document.documentURI
Read only- Returns the document location as a string.
Document.domConfig
- Should return a
DOMConfiguration
object. Document.hidden
Read only- …
Document.implementation
Read only- Returns the DOM implementation associated with the current document.
Document.inputEncoding
Read only- Alias of
Document.characterSet
. Use this property instead. Document.lastStyleSheetSet
Read only- Returns the name of the style sheet set that was last enabled. Has the value
null
until the style sheet is changed by setting the value ofselectedStyleSheetSet
. Document.mozSyntheticDocument
- Returns a
Boolean
that istrue
only if this document is synthetic, such as a standalone image, video, audio file, or the like. Document.mozFullScreen
true
when the document is infull-screen mode
.Document.mozFullScreenElement
Read only- The element that's currently in full screen mode for this document.
Document.mozFullScreenEnabled
Read onlytrue
if callingElement.mozRequestFullscreen()
would succeed in the curent document.Document.pointerLockElement
Read only- Returns the element set as the target for mouse events while the pointer is locked.
null
if lock is pending, pointer is unlocked, or if the target is in another document. Document.preferredStyleSheetSet
Read only- Returns the preferred style sheet set as specified by the page author.
Document.scrollingElement
Read only- Returns a reference to the
Element
that scrolls the document. Document.selectedStyleSheetSet
- Returns which style sheet set is currently in use.
Document.styleSheets
Read only- Returns a list of the style sheet objects on the current document.
Document.styleSheetSets
Read only- Returns a list of the style sheet sets available on the document.
Document.timeline
Read only- …
Document.undoManager
Read only- …
Document.URL
Read only- Returns ...
Document.visibilityState
Read only- …
Document.xmlEncoding
- Returns the encoding as determined by the XML declaration.
Document.xmlStandalone
Obsolete since Gecko 10.0- Returns
true
if the XML declaration specifies the document to be standalone (e.g., An external part of the DTD affects the document's content), elsefalse
. Document.xmlVersion
Obsolete 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.children
Read only- Returns a live
HTMLCollection
containing all objects of typeElement
that are children of thisParentNode
. ParentNode.firstElementChild
Read only- Returns the
Element
that is the first child of thisParentNode
, ornull
if there is none. ParentNode.lastElementChild
Read only- Returns the
Element
that is the last child of thisParentNode
, ornull
if there is none. ParentNode.childElementCount
Read only- Returns an
unsigned long
giving the amount of children that the object has.
Extension for HTML document
The Document
interface for HTML documents inherit from the HTMLDocument
interface or, since HTML5, is extended for such documents:
Document.activeElement
Read 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.defaultView
Read only- Returns a reference to the window object.
Document.designMode
- Gets/sets the ability to edit the whole document.
Document.dir
Read only- Gets/sets directionality (rtl/ltr) of the document.
Document.domain
Read only- Returns the domain of the current document.
Document.embeds
Read 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.forms
Read only- Returns a list of the
<form>
elements within the current document. Document.head
Read only- Returns the
<head>
element of the current document. Document.height
- Gets/sets the height of the current document.
Document.images
Read only- Returns a list of the images in the current document.
Document.lastModified
Read only- Returns the date on which the document was last modified.
Document.linkColor
- Gets/sets the color of hyperlinks in the document.
Document.links
Read only- Returns a list of all the hyperlinks in the document.
Document.location
Read only- Returns the URI of the current document.
Document.plugins
Read only- Returns a list of the available plugins.
Document.readyState
Read only- Returns loading status of the document.
Document.referrer
Read only- Returns the URI of the page that linked to this page.
Document.scripts
Read only- Returns all the
<script>
elements on the document. Document.title
- Sets or gets title of the current document.
Document.URL
Read 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
GlobalEventHandlers.onabort
- Is an
EventHandler
representing the code to be called when theabort
event is raised. Document.onafterscriptexecute
- Represents the event handling code for the
afterscriptexecute
event. Document.onbeforescriptexecute
- Represents the event handling code for the
beforescriptexecute
event. GlobalEventHandlers.onblur
- Is an
EventHandler
representing the code to be called when theblur
event is raised. GlobalEventHandlers.oncancel
- Is an
EventHandler
representing the code to be called when thecancel
event is raised. GlobalEventHandlers.oncanplay
- Is an
EventHandler
representing the code to be called when thecanplay
event is raised. GlobalEventHandlers.oncanplaythrough
- Is an
EventHandler
representing the code to be called when thecanplaythrough
event is raised. GlobalEventHandlers.onchange
- Is an
EventHandler
representing the code to be called when thechange
event is raised. GlobalEventHandlers.onclick
- Is an
EventHandler
representing the code to be called when theclick
event is raised. GlobalEventHandlers.onclose
- Is an
EventHandler
representing the code to be called when theclose
event is raised. GlobalEventHandlers.oncontextmenu
- Is an
EventHandler
representing the code to be called when thecontextmenu
event is raised. Document.oncopy
- Represents the event handling code for the
copy
event. GlobalEventHandlers.oncuechange
- Is an
EventHandler
representing the code to be called when thecuechange
event is raised. Document.oncut
- Represents the event handling code for the
cut
event. GlobalEventHandlers.ondblclick
- Is an
EventHandler
representing the code to be called when thedblclick
event is raised. GlobalEventHandlers.ondrag
- Is an
EventHandler
representing the code to be called when thedrag
event is raised. GlobalEventHandlers.ondragend
- Is an
EventHandler
representing the code to be called when thedragend
event is raised. GlobalEventHandlers.ondragenter
- Is an
EventHandler
representing the code to be called when thedragenter
event is raised. GlobalEventHandlers.ondragexit
- Is an
EventHandler
representing the code to be called when thedragexit
event is raised. GlobalEventHandlers.ondragleave
- Is an
EventHandler
representing the code to be called when thedragleave
event is raised. GlobalEventHandlers.ondragover
- Is an
EventHandler
representing the code to be called when thedragover
event is raised. GlobalEventHandlers.ondragstart
- Is an
EventHandler
representing the code to be called when thedragstart
event is raised. GlobalEventHandlers.ondrop
- Is an
EventHandler
representing the code to be called when thedrop
event is raised. GlobalEventHandlers.ondurationchange
- Is an
EventHandler
representing the code to be called when thedurationchange
event is raised. GlobalEventHandlers.onemptied
- Is an
EventHandler
representing the code to be called when theemptied
event is raised. GlobalEventHandlers.onended
- Is an
EventHandler
representing the code to be called when theended
event is raised. GlobalEventHandlers.onerror
- Is an
OnErrorEventHandler
representing the code to be called when theerror
event is raised. GlobalEventHandlers.onfocus
- Is an
EventHandler
representing the code to be called when thefocus
event is raised. GlobalEventHandlers.oninput
- Is an
EventHandler
representing the code to be called when theinput
event is raised. GlobalEventHandlers.oninvalid
- Is an
EventHandler
representing the code to be called when theinvalid
event is raised. GlobalEventHandlers.onkeydown
- Is an
EventHandler
representing the code to be called when thekeydown
event is raised. GlobalEventHandlers.onkeypress
- Is an
EventHandler
representing the code to be called when thekeypress
event is raised. GlobalEventHandlers.onkeyup
- Is an
EventHandler
representing the code to be called when thekeyup
event is raised. GlobalEventHandlers.onload
- Is an
EventHandler
representing the code to be called when theload
event is raised. GlobalEventHandlers.onloadeddata
- Is an
EventHandler
representing the code to be called when theloadeddata
event is raised. GlobalEventHandlers.onloadedmetadata
- Is an
EventHandler
representing the code to be called when theloadedmetadata
event is raised. GlobalEventHandlers.onloadstart
- Is an
EventHandler
representing the code to be called when theloadstart
event is raised. GlobalEventHandlers.onmousedown
- Is an
EventHandler
representing the code to be called when themousedown
event is raised. GlobalEventHandlers.onmouseenter
- Is an
EventHandler
representing the code to be called when themouseenter
event is raised. GlobalEventHandlers.onmouseleave
- Is an
EventHandler
representing the code to be called when themouseleave
event is raised. GlobalEventHandlers.onmousemove
- Is an
EventHandler
representing the code to be called when themousemove
event is raised. GlobalEventHandlers.onmouseout
- Is an
EventHandler
representing the code to be called when themouseout
event is raised. GlobalEventHandlers.onmouseover
- Is an
EventHandler
representing the code to be called when themouseover
event is raised. GlobalEventHandlers.onmouseup
- Is an
EventHandler
representing the code to be called when themouseup
event is raised. GlobalEventHandlers.onmousewheel
- Is an
EventHandler
representing the code to be called when themousewheel
event is raised. GlobalEventHandler.onmozfullscreenchange
- Is an
EventHandler
representing the code to be called when thefullscreenchange
event is raised. GlobalEventHandler.onmozfullscreenerror
- Is an
EventHandler
representing the code to be called when thefullscreenerror
event is raised. GlobalEventHandlers.onpause
- Is an
EventHandler
representing the code to be called when thepause
event is raised. Document.onpaste
- Represents the event handling code for the
paste
event. GlobalEventHandlers.onplay
- Is an
EventHandler
representing the code to be called when theplay
event is raised. GlobalEventHandlers.onplaying
- Is an
EventHandler
representing the code to be called when theplaying
event is raised. GlobalEventHandlers.onpointerdown
- Is an
EventHandler
representing the code to be called when thepointerdown
event is raised. Document.onpointerlockchange
- Represents the event handling code for the
pointerlockchange
event. Document.onpointerlockerror
- Represetnts the event handling code for the
pointerlockerror
event. GlobalEventHandlers.onpointermove
- Is an
EventHandler
representing the code to be called when thepointermove
event is raised. GlobalEventHandlers.onpointerup
- Is an
EventHandler
representing the code to be called when thepointerup
event is raised. GlobalEventHandlers.onpointercancel
- Is an
EventHandler
representing the code to be called when thepointercancel
event is raised. GlobalEventHandlers.onpointerover
- Is an
EventHandler
representing the code to be called when thepointerover
event is raised. GlobalEventHandlers.onpointerout
- Is an
EventHandler
representing the code to be called when thepointerout
event is raised. GlobalEventHandlers.onpointerenter
- Is an
EventHandler
representing the code to be called when thepointerevent
event is raised. GlobalEventHandlers.onpointerleave
- Is an
EventHandler
representing the code to be called when thepointerleave
event is raised. GlobalEventHandlers.onpointerlockchange
- Is an
EventHandler
representing the code to be called when thepointerlockchange
event is raised. GlobalEventHandlers.onpointerlockerror
- Is an
EventHandler
representing the code to be called when thepointerlockerror
event is raised. GlobalEventHandlers.onprogress
- Is an
EventHandler
representing the code to be called when theprogress
event is raised. GlobalEventHandlers.onratechange
- Is an
EventHandler
representing the code to be called when theratechange
event is raised. Document.onreadystatechange
- Represents the event handling code for the
readystatechange
event. GlobalEventHandlers.onreset
- Is an
EventHandler
representing the code to be called when thereset
event is raised. GlobalEventHandlers.onscroll
- Is an
EventHandler
representing the code to be called when thescroll
event is raised. GlobalEventHandlers.onseeked
- Is an
EventHandler
representing the code to be called when theseeked
event is raised. GlobalEventHandlers.onseeking
- Is an
EventHandler
representing the code to be called when theseeking
event is raised. GlobalEventHandlers.onselect
- Is an
EventHandler
representing the code to be called when theselect
event is raised. GlobalEventHandlers.onselectstart
- Is an
EventHandler
representing the code to be called when theselectstart
event is raised. Document.onselectionchange
- Is an
EventHandler
representing the code to be called when theselectionchange
event is raised. GlobalEventHandlers.onshow
- Is an
EventHandler
representing the code to be called when theshow
event is raised. GlobalEventHandlers.onsort
- Is an
EventHandler
representing the code to be called when thesort
event is raised. GlobalEventHandlers.onstalled
- Is an
EventHandler
representing the code to be called when thestalled
event is raised. GlobalEventHandlers.onsubmit
- Is an
EventHandler
representing the code to be called when thesubmit
event is raised. GlobalEventHandlers.onsuspend
- Is an
EventHandler
representing the code to be called when thesuspend
event is raised. GlobalEventHandlers.ontimeupdate
- Is an
EventHandler
representing the code to be called when thetimeupdate
event is raised. GlobalEventHandlers.onvolumechange
- Is an
EventHandler
representing the code to be called when thevolumechange
event is raised. GlobalEventHandlers.onwaiting
- Is an
EventHandler
representing the code to be called when thewaiting
event is raised. Document.onwheel
- Represents the event handling code for the
wheel
event.
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
CaretPosition
at or near the specified coordinates. Document.caretRangeFromPoint()
- Gets a
Range
object for the document fragment under the specified coordinates. Document.createAttribute()
- Creates a new
Attr
object 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
NodeIterator
object. Document.createProcessingInstruction()
- Creates a new
ProcessingInstruction
object. Document.createRange()
- Creates a
Range
object. Document.createTextNode()
- Creates a text node.
Document.createTouch()
- Creates a
Touch
object. Document.createTouchList()
- Creates a
TouchList
object. Document.createTreeWalker()
- Creates a
TreeWalker
object. 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
Animation
objects 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
XPathExpression
which can then be used for (repeated) evaluations. document.createNSResolver(Node resolver)
- Creates an
XPathNSResolver
object. 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
Selection
object related to text selected in the document. document.hasFocus()
- Returns
true
if 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
nsIURI
object 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.execCommandShowHelp
Obsolete 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.queryCommandText
Obsolete 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
Node
interface in theDocument
interface:
document.contains
- As a work-around,
document.body.contains()
can be used.