Is there an "exists" function for jQuery?
JavascriptJqueryJavascript Problem Overview
How can I check the existence of an element in jQuery?
The current code that I have is this:
if ($(selector).length > 0) {
// Do something
}
Is there a more elegant way to approach this? Perhaps a plugin or a function?
Javascript Solutions
Solution 1 - Javascript
In JavaScript, everything is 'truthy' or 'falsy', and for numbers 0 means false, everything else true. So you could write:
if ($(selector).length)
You don't need that >0 part.
Solution 2 - Javascript
Yes!
jQuery.fn.exists = function(){ return this.length > 0; }
if ($(selector).exists()) {
// Do something
}
This is in response to: Herding Code podcast with Jeff Atwood
Solution 3 - Javascript
If you used
jQuery.fn.exists = function(){return ($(this).length > 0);}
if ($(selector).exists()) { }
you would imply that chaining was possible when it is not.
This would be better:
jQuery.exists = function(selector) {return ($(selector).length > 0);}
if ($.exists(selector)) { }
Alternatively, from the FAQ:
if ( $('#myDiv').length ) { /* Do something */ }
You could also use the following. If there are no values in the jQuery object array then getting the first item in the array would return undefined.
if ( $('#myDiv')[0] ) { /* Do something */ }
Solution 4 - Javascript
You can use this:
// if element exists
if($('selector').length){ /* do something */ }
// if element does not exist
if(!$('selector').length){ /* do something */ }
Solution 5 - Javascript
The fastest and most semantically self explaining way to check for existence is actually by using plain JavaScript:
if (document.getElementById('element_id')) {
// Do something
}
It is a bit longer to write than the jQuery length alternative, but executes faster since it is a native JS method.
And it is better than the alternative of writing your own jQuery function. That alternative is slower, for the reasons @snover stated. But it would also give other programmers the impression that the exists() function is something inherent to jQuery. JavaScript would/should be understood by others editing your code, without increased knowledge debt.
NB: Notice the lack of an '#' before the element_id (since this is plain JS, not jQuery).
Solution 6 - Javascript
You can save a few bytes by writing:
if ($(selector)[0]) { ... }
This works because each jQuery object also masquerades as an array, so we can use the array dereferencing operator to get the first item from the array. It returns undefined if there is no item at the specified index.
Solution 7 - Javascript
You can use:
if ($(selector).is('*')) {
// Do something
}
A little more elegant, perhaps.
Solution 8 - Javascript
This plugin can be used in an if statement like if ($(ele).exist()) { /* DO WORK */ } or using a callback.
Plugin
;;(function($) {
if (!$.exist) {
$.extend({
exist: function() {
var ele, cbmExist, cbmNotExist;
if (arguments.length) {
for (x in arguments) {
switch (typeof arguments[x]) {
case 'function':
if (typeof cbmExist == "undefined") cbmExist = arguments[x];
else cbmNotExist = arguments[x];
break;
case 'object':
if (arguments[x] instanceof jQuery) ele = arguments[x];
else {
var obj = arguments[x];
for (y in obj) {
if (typeof obj[y] == 'function') {
if (typeof cbmExist == "undefined") cbmExist = obj[y];
else cbmNotExist = obj[y];
}
if (typeof obj[y] == 'object' && obj[y] instanceof jQuery) ele = obj[y];
if (typeof obj[y] == 'string') ele = $(obj[y]);
}
}
break;
case 'string':
ele = $(arguments[x]);
break;
}
}
}
if (typeof cbmExist == 'function') {
var exist = ele.length > 0 ? true : false;
if (exist) {
return ele.each(function(i) { cbmExist.apply(this, [exist, ele, i]); });
}
else if (typeof cbmNotExist == 'function') {
cbmNotExist.apply(ele, [exist, ele]);
return ele;
}
else {
if (ele.length <= 1) return ele.length > 0 ? true : false;
else return ele.length;
}
}
else {
if (ele.length <= 1) return ele.length > 0 ? true : false;
else return ele.length;
}
return false;
}
});
$.fn.extend({
exist: function() {
var args = [$(this)];
if (arguments.length) for (x in arguments) args.push(arguments[x]);
return $.exist.apply($, args);
}
});
}
})(jQuery);
You may specify one or two callbacks. The first one will fire if the element exists, the second one will fire if the element does not exist. However, if you choose to pass only one function, it will only fire when the element exists. Thus, the chain will die if the selected element does not exist. Of course, if it does exist, the first function will fire and the chain will continue.
Keep in mind that using the callback variant helps maintain chainability – the element is returned and you can continue chaining commands as with any other jQuery method!
Example Uses
if ($.exist('#eleID')) { /* DO WORK */ } // param as STRING
if ($.exist($('#eleID'))) { /* DO WORK */ } // param as jQuery OBJECT
if ($('#eleID').exist()) { /* DO WORK */ } // enduced on jQuery OBJECT
$.exist('#eleID', function() { // param is STRING && CALLBACK METHOD
/* DO WORK */
/* This will ONLY fire if the element EXIST */
}, function() { // param is STRING && CALLBACK METHOD
/* DO WORK */
/* This will ONLY fire if the element DOES NOT EXIST */
})
$('#eleID').exist(function() { // enduced on jQuery OBJECT with CALLBACK METHOD
/* DO WORK */
/* This will ONLY fire if the element EXIST */
})
$.exist({ // param is OBJECT containing 2 key|value pairs: element = STRING, callback = METHOD
element: '#eleID',
callback: function() {
/* DO WORK */
/* This will ONLY fire if the element EXIST */
}
})
Solution 9 - Javascript
I see most of the answers here are not accurate as they should be, they check element length, it can be OK in many cases, but not 100%, imagine if number pass to the function instead, so I prototype a function which check all conditions and return the answer as it should be:
$.fn.exists = $.fn.exists || function() {
return !!(this.length && (this[0] instanceof HTMLDocument || this[0] instanceof HTMLElement));
}
This will check both length and type, Now you can check it this way:
$(1980).exists(); //return false
$([1,2,3]).exists(); //return false
$({name: 'stackoverflow', url: 'http://www.stackoverflow.com'}).exists(); //return false
$([{nodeName: 'foo'}]).exists() // returns false
$('div').exists(); //return true
$('.header').exists(); //return true
$(document).exists(); //return true
$('body').exists(); //return true
Solution 10 - Javascript
There's no need for jQuery really. With plain JavaScript it's easier and semantically correct to check for:
if(document.getElementById("myElement")) {
//Do something...
}
If for any reason you don't want to put an id to the element, you can still use any other JavaScript method designed to access the DOM.
jQuery is really cool, but don't let pure JavaScript fall into oblivion...
Solution 11 - Javascript
You could use this:
jQuery.fn.extend({
exists: function() { return this.length }
});
if($(selector).exists()){/*do something*/}
Solution 12 - Javascript
The reason all of the previous answers require the .length parameter is that they are mostly using jquery's $() selector which has querySelectorAll behind the curtains (or they are using it directly). This method is rather slow because it needs to parse the entire DOM tree looking for all matches to that selector and populating an array with them.
The ['length'] parameter is not needed or useful and the code will be a lot faster if you directly use document.querySelector(selector) instead, because it returns the first element it matches or null if not found.
function elementIfExists(selector){ //named this way on purpose, see below
return document.querySelector(selector);
}
/* usage: */
var myelement = elementIfExists("#myid") || myfallbackelement;
However this method leaves us with the actual object being returned; which is fine if it isn't going to be saved as variable and used repeatedly (thus keeping the reference around if we forget).
var myel=elementIfExists("#myid");
// now we are using a reference to the element which will linger after removal
myel.getParentNode.removeChild(myel);
console.log(elementIfExists("#myid")); /* null */
console.log(myel); /* giant table lingering around detached from document */
myel=null; /* now it can be garbage collected */
In some cases this may be desired. It can be used in a for loop like this:
/* locally scoped myel gets garbage collected even with the break; */
for (var myel; myel = elementIfExist(sel); myel.getParentNode.removeChild(myel))
if (myel == myblacklistedel) break;
If you don't actually need the element and want to get/store just a true/false, just double not it !! It works for shoes that come untied, so why knot here?
function elementExists(selector){
return !!document.querySelector(selector);
}
/* usage: */
var hastables = elementExists("table"); /* will be true or false */
if (hastables){
/* insert css style sheet for our pretty tables */
}
setTimeOut(function (){if (hastables && !elementExists("#mytablecss"))
alert("bad table layouts");},3000);
Solution 13 - Javascript
Is $.contains() what you want?
>jQuery.contains( container, contained )
>
>The $.contains() method returns true if the DOM element provided by the second argument is a descendant of the DOM element provided by the first argument, whether it is a direct child or nested more deeply. Otherwise, it returns false. Only element nodes are supported; if the second argument is a text or comment node, $.contains() will return false.
>
>Note: The first argument must be a DOM element, not a jQuery object or plain JavaScript object.
Solution 14 - Javascript
You can check element is present or not using length in java script. If length is greater than zero then element is present if length is zero then element is not present
// These by Id
if ($("#elementid").length > 0) {
// Element is Present
} else {
// Element is not Present
}
// These by Class
if ($(".elementClass").length > 0) {
// Element is Present
} else {
// Element is not Present
}
Solution 15 - Javascript
I have found if ($(selector).length) {} to be insufficient. It will silently break your app when selector is an empty object {}.
var $target = $({});
console.log($target, $target.length);
// Console output:
// -------------------------------------
// [▼ Object ] 1
// ► __proto__: Object
My only suggestion is to perform an additional check for {}.
if ($.isEmptyObject(selector) || !$(selector).length) {
throw new Error('Unable to work with the given selector.');
}
I'm still looking for a better solution though as this one is a bit heavy.
Edit: WARNING! This doesn't work in IE when selector is a string.
$.isEmptyObject('hello') // FALSE in Chrome and TRUE in IE
Solution 16 - Javascript
Checking for existence of an element is documented neatly in the official jQuery website itself!
> Use the .length property of the jQuery collection returned by your > selector: > > if ($("#myDiv").length) { > $("#myDiv").show(); > } > > Note that it isn't always necessary to test whether an element exists. > The following code will show the element if it exists, and do nothing > (with no errors) if it does not: > > $("#myDiv").show();
Solution 17 - Javascript
this is very similar to all of the answers, but why not use the ! operator twice so you can get a boolean:
jQuery.fn.exists = function(){return !!this.length};
if ($(selector).exists()) {
// the element exists, now what?...
}
Solution 18 - Javascript
No need for jQuery (basic solution)
if(document.querySelector('.a-class')) {
// do something
}
Much more performant option below (notice the lack of a dot before a-class).
if(document.getElementsByClassName('a-class')[0]) {
// do something
}
querySelector uses a proper matching engine like $() (sizzle) in jQuery and uses more computing power but in 99% of cases will do just fine. The second option is more explicit and tells the code exactly what to do. It's much faster according to JSBench https://jsbench.me/65l2up3t8i
Solution 19 - Javascript
$(selector).length && //Do something
Solution 20 - Javascript
Try testing for DOM element
if (!!$(selector)[0]) // do stuff
Solution 21 - Javascript
Inspired by hiway's answer I came up with the following:
$.fn.exists = function() {
return $.contains( document.documentElement, this[0] );
}
jQuery.contains takes two DOM elements and checks whether the first one contains the second one.
Using document.documentElement as the first argument fulfills the semantics of the exists method when we want to apply it solely to check the existence of an element in the current document.
Below, I've put together a snippet that compares jQuery.exists() against the $(sel)[0] and $(sel).length approaches which both return truthy values for $(4) while $(4).exists() returns false. In the context of checking for existence of an element in the DOM this seems to be the desired result.
$.fn.exists = function() {
return $.contains(document.documentElement, this[0]);
}
var testFuncs = [ function(jq) { return !!jq[0]; },
function(jq) { return !!jq.length; },
function(jq) { return jq.exists(); },
];
var inputs = [ ["$()",$()],
["$(4)",$(4)],
["$('#idoexist')",$('#idoexist')],
["$('#idontexist')",$('#idontexist')]
];
for( var i = 0, l = inputs.length, tr, input; i < l; i++ ) {
input = inputs[i][1];
tr = "<tr><td>" + inputs[i][0] + "</td><td>"
+ testFuncs[0](input) + "</td><td>"
+ testFuncs[1](input) + "</td><td>"
+ testFuncs[2](input) + "</td></tr>";
$("table").append(tr);
}
td { border: 1px solid black }
<script src="https://ajax.googleapis.com/ajax/libs/jquery/2.1.1/jquery.min.js"></script>
<div id="idoexist">#idoexist</div>
<table style>
<tr>
<td>Input</td><td>!!$(sel)[0]</td><td>!!$(sel).length</td><td>$(sel).exists()</td>
</tr>
</table>
<script>
$.fn.exists = function() {
return $.contains(document.documentElement, this[0]);
}
</script>
Solution 22 - Javascript
I just like to use plain vanilla javascript to do this.
function isExists(selector){
return document.querySelectorAll(selector).length>0;
}
Solution 23 - Javascript
I stumbled upon this question and i'd like to share a snippet of code i currently use:
$.fn.exists = function(callback) {
var self = this;
var wrapper = (function(){
function notExists () {}
notExists.prototype.otherwise = function(fallback){
if (!self.length) {
fallback.call();
}
};
return new notExists;
})();
if(self.length) {
callback.call();
}
return wrapper;
}
And now i can write code like this -
$("#elem").exists(function(){
alert ("it exists");
}).otherwise(function(){
alert ("it doesn't exist");
});
It might seem a lot of code, but when written in CoffeeScript it is quite small:
$.fn.exists = (callback) ->
exists = @length
callback.call() if exists
new class
otherwise: (fallback) ->
fallback.call() if not exists
Solution 24 - Javascript
I had a case where I wanted to see if an object exists inside of another so I added something to the first answer to check for a selector inside the selector..
// Checks if an object exists.
// Usage:
//
// $(selector).exists()
//
// Or:
//
// $(selector).exists(anotherSelector);
jQuery.fn.exists = function(selector) {
return selector ? this.find(selector).length : this.length;
};
Solution 25 - Javascript
How about:
function exists(selector) {
return $(selector).length;
}
if (exists(selector)) {
// do something
}
It's very minimal and saves you having to enclose the selector with $() every time.
Solution 26 - Javascript
I'm using this:
$.fn.ifExists = function(fn) {
if (this.length) {
$(fn(this));
}
};
$("#element").ifExists(
function($this){
$this.addClass('someClass').animate({marginTop:20},function(){alert('ok')});
}
);
Execute the chain only if a jQuery element exist - http://jsfiddle.net/andres_314/vbNM3/2/
Solution 27 - Javascript
$("selector") returns an object which has the length property. If the selector finds any elements, they will be included in the object. So if you check its length you can see if any elements exist. In JavaScript 0 == false, so if you don't get 0 your code will run.
if($("selector").length){
//code in the case
}
Solution 28 - Javascript
Here is my favorite exist method in jQuery
$.fn.exist = function(callback) {
return $(this).each(function () {
var target = $(this);
if (this.length > 0 && typeof callback === 'function') {
callback.call(target);
}
});
};
and other version which supports callback when selector does not exist
$.fn.exist = function(onExist, onNotExist) {
return $(this).each(function() {
var target = $(this);
if (this.length > 0) {
if (typeof onExist === 'function') {
onExist.call(target);
}
} else {
if (typeof onNotExist === 'function') {
onNotExist.call(target);
}
}
});
};
Example:
$('#foo .bar').exist(
function () {
// Stuff when '#foo .bar' exists
},
function () {
// Stuff when '#foo .bar' does not exist
}
);
Solution 29 - Javascript
You don't have to check if it's greater than 0 like $(selector).length > 0, $(selector).length it's enough and an elegant way to check the existence of elements. I don't think that it is worth to write a function only for this, if you want to do more extra things, then yes.
if($(selector).length){
// true if length is not 0
} else {
// false if length is 0
}
Solution 30 - Javascript
Here is the complete example of different situations and way to check if element exists using direct if on jQuery selector may or may not work because it returns array or elements.
var a = null;
var b = []
var c = undefined ;
if(a) { console.log(" a exist")} else { console.log("a doesn't exit")}
// output: a doesn't exit
if(b) { console.log(" b exist")} else { console.log("b doesn't exit")}
// output: b exist
if(c) { console.log(" c exist")} else { console.log("c doesn't exit")}
// output: c doesn't exit
FINAL SOLUTION
if($("#xysyxxs").length){ console.log("xusyxxs exist")} else { console.log("xusyxxs doesnn't exist") }
//output : xusyxxs doesnn't exist
if($(".xysyxxs").length){ console.log("xusyxxs exist")} else { console.log("xusyxxs doesnn't exist") }
//output : xusyxxs doesnn't exist
Demo
console.log("existing id", $('#id-1').length)
console.log("non existing id", $('#id-2').length)
console.log("existing class single instance", $('.cls-1').length)
console.log("existing class multiple instance", $('.cls-2').length)
console.log("non existing class", $('.cls-3').length)
<script src="https://cdnjs.cloudflare.com/ajax/libs/jquery/3.3.1/jquery.min.js"></script>
<div id="id-1">
<div class="cls-1 cls-2"></div>
<div class="cls-2"></div>
</div>
Solution 31 - Javascript
Try this.
simple and short and usable in the whole project:
jQuery.fn.exists=function(){return !!this[0];}; //jQuery Plugin
Usage:
console.log($("element-selector").exists());
_________________________________
OR EVEN SHORTER: (for when you don't want to define a jQuery plugin):
if(!!$("elem-selector")[0]) ...;
or even
if($("elem-selector")[0]) ...;
Solution 32 - Javascript
if ( $('#myDiv').size() > 0 ) { //do something }
size() counts the number of elements returned by the selector
Solution 33 - Javascript
Yes The best method of doing this :
By JQuery :
if($("selector").length){
//code in the case
}
selector can be Element ID OR Element Class
OR
If you don't want to use jQuery Library then you can achieve this by using Core JavaScript :
By JavaScript :
if(document.getElementById("ElementID")) {
//Do something...
}
Solution 34 - Javascript
A simple utility function for both id and class selector.
function exist(IdOrClassName, IsId) {
var elementExit = false;
if (IsId) {
elementExit = $("#" + "" + IdOrClassName + "").length ? true : false;
} else {
elementExit = $("." + "" + IdOrClassName + "").length ? true : false;
}
return elementExit;
}
calling this function like bellow
$(document).ready(function() {
$("#btnCheck").click(function() {
//address is the id so IsId is true. if address is class then need to set IsId false
if (exist("address", true)) {
alert("exist");
} else {
alert("not exist");
}
});
});
Solution 35 - Javascript
Just check the length of the selector, if it more than 0 then it's return true otherwise false.
For ID:
if( $('#selector').length ) // use this if you are using id to check
{
// it exists
}
For Class:
if( $('.selector').length ) // use this if you are using class to check
{
// it exists
}
For Dropdown:
if( $('#selector option').size() ) { // use this if you are using dropdown size to check
// it exists
}
Solution 36 - Javascript
All answers is not working bullet proof to check existence of an element in jQuery. After many years of coding, only this solution does not throw any warnings about existance or not:
if($(selector).get(0)) { // Do stuff }
Or to bail instead in the beginning of your function:
if(!$(selector).get(0)) return;
Explained
In this case, you dont have to deal with zero | null lengths issues. This forces to fetch an element, not count them.
Solution 37 - Javascript
I am using this:
if($("#element").length > 0){
//the element exists in the page, you can do the rest....
}
Its very simple and easy to find an element.
Solution 38 - Javascript
By default - No.
There's the length property that is commonly used for the same result in the following way:
if ($(selector).length)
Here, 'selector' is to be replaced by the actual selector you are interested to find if it exists or not. If it does exist, the length property will output an integer more than 0 and hence the if statement will become true and hence execute the if block. If it doesn't, it will output the integer '0' and hence the if block won't get executed.
Solution 39 - Javascript
I found that this is the most jQuery way, IMHO. Extending the default function is easy and can be done in a global extension file.
$.fn.exist = function(){
return !!this.length;
};
console.log($("#yes").exist())
console.log($("#no").exist())
<script src="https://cdnjs.cloudflare.com/ajax/libs/jquery/3.3.1/jquery.min.js"></script>
<div id="yes">id = yes</div>
Solution 40 - Javascript
In Javascript
if (typeof selector != "undefined") {
console.log("selector exists");
} else {
console.log("selector does not exists");
}
In jQuery
if($('selector').length){
alert("selector exists");
} else{
alert("selector does not exists");
}
Solution 41 - Javascript
With jQuery you do not need >0, this is all you need:
if ($(selector).length)
With vanilla JS, you can do the same with:
if(document.querySelector(selector))
If you want to turn it into a function that returns bool:
const exists = selector => !!document.querySelector(selector);
if(exists(selector)){
// some code
}
Solution 42 - Javascript
There is an oddity known as short circuit conditioning. Not many are making this feature known so allow me to explain! <3
//you can check if it isnt defined or if its falsy by using OR
console.log( $(selector) || 'this value doesnt exist' )
//or run the selector if its true, and ONLY true
console.log( $(selector) && 'this selector is defined, now lemme do somethin!' )
//sometimes I do the following, and see how similar it is to SWITCH
console.log(
({ //return something only if its in the method name
'string':'THIS is a string',
'function':'THIS is a function',
'number':'THIS is a number',
'boolean':'THIS is a boolean'
})[typeof $(selector)]||
//skips to this value if object above is undefined
'typeof THIS is not defined in your search')
The last bit allows me to see what kind of input my typeof has, and runs in that list. If there is a value outside of my list, I use the OR (||) operator to skip and nullify. This has the same performance as a Switch Case and is considered somewhat concise. Test Performance of the conditionals and uses of logical operators.
Side note: The Object-Function kinda has to be rewritten >.<' But this test I built was made to look into concise and expressive conditioning.
Resources: Logical AND (with short circuit evaluation)
Solution 43 - Javascript
Thanks for sharing this question. First of all, there are multiple ways to check it.
If you want to check whether an HTML element exists in DOM. To do so you can try the following ways.
- Using
Idselector: In DOM to select element byid, you should provide the name of the id starting with the prefix(#). You have to make sure that each Html element in the DOM must have uniqueid. - Using
classselector: You can select all elements with belonging to a specific class by using the prefix(.).
Now if you want to check if the element exist or not in DOM you can check it using the following code.
if($("#myId").length){
//id selector
}
if($(".myClass").length){
//class selector
}
If you want to check any variable is undefined or not. You can check it using the following code.
let x
if(x)
console.log("X");
else
console.log("X is not defined");
Solution 44 - Javascript
The input won't have a value if it doesn't exist. Try this...
if($(selector).val())
Solution 45 - Javascript
Use the following syntax to check if the element actually exists using jQuery.
let oElement = $(".myElementClass");
if(oElement[0]) {
// Do some jQuery operation here using oElement
}
else {
// Unable to fetch the object
}
Solution 46 - Javascript
Use querySelectorAll with forEach, no need for if and extra assignment:
document.querySelectorAll('.my-element').forEach((element) => {
element.classList.add('new-class');
});
as the opposite to:
const myElement = document.querySelector('.my-element');
if (myElement) {
element.classList.add('new-class');
}