HTML DOM Event Object
The event object gives you information about an event that has
occurred.
Examples
Which mouse button was clicked?
What are the coordinates of the cursor?
What is the unicode of the key pressed?
What are the coordinates of the cursor, relative to the screen?
What are the coordinates of the cursor?
Was the shift key pressed?
Which element was clicked?
Which eventype occured?
Event Object
The Event object represents the state of an event, such as the element in
which the event occurred, the state of the keyboard keys, the location of the
mouse, and the state of the mouse buttons.
Events are normally used in combination with functions, and the function will
not be executed before the event occurs!
IE: Internet Explorer, F: Firefox, O: Opera, W3C:
World Wide Web Consortium (Internet Standard).
Event Handlers
New to HTML 4.0 was the ability to let HTML events trigger actions in the
browser, like starting a JavaScript when a user clicks on an HTML element. Below
is a list of the attributes that can be inserted into HTML tags to define event
actions.
| Attribute |
The event occurs when... |
IE |
F |
O |
W3C |
| onabort |
Loading of an image is interrupted |
4 |
1 |
9 |
Yes |
| onblur |
An element loses focus |
3 |
1 |
9 |
Yes |
| onchange |
The content of a field changes |
3 |
1 |
9 |
Yes |
| onclick |
Mouse clicks an object |
3 |
1 |
9 |
Yes |
| ondblclick |
Mouse double-clicks an object |
4 |
1 |
9 |
Yes |
| onerror |
An error occurs when loading a document or an image |
4 |
1 |
9 |
Yes |
| onfocus |
An element gets focus |
3 |
1 |
9 |
Yes |
| onkeydown |
A keyboard key is pressed |
3 |
1 |
No |
Yes |
| onkeypress |
A keyboard key is pressed or held down |
3 |
1 |
9 |
Yes |
| onkeyup |
A keyboard key is released |
3 |
1 |
9 |
Yes |
| onload |
A page or an image is finished loading |
3 |
1 |
9 |
Yes |
| onmousedown |
A mouse button is pressed |
4 |
1 |
9 |
Yes |
| onmousemove |
The mouse is moved |
3 |
1 |
9 |
Yes |
| onmouseout |
The mouse is moved off an element |
4 |
1 |
9 |
Yes |
| onmouseover |
The mouse is moved over an element |
3 |
1 |
9 |
Yes |
| onmouseup |
A mouse button is released |
4 |
1 |
9 |
Yes |
| onreset |
The reset button is clicked |
4 |
1 |
9 |
Yes |
| onresize |
A window or frame is resized |
4 |
1 |
9 |
Yes |
| onselect |
Text is selected |
3 |
1 |
9 |
Yes |
| onsubmit |
The submit button is clicked |
3 |
1 |
9 |
Yes |
| onunload |
The user exits the page |
3 |
1 |
9 |
Yes |
Mouse / Keyboard Attributes
| Property |
Description |
IE |
F |
O |
W3C |
| altKey |
Returns whether or not the "ALT" key was
pressed when an event was triggered |
6 |
1 |
9 |
Yes |
| button |
Returns which mouse button was clicked when an event
was triggered |
6 |
1 |
9 |
Yes |
|
clientX |
Returns the horizontal coordinate of the mouse pointer
when an event was triggered |
6 |
1 |
9 |
Yes |
| clientY |
Returns the vertical coordinate of the mouse pointer
when an event was triggered |
6 |
1 |
9 |
Yes |
| ctrlKey |
Returns whether or not the "CTRL" key was pressed when
an event was triggered |
6 |
1 |
9 |
Yes |
|
metaKey |
Returns whether or not the "meta" key was
pressed when an event
was triggered |
6 |
1 |
9 |
Yes |
| relatedTarget |
Returns the element related to the element that
triggered the event |
No |
1 |
9 |
Yes |
| screenX |
Returns the horizontal coordinate of the mouse pointer
when an event was triggered |
6 |
1 |
9 |
Yes |
| screenY |
Returns the vertical coordinate of the mouse pointer
when an event was triggered |
6 |
1 |
9 |
Yes |
| shiftKey |
Returns whether or not the "SHIFT" key was
pressed when an event
was triggered |
6 |
1 |
9 |
Yes |
Other Event Attributes
| Property |
Description |
IE |
F |
O |
W3C |
| bubbles |
Returns a Boolean value that indicates whether or not
an event is a bubbling event |
No |
1 |
9 |
Yes |
| cancelable |
Returns a Boolean value that indicates whether or not
an event can have its default action prevented |
No |
1 |
9 |
Yes |
|
currentTarget |
Returns the element whose event listeners triggered the
event |
No |
1 |
9 |
Yes |
| eventPhase |
Returns which phase of the event flow is currently
being evaluated |
|
|
|
Yes |
| target |
Returns the element that triggered the event |
No |
1 |
9 |
Yes |
|
timeStamp |
Returns the time stamp, in milliseconds, from the epoch
(system start or event trigger) |
No |
1 |
9 |
Yes |
| type |
Returns the name of the event |
6 |
1 |
9 |
Yes |
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