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Tony Brackins
28,766 PointsgetElementByID()...but no ID's.
On this tutorial, we'll be manipulating the DOM by ID (and Class I suppose). But what if you want to manipulate the DOM on a pre-existing page that has no ID's or Classes (or very few)?
2 Answers
Marcus Parsons
15,719 PointsHi Tony,
Selecting specific elements in the DOM without having an id or class to go by is a little tricky and really only works for a static document that won't change. You would need to know what index that element is at in the document. For example, if you want to target the 2nd paragraph on a page, you can push the results getElementsByTagName('p') into a variable and then target the 2nd paragraph by using index 1 in the HTMLCollection that was generated. Here is a codepen to reflect what I am talking about. http://codepen.io/anon/pen/qdmPvR
It can be especially tricky to target certain elements with dynamic code which is often why ids and classes are used. It makes a job more difficult than it needs to be to not use specially made attributes for elements. It's generally not a good idea to use targeting without ids or classes.
Jason Anders
Treehouse Moderator 145,860 PointsI've got to agree with Marcus. Manipulating the DOM without using Classes or IDs is very tricky and often leads to a mess. If you're doing styling for a website that's already coded (HTML), I would add classes and IDs before (or as I am) styling the site. My rule... there is never too much specificity.
Tony Brackins
28,766 PointsTony Brackins
28,766 PointsThanks! This really helps. Why I was asking is because I'm working on a legacy system with limited classes. But creating a chrome extension to manipulate.
Thx again
Marcus Parsons
15,719 PointsMarcus Parsons
15,719 PointsOh awesome! You're welcome, Tony. If you need any more help on it, come on back here and post about it or as a new question, and I'll help you as much as I can.