jQuery: width() not working

Question

here's my simple code:

var msgbox = $("<div style='width:320px;height:200px;'></div>");
alert(msgbox.width());

the alert gives me zero - what's wrong? why isn't it 320?

thx

Or try inserting the msgbox into the DOM before measuring its .width(). — MvanGeest
– MvanGeest, Commented Aug 7, 2010 at 12:31
@Ankit Jain: It can also be used to create HTML, see api.jquery.com/jQuery/#jQuery2 — MvanGeest
– MvanGeest, Commented Aug 7, 2010 at 12:33
then how does jQ differentiates b/w a selector and HTML? Is that first character as < is sufficient? — ankitjaininfo
– ankitjaininfo, Commented Aug 7, 2010 at 13:24

ehpc · Accepted Answer · 2010-08-07 12:34:26Z

5

You should insert your div in the document first. Or use .css("width") instead.

answered Aug 7, 2010 at 12:34

ehpc

1,0841 gold badge9 silver badges16 bronze badges

Sign up to request clarification or add additional context in comments.

Comments

Darin Dimitrov · Accepted Answer · 2010-08-07 12:34:09Z

4

You need to first append the element to the DOM before trying to measure its size:

$('body').append(msgbox);
alert(msgbox.width());

answered Aug 7, 2010 at 12:34

Darin Dimitrov

1.0m276 gold badges3.3k silver badges3k bronze badges