Converting string to onclick handler in javascript

Question

I have a variable ElementAction which is a string javascript:deleteRow();. How do I assign the literal content of ElementAction to an onclick handler of another HTML element. HTMLElement.onclick = ElementAction doesn't work.

Thanks for any help.

You can using eval, however I absolutely don't recommend running a string. — JCOC611
– JCOC611, Commented Feb 15, 2011 at 0:06

Pointy · Accepted Answer · 2011-02-15 00:12:26Z

4

Get rid of that "javascript:" prefix first; it's useless. You can create a function instance from your string with:

var handler = new Function("event", ElementAction.replace(/^javascript:/, ''));

Then you can attach the handler either by setting the "onclick" attribute directly or by using one of the APIs as in JCOC611's answer.

answered Feb 15, 2011 at 0:12

Pointy

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Pointy Over a year ago

By the way I just realized that the "javascript:" prefix does work because it ends up acting as a label on the first statement of the function body :-)

JCOC611 · Accepted Answer · 2011-02-15 00:08:42Z

1

You can:

element.onclick = deleteRow;

Or even more compatible:

if(element.attachEvent){
   element.attachEvent("onclick", deleteRow);
}else{
   element.addEventListener("click", deleteRow, false);
}

Running a string is not recommended.

answered Feb 15, 2011 at 0:08

JCOC611

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