how to use javascript to simulate mouse click

Question

I have spent 2 days googling to find a cross-browser solution to simulate a mouse click on an html <a>, but have yet to find a one.

//-- REGARDING javascript's fireEvent (for IE browsers)
var lvs_event = 'click' ;              
var lvo_event = document.createEventObject();             
argo_target.fireEvent( 'on' + lvs_event , lvo_event );
//-------- does not work on either my winXP IE6 or my winVista IE8


//-- REGARDING javascript's dispatchEvent (for non-IE browsers)
var lvo_event = argo_target.ownerDocument.createEvent('MouseEvents') ;
lvo_event.initMouseEvent( 'click' , ... ) ;
argo_target.dispatchEvent( lvo_event ) ;
//-------- does not work on winVista FF3.6

//-- REGARDING inserting location.href
<a href    = '...'
   target  = '...'
   onclick = '...;location.href = this.href;...'
>
<script>
my_a.onclick();
<\/script>
//-------- works consistently BUT literally calls the onclick handler, ignoring all other <_a_> properties such as href and target

//-- REGARDING various jQuery solutions
$('#my_a').trigger('click');
//OR
$('#my_a').click();
//-------- does not work on any browsers (jQuery IS successfully being used for other features however)

MY GOAL: for a flash button mousedown to relay message to js, which in turns automates a <a> click process.

I can of course let flash call js, get the necessary html info from js and return it to flash, which can then do a as3 geturl, but I would prefer to tie into my existing html environment process.

I am currently testing using various versions of ff, ie, opera, safari(for win), chrome on winXP and winVista.

You can check out this solution: stackoverflow.com/questions/9230308/… it should work in IE just fine. If not, what version of jquery do you use? — Aleksandar Vucetic
– Aleksandar Vucetic, Commented Feb 12, 2012 at 22:14
@elclanrs literally the process that begins when a user clicks a particular <_a_> ... if that particular <_a_> has various behaviors bound to its onclick handler, then those should be called. Likewise if that particular <_a_> has a target='_blank' then that should be observed. BUT not merely calling its onclick-assigned handler — dsdsdsdsd
– dsdsdsdsd, Commented Feb 12, 2012 at 22:23
Oh, then $('#my_a').trigger('click'); should work, don't know why it isn't working... — elclanrs
– elclanrs, Commented Feb 12, 2012 at 22:33
If solution from the link doesn't work, I would try with a newer version of jquery. — Aleksandar Vucetic
– Aleksandar Vucetic, Commented Feb 12, 2012 at 22:36

elclanrs · Accepted Answer · 2012-02-12 23:18:42Z

1

If you want to follow the url on trigger then you have to say so in the function:

html:

<a id="link" href="http://google.com">Link</a>
<a id="trigger" href="#">Trigger link</a>

jQ:

$('#link').click(function(){ alert('hey'); });
$('#trigger').click(function(){
    var $link = $('#link');
    $link.trigger('click');
    // window.location.href = $link.attr('href');
    window.open($link.attr('href'), '_blank'); // Popup blockers might block this
});

edited Feb 12, 2012 at 23:18

answered Feb 12, 2012 at 22:44

elclanrs

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8 Comments

dsdsdsdsd Over a year ago

elclanrs, thanks for responding. This however, does not truly simulate the process, but rather queries various features of the <_a_> and thus simulates those individual features. Which could work, but in my case it ignores the <_a_>'s target='_blank' requirement.

dsdsdsdsd Over a year ago

it should also be noted that this solution can be done, according to my testing, browser-safe using pure javascript: my_a_tag.onclick() along with the location.href=my_a_tag.href

dsdsdsdsd Over a year ago

lazy? I explained why your solution is not a solution after I tested it and determined what it does ... what part of that is lazy? Plus your solution ignores the target attribute ... see my original post.

elclanrs Over a year ago

I updated it with the target attribute! what I mean is that is so simple to do a google search for that.

dsdsdsdsd Over a year ago

elclanrs, you're wrong again ... window.open is the fundamental trigger for pop-up blockers ... web developers have been avoiding it since 2002.

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