HTML DOM addEventListener() Method

Element Object

Example

Attach a click event to a <button> element. When the user clicks on the button, output "Hello World" in a <p> element with id="demo":

document.getElementById("myBtn").addEventListener("click", function(){
    document.getElementById("demo").innerHTML = "Hello World";
});

More "Try it Yourself" examples below.

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Definition and Usage

The addEventListener() method attaches an event handler to the specified element.
Tip: Use the removeEventListener() method to remove an event handler that has been attached with the addEventListener() method.
Tip: Use the document.addEventListener() method to attach an event handler to the document.

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Browser Support

The numbers in the table specify the first browser version that fully supports the method.

Method
addEventListener()	1.0	9.0	1.0	1.0	7.0

Note: The addEventListener() method is not supported in Internet Explorer 8 and earlier versions, and Opera 6.0 and earlier versions. However, for these specific browser versions, you can use the attachEvent() method to attach event handlers (see "More Examples" below for a cross-browser solution).

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Syntax

element.addEventListener(event, function, useCapture)

Parameter Values

Parameter	Description
event	Required. A String that specifies the name of the event. Note: Do not use the "on" prefix. For example, use "click" instead of "onclick". For a list of all HTML DOM events, look at our complete HTML DOM Event Object Reference.
function	Required. Specifies the function to run when the event occurs. When the event occurs, an event object is passed to the function as the first parameter. The type of the event object depends on the specified event. For example, the "click" event belongs to the MouseEvent object.
useCapture	Optional. A Boolean value that specifies whether the event should be executed in the capturing or in the bubbling phase. Possible values: true - The event handler is executed in the capturing phase false- Default. The event handler is executed in the bubbling phase

Technical Details

DOM Version:	DOM Level 2 Events
Return Value:	No return value
Changelog:	The useCapture parameter became optional in Firefox 6 and Opera 11.60 (has always been optional for Chrome, IE and Safari)