Enable a function to be triggered when clicking on an entire div

Question

Enable a function to be triggered when clicking on an entire div

In my code, I have set an eventHandler on the document itself that targets a specific element with an id. This targeted element is a div containing some content. The eventHandler is triggered by a 'click' action on the document. However, I have encountered an issue where clicking on elements inside the div does not trigger the eventHandler. I need to click on the edge of the div for the eventHandler to work correctly.

Is there a solution to this problem? I considered adding an a-element with height/width = 100%, but I'm unsure how to make it execute a JavaScript function rather than redirecting to a link.

Here's a snippet of the relevant code:

var inner = createDiv(['page-content', 'small-page-content', 'hover']);

document.addEventListener('click', function (e) {
  if (hasId(e.target, index.toString())) {
    makeLarge(index);
  }
}, false);

function hasId(elem, id) {
    return elem.id == id;
}

function createDiv(classes=[]) {
  var div = document.createElement('div');
  for (var i = 0; i<classes.length; i++) {
    div.classList.add(classes[i]);
  }
  return div;
}

The value of index.toSring() is used as the id for the div. This particular div contains an image element, an h1 element, and two sub-divs each having an h3 element and an ol list. My goal is to make the entire div clickable. Currently, only the edges are clickable while elements like images are not responsive to clicks.

For more context, please refer to this JSFiddle example. In the provided example, you can see that the text within the div is not clickable, but the edges of the div respond to clicks (where the div is uncovered by other elements).

Please provide solutions using plain JavaScript without jQuery.

javascript html css

Answer 1

Answer №1

This method doesn't automatically make the div clickable, but offers a fresh perspective on achieving the desired outcome by adjusting your approach slightly. Instead of simply checking if e.target is equal to #target, consider verifying if e.target is a descendant of #target.

A small tweak inspired by this response allows us to implement this functionality with the following function:

function isDescendant(parentId, child) {
     var node = child.parentNode;
     var parent = document.getElementById(parentId);
     while (node != null) {
         if (node == parent) {
             return true;
         }
         node = node.parentNode;
     }
     return false;
}

You can update your condition to

if (hasId(e.target, 'target') || isDescendant('target', e.target))

.

Check out the outcome in this revised JSFiddle link

Answer 2

This method doesn't automatically make the div clickable, but offers a fresh perspective on achieving the desired outcome by adjusting your approach slightly. Instead of simply checking if e.target is equal to #target, consider verifying if e.target is a descendant of #target.

A small tweak inspired by this response allows us to implement this functionality with the following function:

function isDescendant(parentId, child) {
     var node = child.parentNode;
     var parent = document.getElementById(parentId);
     while (node != null) {
         if (node == parent) {
             return true;
         }
         node = node.parentNode;
     }
     return false;
}

You can update your condition to

if (hasId(e.target, 'target') || isDescendant('target', e.target))

.

Check out the outcome in this revised JSFiddle link

Answer 3

Answer №2

One of the reasons why only the edges of your div are clickable is because the child elements do not share the same id as the div itself (and they shouldn't).

As suggested by @jasper, you could overlay another div on top of your current one to capture the clicks. However, this solution may lead to new problems such as difficulty in selecting text within that div or completing inputs.

Instead, a better approach in this scenario would be to implement event delegation.

Check out the updated fiddle or refer to the inline example below:

(function () {
    "use strict";
    var target = document.getElementById('target'),
        sayHeyo = function (elem) {
            alert('heyo from ' + elem);
        };
    target.addEventListener('click', function (e) {
      console.log(e.target.tagName + ' was clicked');
      sayHeyo(e.target.tagName);
    }, false);
}());

#target {
  border: 1px solid;
  background-color: red;
}

<div id="outer">
  <div id="target">
  <h1>
  I'm a clickable H1 element! <span>I'm a clickable SPAN element inside the H1 element!</span>
  </h1>
  </div>
  <div id="not-target">
  <h1>
  I'm another H1, not inside #target and therefore not clickable. <span>This is a SPAN (also not inside #target and therefore not clickable either)!</span>
  </h1>
  </div>
</div>

Answer 4

One of the reasons why only the edges of your div are clickable is because the child elements do not share the same id as the div itself (and they shouldn't).

As suggested by @jasper, you could overlay another div on top of your current one to capture the clicks. However, this solution may lead to new problems such as difficulty in selecting text within that div or completing inputs.

Instead, a better approach in this scenario would be to implement event delegation.

Check out the updated fiddle or refer to the inline example below:

(function () {
    "use strict";
    var target = document.getElementById('target'),
        sayHeyo = function (elem) {
            alert('heyo from ' + elem);
        };
    target.addEventListener('click', function (e) {
      console.log(e.target.tagName + ' was clicked');
      sayHeyo(e.target.tagName);
    }, false);
}());

#target {
  border: 1px solid;
  background-color: red;
}

<div id="outer">
  <div id="target">
  <h1>
  I'm a clickable H1 element! <span>I'm a clickable SPAN element inside the H1 element!</span>
  </h1>
  </div>
  <div id="not-target">
  <h1>
  I'm another H1, not inside #target and therefore not clickable. <span>This is a SPAN (also not inside #target and therefore not clickable either)!</span>
  </h1>
  </div>
</div>

Answer 5

Answer №3

If I were to enhance the functionality, I might consider creating a new div element with the class "overlay". This overlay would have a z-index of 100 and occupy the entire width and height of its parent container. To allow for clickable elements within the main index div, it could be styled with either z-index: 0 or pointer-events:none.

An implementation of this concept could resemble the following code snippet:


var indexOverlay = document.querySelector('.overlay');

indexOverlay.addEventListener('click', function(e){
   // Implement desired actions
   e.target.style.zIndex = "-1";
   e.target.style.pointerEvents = "none";
)};

Answer 6

If I were to enhance the functionality, I might consider creating a new div element with the class "overlay". This overlay would have a z-index of 100 and occupy the entire width and height of its parent container. To allow for clickable elements within the main index div, it could be styled with either z-index: 0 or pointer-events:none.

An implementation of this concept could resemble the following code snippet:


var indexOverlay = document.querySelector('.overlay');

indexOverlay.addEventListener('click', function(e){
   // Implement desired actions
   e.target.style.zIndex = "-1";
   e.target.style.pointerEvents = "none";
)};

Enable a function to be triggered when clicking on an entire div

Answer №1

Answer №2

Answer №3

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