Uncovering Inline Styles Infused with Javascript for Effective Debugging of Javascript Code

SITUATION: I have recently inherited a website from the previous developer who has scattered important functions across numerous lengthy JS files. I am struggling to track down the source of an inline CSS style within the JS or identify which function is directly applying this style to the element.

QUERY: What techniques can be used to reverse engineer and trace back the origin of an element's inline styles?

Answer №1

If you're looking for a way to track down and debug style modifications in the DOM, one possible method is to utilize a DOM breakpoint within Chrome Dev Tools

To make this approach effective, it's important to set the breakpoint before the style changes are implemented. While this may be challenging at times, you can force a breakpoint to occur prior to any JavaScript loading by inserting the following code right after the relevant HTML element:

<script>debugger</script>

Here's how you can test it out with the provided code snippet:

  • Click on the "Run Code Snippet" button located below
  • Access Dev Tools from your browser
  • Right-click on the designated paragraph element
  • Choose Break On... -> Attribute modifications from the context menu
  • Click on the "Add border color" button as indicated
  • Observe the debugger in action as it halts at the script responsible for the style alteration

window.onload = function() {
    document.querySelector('button').addEventListener('click', function() {
         document.querySelector('p').style.border = '2px solid red';    
    });
}
<p> Sample Paragraph </p>
<button>Add border color</button>

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