Ways to determine whether LI contains UL descendants

Question

Ways to determine whether LI contains UL descendants

I am trying to determine if a specific list item (LI) contains an unordered list (UL) inside of it using jQuery. Here is the code structure I am working with:

<ul>
    <li class="static">
        <ul class="static">
        </ul>
    </li>
    <li class="static"></li>
</ul>

My goal is to execute a certain action when a user clicks on an LI element that has a child UL. This is what I have attempted so far:

if(li has children ul)
{
    do something
}

UPDATE

Unfortunately, my current approach always returns "YES" for all cases. Below is the jQuery code and HTML sample I am working with. In this HTML snippet, only "Link2" has a child UL, while Link1 and Link3 do not. I simply want to perform a task when the user clicks on an LI element that contains a child UL.

JAVASCRIPT CODE

$('#DeltaPlaceHolderLeftNavBar div > div > ul > li > a').click(function()
{
   if($('li:has(> ul)'))
      alert("yes");
  else
     alert("no");
});

HTML SNIPPET

<div class="ms-core-navigation" id="DeltaPlaceHolderLeftNavBar">
 <div id="ctl00_PlaceHolderLeftNavBar_QuickLaunchNavigationManager">
  <div class=" noindex ms-core-listMenu-verticalBox" id="zz14_V4QuickLaunchMenu">
   <ul class="root ms-core-listMenu-root static" id="zz15_RootAspMenu">
    <li class="static">
     <a href="link1.php" tabindex="0" class="someclass1">
      <span class="someclass2">
       <span class="menu-item-text">Link1</span>
      </span>
     </a>
    </li>
    <li class="static">
     <a href="link2.aspx" tabindex="0" class="someclass3">
      <span class="someclass2">
       <span class="menu-item-text">Link2</span>
      </span>
     </a>
     <ul class="static">
      <li class="static">
       <a href="Link2A.php" tabindex="0" class="someclass1">
        <span class="someclass2">
         <span class="menu-item-text">Link2A</span>
        </span>
       </a>
      </li>
      <li class="static">
       <a href="Link2B.php" tabindex="0" class="someclass1">
        <span class="someclass2">
         <span class="menu-item-text">Link2B</span>
        </span>
       </a>
      </li>
     </ul>
    </li>
    <li class="static">
     <a href="Link3.php" tabindex="0" class="someclass1">
      <span class="someclass2">
       <span class="menu-item-text">Link3</span>
      </span>
     </a>
    </li>
   </ul>
  </div>
 </div>
</div>

jquery html css

Answer 1

Answer №1

It seems like in your specific code, utilizing this is necessary to reference the clicked element and then locate the parent <li> from there in order to target only the <li> that triggered the click event:

$('#DeltaPlaceHolderLeftNavBar div > div > ul > li > a').click(function() {
   if($(this).closest("li").children("ul").length) {
       // the clicked on <li> has a <ul> as a direct child
   }
});

In jQuery, you have the option to use either .find("ul") or .children("ul") depending on whether you want to target immediate descendants exclusively or any descendant.

For instance, if you wish to determine if a certain <li> tag with an existing reference contains a <ul> as a direct child, you can do this:

if ($(el).children("ul").length) {
    // el has a ul as an immediate descendant
}

Alternatively, if the <ul> could be any descendant, you can utilize this approach:

if ($(el).find("ul").length) {
    // el has a ul as a descendant at any level
}

If your objective is to simply identify all the <li> tags with <ul> beneath them, you have two choices:

You can retrieve a list of all <li> tags with a nested <ul> like so:

var tags = $("li").filter(function() {
    return $(this).find("ul").length !== 0;
});

If you specifically seek immediate descendants, you can employ this method:

var tags = $("li").filter(function() {
    return $(this).children("ul").length !== 0;
});

Subsequently, you can manipulate those particular <li> tags by directly invoking a function on the jQuery object without necessitating the if statement:

var tags = $("li > ul").addClass("hasSubMenu");

Answer 2

It seems like in your specific code, utilizing this is necessary to reference the clicked element and then locate the parent <li> from there in order to target only the <li> that triggered the click event:

$('#DeltaPlaceHolderLeftNavBar div > div > ul > li > a').click(function() {
   if($(this).closest("li").children("ul").length) {
       // the clicked on <li> has a <ul> as a direct child
   }
});

In jQuery, you have the option to use either .find("ul") or .children("ul") depending on whether you want to target immediate descendants exclusively or any descendant.

For instance, if you wish to determine if a certain <li> tag with an existing reference contains a <ul> as a direct child, you can do this:

if ($(el).children("ul").length) {
    // el has a ul as an immediate descendant
}

Alternatively, if the <ul> could be any descendant, you can utilize this approach:

if ($(el).find("ul").length) {
    // el has a ul as a descendant at any level
}

If your objective is to simply identify all the <li> tags with <ul> beneath them, you have two choices:

You can retrieve a list of all <li> tags with a nested <ul> like so:

var tags = $("li").filter(function() {
    return $(this).find("ul").length !== 0;
});

If you specifically seek immediate descendants, you can employ this method:

var tags = $("li").filter(function() {
    return $(this).children("ul").length !== 0;
});

Subsequently, you can manipulate those particular <li> tags by directly invoking a function on the jQuery object without necessitating the if statement:

var tags = $("li > ul").addClass("hasSubMenu");

Answer 3

Answer №2

You have found exactly what you were searching for

$('li:has(> ul)');

JS Demo Link

Answer 4

You have found exactly what you were searching for

$('li:has(> ul)');

JS Demo Link

Answer 5

Answer №3

Try using the :has selector

For example:

$('#DeltaPlaceHolderLeftNavBar div > div > ul > li > a').click(function () {
    if ($(this).closest('li').has('ul').length) {
        alert("The element has a nested ul");
    } else {
        alert("The element does not have a nested ul");
    }
});

Answer 6

Try using the :has selector

For example:

$('#DeltaPlaceHolderLeftNavBar div > div > ul > li > a').click(function () {
    if ($(this).closest('li').has('ul').length) {
        alert("The element has a nested ul");
    } else {
        alert("The element does not have a nested ul");
    }
});

Answer 7

Answer №4

If you're looking for direct children under your list items, you can use this code:

if($('li>ul').length > 0){

}

Alternatively, if you want to search the entire list item for a ul element, you can try this:

if($('li').find('ul').length > 0){


}

EDIT

I missed the word 'certain' in your original post, so here's an update:

If you have a structure like ul > li > ul, I've simplified it for better understanding. Here's an example of how it works:

HTML:

<ul>
    <li><a href="#">Level 1</a>
        <ul>
            <li><a href="#">Level 2</a></li>
        </ul>
    </li>

</ul>

JS:

$("ul>li>a").click(function(e){
    if($(this).parent().find('ul').length > 0){
     alert('Yeah, we have a ul');   
    }else{
     alert('Nope, no ul');   
    }
});

http://jsfiddle.net/Milanzor/NsPP7/ (Example with My HTML)

and http://jsfiddle.net/Milanzor/NsPP7/1/ (Example with Your HTML)

Answer 8

If you're looking for direct children under your list items, you can use this code:

if($('li>ul').length > 0){

}

Alternatively, if you want to search the entire list item for a ul element, you can try this:

if($('li').find('ul').length > 0){


}

EDIT

I missed the word 'certain' in your original post, so here's an update:

If you have a structure like ul > li > ul, I've simplified it for better understanding. Here's an example of how it works:

HTML:

<ul>
    <li><a href="#">Level 1</a>
        <ul>
            <li><a href="#">Level 2</a></li>
        </ul>
    </li>

</ul>

JS:

$("ul>li>a").click(function(e){
    if($(this).parent().find('ul').length > 0){
     alert('Yeah, we have a ul');   
    }else{
     alert('Nope, no ul');   
    }
});

http://jsfiddle.net/Milanzor/NsPP7/ (Example with My HTML)

and http://jsfiddle.net/Milanzor/NsPP7/1/ (Example with Your HTML)

Answer 9

Answer №5

Another option is to utilize the length property

if($('li.dynamic').find('ul').length > 0) {
       //execute code here...
}

Answer 10

Another option is to utilize the length property

if($('li.dynamic').find('ul').length > 0) {
       //execute code here...
}

Answer 11

Answer №6

Checking if the immediate child of the current clicked list item (LI) contains an unordered list (UL), I utilize the following method to ensure that clicking on a submenu item does not collapse the previous menu:

HTML:

<nav>
    <ul>
       <li><a href="#">Item</a></li>
       <li><a href="#">Item</a></li>
       <li><a href="#">Item</a></li>
       <li><a href="#">Item</a>
             <ul>
                <li><a href="#">Sub Item</a></li>
                <li><a href="#">Sub Item</a></li>
                <li><a href="#">Sub Item</a></li>
             </ul>
       </li>
       <li><a href="#">Item</a>
             <ul>
                <li><a href="#">Sub Item</a></li>
                <li><a href="#">Sub Item</a></li>
                <li><a href="#">Sub Item</a></li>
             </ul>
       </li>
    </ul>
</nav>

Script:

var nav = $('nav');

nav.find('li>a').on('click',function(e){

    e.preventDefault();

    var $this = $(this);
    var $li = $this.parent();

    //set active state to clicked menu item:
    $li.addClass('active').siblings().removeClass('active open');

            //check for the presence of a UL after the A tag, indicating a submenu:
    if($this.next().is('ul')){
        $li.toggleClass('open');
    }

});

fiddle: https://jsfiddle.net/1fykp7wx/

Answer 12

Checking if the immediate child of the current clicked list item (LI) contains an unordered list (UL), I utilize the following method to ensure that clicking on a submenu item does not collapse the previous menu:

HTML:

<nav>
    <ul>
       <li><a href="#">Item</a></li>
       <li><a href="#">Item</a></li>
       <li><a href="#">Item</a></li>
       <li><a href="#">Item</a>
             <ul>
                <li><a href="#">Sub Item</a></li>
                <li><a href="#">Sub Item</a></li>
                <li><a href="#">Sub Item</a></li>
             </ul>
       </li>
       <li><a href="#">Item</a>
             <ul>
                <li><a href="#">Sub Item</a></li>
                <li><a href="#">Sub Item</a></li>
                <li><a href="#">Sub Item</a></li>
             </ul>
       </li>
    </ul>
</nav>

Script:

var nav = $('nav');

nav.find('li>a').on('click',function(e){

    e.preventDefault();

    var $this = $(this);
    var $li = $this.parent();

    //set active state to clicked menu item:
    $li.addClass('active').siblings().removeClass('active open');

            //check for the presence of a UL after the A tag, indicating a submenu:
    if($this.next().is('ul')){
        $li.toggleClass('open');
    }

});

fiddle: https://jsfiddle.net/1fykp7wx/

Answer 13

Answer №7

Selecting the elements with class "shop-nav", then finding the child div, ul, and li elements, followed by a ul element. Then selecting the previous li element and adding an attribute of data-toggle with value "dropdown".

Answer 14

Selecting the elements with class "shop-nav", then finding the child div, ul, and li elements, followed by a ul element. Then selecting the previous li element and adding an attribute of data-toggle with value "dropdown".

Answer 15

Answer №8

In my opinion, each approach caters to different needs. One possibility is to iterate through the list items (li) and check if they have unordered lists (ul) as children. If a list item contains a nested unordered list, you can modify its background color to red or customize it to your preference.

$('.top-menu > ul > li').each(function() {
    if ($(this).children('ul').length) {
        $(this).css('background', 'red');
    }
});

Answer 16

In my opinion, each approach caters to different needs. One possibility is to iterate through the list items (li) and check if they have unordered lists (ul) as children. If a list item contains a nested unordered list, you can modify its background color to red or customize it to your preference.

$('.top-menu > ul > li').each(function() {
    if ($(this).children('ul').length) {
        $(this).css('background', 'red');
    }
});

Ways to determine whether LI contains UL descendants

Answer №1

Answer №2

Answer №3

Answer №4

Answer №5

Answer №6

Answer №7

Answer №8

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