THE WORLD'S LARGEST WEB DEVELOPER SITE

JS Reference

JS by Category JS by Alphabet

JavaScript

JS Array JS Boolean JS Classes JS Date JS Error JS Global JS JSON JS Math JS Number JS Operators JS RegExp JS Statements JS String

HTML DOM

DOM Attribute DOM Console DOM Document DOM Element DOM Events DOM Event Objects DOM Geolocation DOM History DOM HTMLCollection DOM Location DOM Navigator DOM Screen DOM Style
alignContent alignItems alignSelf animation animationDelay animationDirection animationDuration animationFillMode animationIterationCount animationName animationTimingFunction animationPlayState background backgroundAttachment backgroundColor backgroundImage backgroundPosition backgroundRepeat backgroundClip backgroundOrigin backgroundSize backfaceVisibility border borderBottom borderBottomColor borderBottomLeftRadius borderBottomRightRadius borderBottomStyle borderBottomWidth borderCollapse borderColor borderImage borderImageOutset borderImageRepeat borderImageSlice borderImageSource borderImageWidth borderLeft borderLeftColor borderLeftStyle borderLeftWidth borderRadius borderRight borderRightColor borderRightStyle borderRightWidth borderSpacing borderStyle borderTop borderTopColor borderTopLeftRadius borderTopRightRadius borderTopStyle borderTopWidth borderWidth bottom boxShadow boxSizing captionSide clear clip color columnCount columnFill columnGap columnRule columnRuleColor columnRuleStyle columnRuleWidth columns columnSpan columnWidth counterIncrement counterReset cursor direction display emptyCells filter flex flexBasis flexDirection flexFlow flexGrow flexShrink flexWrap cssFloat font fontFamily fontSize fontStyle fontVariant fontWeight fontSizeAdjust height isolation justifyContent left letterSpacing lineHeight listStyle listStyleImage listStylePosition listStyleType margin marginBottom marginLeft marginRight marginTop maxHeight maxWidth minHeight minWidth objectFit objectPosition opacity order orphans outline outlineColor outlineOffset outlineStyle outlineWidth overflow overflowX overflowY padding paddingBottom paddingLeft paddingRight paddingTop pageBreakAfter pageBreakBefore pageBreakInside perspective perspectiveOrigin position quotes resize right tableLayout tabSize textAlign textAlignLast textDecoration textDecorationColor textDecorationLine textDecorationStyle textIndent textOverflow textShadow textTransform top transform transformOrigin transformStyle transition transitionProperty transitionDuration transitionTimingFunction transitionDelay unicodeBidi userSelect verticalAlign visibility width wordBreak wordSpacing wordWrap widows zIndex
DOM Window WEB Storage

HTML Objects

<a> <abbr> <address> <area> <article> <aside> <audio> <b> <base> <bdo> <blockquote> <body> <br> <button> <canvas> <caption> <cite> <code> <col> <colgroup> <datalist> <dd> <del> <details> <dfn> <dialog> <div> <dl> <dt> <em> <embed> <fieldset> <figcaption> <figure> <footer> <form> <head> <header> <h1> - <h6> <hr> <html> <i> <iframe> <img> <ins> <input> button <input> checkbox <input> color <input> date <input> datetime <input> datetime-local <input> email <input> file <input> hidden <input> image <input> month <input> number <input> password <input> radio <input> range <input> reset <input> search <input> submit <input> text <input> time <input> url <input> week <kbd> <label> <legend> <li> <link> <map> <mark> <menu> <menuitem> <meta> <meter> <nav> <object> <ol> <optgroup> <option> <output> <p> <param> <pre> <progress> <q> <s> <samp> <script> <section> <select> <small> <source> <span> <strong> <style> <sub> <summary> <sup> <table> <tbody> <td> <tfoot> <th> <thead> <tr> <textarea> <time> <title> <track> <u> <ul> <var> <video>

Other References

CSSStyleDeclaration JS Conversion


HTML DOM insertBefore() Method

Element Object

Example

Insert a new <li> element before the first child element of an <ul> element:

var newItem = document.createElement("LI");       // Create a <li> node
var textnode = document.createTextNode("Water");  // Create a text node
newItem.appendChild(textnode);                    // Append the text to <li>

var list = document.getElementById("myList");    // Get the <ul> element to insert a new node
list.insertBefore(newItem, list.childNodes[0]);  // Insert <li> before the first child of <ul>
Try it Yourself »

More "Try it Yourself" examples below.


Definition and Usage

The insertBefore() method inserts a node as a child, right before an existing child, which you specify.

Tip: If you want to create a new list item, with text, remember to create the text as a Text node which you append to the <li> element, then insert <li> to the list.

You can also use the insertBefore method to insert/move an existing element (See "More Examples").


Browser Support

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

Method
insertBefore() Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes

Syntax

node.insertBefore(newnode, existingnode)

Parameter Values

Parameter Type Description
newnode Node object Required. The node object you want to insert
existingnode Node object Required. The child node you want to insert the new node before. If set to null, the insertBefore method will insert the newnode at the end


Technical Details

Return Value: A Node Object, representing the inserted node
DOM Version Core Level 1 Node Object

More Examples

Example

Move a <li> element from one list to another:

var node = document.getElementById("myList2").lastChild;
var list = document.getElementById("myList1");
list.insertBefore(node, list.childNodes[0]);
Try it Yourself »

Element Object