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Element: before() method

The Element.before() method inserts a set of Node or string objects in the children list of this Element's parent, just before this Element. String objects are inserted as equivalent Text nodes.

Syntax

js

before(param1)
before(param1, param2)
before(param1, param2, /* …, */ paramN)

Parameters

param1, …, paramN

A set of Node or string objects to insert.

Return value

None (undefined).

Exceptions

HierarchyRequestError DOMException

Thrown when the node cannot be inserted at the specified point in the hierarchy.

Examples

Inserting an element

js

let container = document.createElement("div");
let p = document.createElement("p");
container.appendChild(p);
let span = document.createElement("span");

p.before(span);

console.log(container.outerHTML);
// "<div><span></span><p></p></div>"

Inserting text

js

let container = document.createElement("div");
let p = document.createElement("p");
container.appendChild(p);

p.before("Text");

console.log(container.outerHTML);
// "<div>Text<p></p></div>"

Inserting an element and text

js

let container = document.createElement("div");
let p = document.createElement("p");
container.appendChild(p);
let span = document.createElement("span");

p.before(span, "Text");

console.log(container.outerHTML);
// "<div><span></span>Text<p></p></div>"

Specifications

Browser compatibility

Desktop Mobile
Chrome Edge Firefox Internet Explorer Opera Safari WebView Android Chrome Android Firefox for Android Opera Android Safari on IOS Samsung Internet
before 54 17 49 No 39 10 54 54 49 41 10 6.0

See also

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Licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License v2.5 or later.
https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/API/Element/before