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Node.rootNode

Obsolete
This feature is obsolete. Although it may still work in some browsers, its use is discouraged since it could be removed at any time. Try to avoid using it.

Important: For compatibility reasons, this property has been replaced by the Node.getRootNode() method.

The Node.rootNode read-only property returns a Node object representing the topmost node in the tree, or the current node if it's the topmost node in the tree. This is found by walking backward along Node.parentNode until the top is reached.

Syntax

rootNode = node.rootNode;

Value

A Node object representing the topmost node in the tree.

Example

Running the following line in supporting browsers should return a reference to the HTML/document node:

console.log(document.body.rootNode);

Notes

Gecko-based browsers insert text nodes into a document to represent whitespace in the source markup. Therefore a node obtained, for example, using Node.firstChild or Node.previousSibling may refer to a whitespace text node rather than the actual element the author intended to get.

See Whitespace in the DOM and W3C DOM 3 FAQ: Why are some Text nodes empty? for more information.

Specifications

Specification Status Comment
DOM
The definition of 'Node.rootNode' in that specification.
Living Standard Initial definition.

Browser compatibilityUpdate compatibility data on GitHub

Desktop
Chrome Edge Firefox Internet Explorer Opera Safari
Basic support No ? No ? No ?
Mobile
Android webview Chrome for Android Edge Mobile Firefox for Android Opera for Android iOS Safari Samsung Internet
Basic support No No ? No No ? No

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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/Node/rootNode