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HTML DOM addEventListener() Method

JavaScript addEventListener() with Examples

Last Updated : 10 Jan, 2025

The addEventListener() method is used to attach an event handler to a HTML document.

Syntax:

element.addEventListener(event, listener, useCapture);

Parameters:

event: event can be any valid JavaScript event. Events are used without “on” prefixes like using “click” instead of “onclick” or “mousedown” instead of “onmousedown”.
listener(handler function): It can be a JavaScript function that responds to the event occurring.
useCapture: It is an optional parameter used to control event propagation. A boolean value is passed where “true” denotes the capturing phase and “false” denotes the bubbling phase.

Why Use addEventListener()?

Multiple Event Handlers: Unlike the traditional way of assigning events directly (e.g., element.onclick = function() {}), addEventListener() allows multiple handlers for the same event.
Flexibility: You can easily remove event listeners or add them dynamically based on conditions.
Control Over Event Propagation: With the useCapture parameter, you can manage how events propagate through the DOM tree.

Example 1: In this example, we will display text on the webpage after clicking on the button.

HTML

<!DOCTYPE html> <html lang="en">  <head>     <meta charset="UTF-8">     <meta name="viewport"            content="width=device-width,                     initial-scale=1.0">     <title>JavaScript addEventListeners</title> </head>  <body>     <button id="try">Click here</button>     <h1 id="text"></h1>     <script>         document.getElementById("try").addEventListener("click", function () {             document.getElementById("text").innerText = "GeeksforGeeks";         });     </script> </body>  </html>

Output:

JavaScript addEventListener() with Examples

JavaScript addEventListener() with Examples

Example 2: In this example, two events “mouseover” and “mouseout” are added to the same element. If the text is hovered over then “mouseover” event occurs and the RespondMouseOver function is invoked, similarly for “mouseout” event RespondMouseOut function is invoked.

HTML

<!DOCTYPE html> <html lang="en">  <head>     <meta charset="UTF-8">     <meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width,     initial-scale=1.0">     <title>JavaScript addEventListeners</title> </head>  <body>     <button id="clickIt">Click here</button>      <p id="hoverPara">Hover over this Text !</p>       <b id="effect"></b>      <script>         const x = document.getElementById("clickIt");         const y = document.getElementById("hoverPara");          x.addEventListener("click", RespondClick);         y.addEventListener("mouseover", RespondMouseOver);         y.addEventListener("mouseout", RespondMouseOut);          function RespondMouseOver() {             document.getElementById("effect").innerHTML +=                 "MouseOver Event" + "<br>";         }          function RespondMouseOut() {             document.getElementById("effect").innerHTML +=                 "MouseOut Event" + "<br>";         }          function RespondClick() {             document.getElementById("effect").innerHTML +=                 "Click Event" + "<br>";         }     </script> </body>  </html>

Output:

JavaScript addEventListener() with Examples

JavaScript addEventListener() with Examples

Understanding Event Propagation with useCapture

In JavaScript, events propagate in two phases: the capturing phase and the bubbling phase.

Capturing Phase (useCapture = true): The event is captured as it descends from the document root towards the target element.
Bubbling Phase (useCapture = false): The event bubbles up from the target element back to the document root.

By specifying true for the useCapture parameter, you can handle the event in the capturing phase rather than the bubbling phase. This gives you control over how events are managed in nested elements.

HTML DOM addEventListener() Method

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