Document: elementFromPoint() method
Baseline
Widely available
This feature is well established and works across many devices and browser versions. It’s been available across browsers since July 2015.
The elementFromPoint()
method, available on the Document object, returns the topmost Element at the specified coordinates
(relative to the viewport).
If the element at the specified point belongs to another document (for example, the
document of an <iframe>), that document's parent element is returned
(the <iframe> itself). If the element at the given point is anonymous
or XBL generated content, such as a textbox's scroll bars, then the first non-anonymous
ancestor element (for example, the textbox) is returned.
Elements with pointer-events set to none will be ignored,
and the element below it will be returned.
If the method is run on another document (like an <iframe>'s
subdocument), the coordinates are relative to the document where the method is being
called.
If the specified point is outside the visible bounds of the document or either
coordinate is negative, the result is null.
If you need to find the specific position inside the element, use
Document.caretPositionFromPoint().
Syntax
elementFromPoint(x, y)
Parameters
Return value
The topmost Element object located at the specified coordinates.
Examples
This example creates two buttons which let you set the current color of the paragraph
element located under the coordinates (2, 2).
HTML
<p id="para1">Some text here</p>
<button>Blue</button>
<button>Red</button>
The HTML provides the paragraph whose color will be affected, as well as two buttons: one to change the color to blue, and another to change the color to red.
JavaScript
function changeColor(newColor) {
const elem = document.elementFromPoint(2, 2);
elem.style.color = newColor;
}
document.querySelectorAll("button").forEach((button) => {
button.addEventListener("click", (event) => {
changeColor(event.target.textContent.toLowerCase());
});
});
The changeColor() method obtains the element located at the specified
point, then sets that element's current foreground color property to the
color specified by the newColor parameter.
Result
Specifications
| Specification |
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| CSSOM View Module # dom-document-elementfrompoint |
Browser compatibility
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Legend
Tip: you can click/tap on a cell for more information.
- Full support
- Full support
- See implementation notes.