getElementsByTagName Method

DHTML, HTML, & CSS

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getElementsByName Method

getExpression Method

DHTML Methods

Web Workshop | DHTML, HTML & CSS

getElementsByTagName Method

Retrieves a collection of objects based on the specified element name.

Syntax

collObjects = document.getElementsByTagName(sTagName)

Parameters

sTagName Required. String that specifies the name of an element.

Return Value

Returns a collection of objects with the specified element name.

Remarks

The getElementsByTagName method is equivalent to using the tags method on the all collection. For example, the following code shows how to retrieve a collection of DIV elements from the BODY element, first using the DHTML Object Model and then the Document Object Model (DOM).
Using the DHTML Object Model:
var aDivs = document.body.all.tags("DIV");
Using the DOM:
var aDivs = document.body.getElementsByTagName("DIV");
When you use the getElementsByTagName method, all child elements with the specified tag name are returned.

Example

This example uses the getElementsByTagName method to return the children of a UL element based on the selected LI element.

Sample Code
<SCRIPT>
function fnGetTags(){
   var oWorkItem=event.srcElement;
   var aReturn=oWorkItem.parentElement.getElementsByTagName("LI");
   alert("Length: "
      + aReturn.length
      + "\nFirst Item: "
      + aReturn[0].childNodes[0].nodeValue);
}
</SCRIPT>
<UL onclick="fnGetTags()">
<LI>Item 1
   <UL>
      <LI>Sub Item 1.1
      <OL>
         <LI>Super Sub Item 1.1
         <LI>Super Sub Item 1.2
      </OL>
      <LI>Sub Item 1.2
      <LI>Sub Item 1.3
   </UL>		
<LI>Item 2
   <UL>
      <LI>Sub Item 2.1
      <LI>Sub Item 2.3
   </UL>
<LI>Item 3
</UL>
This feature requires Internet Explorer 5 or later. Click the icon below to install the latest version. Then reload this page to view the sample.

Applies To

[ Object Name ]

Platform Version

Win16:

Win32:

Mac:

Unix:

WinCE:

Version data is listed when the mouse hovers over a link, or the link has focus.

A, ACRONYM, ADDRESS, APPLET, AREA, B, BASE, BASEFONT, BDO, BGSOUND, BIG, BLOCKQUOTE, BODY, BR, BUTTON, CAPTION, CENTER, CITE, CODE, COL, COLGROUP, custom, DD, DEL, DFN, DIR, DIV, DL, document, DT, EM, EMBED, FIELDSET, FONT, FORM, FRAME, FRAMESET, HEAD, Hn, HR, HTML, I, IFRAME, IMG, INS, KBD, LABEL, LEGEND, LI, LINK, LISTING, MAP, MARQUEE, MENU, OL, P, PLAINTEXT, PRE, Q, S, SAMP, SCRIPT, SELECT, SMALL, SPAN, STRIKE, STRONG, SUB, SUP, TABLE, TBODY, TD, TEXTAREA, TFOOT, TH, THEAD, TITLE, TR, TT, U, UL, VAR, XMP