insertBefore Method

Inserts an element into the document hierarchy.

Syntax

oElement = object.insertBefore(oNewNode [, oChildNode])

Parameters

oNewNode Required. Object that specifies the new element to be inserted into the document hierarchy. Elements can be created with the createElement method.

oChildNode Optional. Object that specifies the new element to be inserted before this child element, if specified.

Return Value

Returns a reference to the element that is inserted into the document.

Remarks

Do not specify an oChildNode parameter when inserting the first child node. If children already exist and you do not specify the oChildNode parameter, the oNewNode becomes the last child of the parent object.

This method is accessible at run time. If elements are removed at run time, before the closing tag has been parsed, areas of the document might not render.

Example

This example uses the insertBefore method to insert a block of bold text into the document.

Sample Code

<HEAD>
<SCRIPT>
    function insertElement()
    {
        var nod=document.createElement("B");
        document.body.insertBefore(nod);
        nod.innerText="A New bold object has been
                    inserted into the document."
    }
</SCRIPT>
</HEAD>
<BODY>
<DIV ID=Div1 onclick="insertElement()">
Click here to insert a new bold element into this div.
</DIV>
</BODY>

Applies To

A, ACRONYM, ADDRESS, B, BDO, BIG, BLOCKQUOTE, BODY, BUTTON, CAPTION, CENTER, CITE, CODE, COL, COLGROUP, COMMENT, DD, DEL, DFN, DIR, DIV, DL, DT, EM, FIELDSET, FONT, FORM, FRAMESET, HEAD, Hn, HTML, I, IFRAME, INPUT type=button, INPUT type=checkbox, INPUT type=file, INPUT type=image, INPUT type=password, INPUT type=radio, INPUT type=reset, INPUT type=submit, INPUT type=text, INS, KBD, LABEL, LEGEND, LI, LISTING, MAP, MARQUEE, MENU, NEXTID, OBJECT, OL, OPTION, P, PLAINTEXT, PRE, Q, S, SAMP, SELECT, SMALL, SPAN, STRIKE, STRONG, SUB, SUP, TABLE, TBODY, TD, TEXTAREA, TFOOT, TH, THEAD, TR, TT, U, UL, VAR, XMP

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oNewNode	Required. Object that specifies the new element to be inserted into the document hierarchy. Elements can be created with the createElement method.
oChildNode	Optional. Object that specifies the new element to be inserted before this child element, if specified.