Document
========

The **`Document`** interface represents any web page loaded in the browser and serves as an entry point into the web page's content, which is the DOM tree.

The DOM tree includes elements such as `<body>` and `<table>`, among many others. It provides functionality globally to the document, like how to obtain the page's URL and create new elements in the document.

EventTarget

Node

Document
The `Document` interface describes the common properties and methods for any kind of document. Depending on the document's type (e.g. HTML, XML, SVG, …), a larger API is available: HTML documents, served with the `"text/html"` content type, also implement the `HTMLDocument` interface, whereas XML and SVG documents implement the `XMLDocument` interface.

Constructor
-----------

`Document()`

Creates a new `Document` object.

Instance properties
-------------------

*This interface also inherits from the `Node` and `EventTarget` interfaces.*

`Document.activeElement` Read only 

Returns the `Element` that currently has focus.

`Document.adoptedStyleSheets`

 Add an array of constructed stylesheets to be used by the document.
 These stylesheets may also be shared with shadow DOM subtrees of the same document.


`Document.body`

Returns the `<body>` or `<frameset>` node of the current document.

`Document.characterSet` Read only 

Returns the character set being used by the document.

`Document.childElementCount` Read only 

Returns the number of child elements of the current document.

`Document.children` Read only 

Returns the child elements of the current document.

`Document.compatMode` Read only 

Indicates whether the document is rendered in *quirks* or *strict* mode.

`Document.contentType` Read only 

Returns the Content-Type from the MIME Header of the current document.

`Document.currentScript` Read only 

Returns the `<script>` element whose script is currently being processed and isn't a JavaScript module.

`Document.doctype` Read only 

Returns the Document Type Definition (DTD) of the current document.

`Document.documentElement` Read only 

Returns the `Element` that is a direct child of the document. For HTML documents, this is normally the `HTMLHtmlElement` object representing the document's `<html>` element.

`Document.documentURI` Read only 

Returns the document location as a string.

`Document.embeds` Read only 

Returns an `HTMLCollection` of the embedded `<embed>` elements in the document.

`Document.featurePolicy` 
Experimental
 Read only 

Returns the `FeaturePolicy` interface with the feature policies applied to the document.

`Document.firstElementChild` Read only 

Returns the first child element of the current document.

`Document.fonts`

Returns the `FontFaceSet` interface of the current document.

`Document.forms` Read only 

Returns an `HTMLCollection` of the `<form>` elements in the document.

`Document.fragmentDirective` Read only  
Experimental

Returns the `FragmentDirective` for the current document.

`Document.fullscreenElement` Read only 

The element that's currently in full screen mode for this document.

`Document.head` Read only 

Returns the `<head>` element of the current document.

`Document.hidden` Read only 

Returns a Boolean value indicating if the page is considered hidden or not.

`Document.images` Read only 

Returns an `HTMLCollection` of the images in the document.

`Document.implementation` Read only 

Returns the DOM implementation associated with the current document.

`Document.lastElementChild` Read only 

Returns the last child element of the current document.

`Document.links` Read only 

Returns an `HTMLCollection` of the hyperlinks in the document.

`Document.pictureInPictureElement` Read only 

Returns the `Element` currently being presented in picture-in-picture mode in this document.

`Document.pictureInPictureEnabled` Read only 

Returns true if the picture-in-picture feature is enabled.

`Document.plugins` Read only 

Returns an `HTMLCollection` of the available plugins.

`Document.pointerLockElement` Read only 

Returns the element set as the target for mouse events while the pointer is locked. `null` if lock is pending, pointer is unlocked, or if the target is in another document.

`Document.prerendering` Read only  
Experimental

Returns a boolean that indicates whether the document is currently in the process of prerendering, as initiated via the Speculation Rules API.

`Document.scripts` Read only 

Returns an `HTMLCollection` of the `<script>` elements in the document.

`Document.scrollingElement` Read only 

Returns a reference to the `Element` that scrolls the document.

`Document.styleSheets` Read only 

Returns a `StyleSheetList` of `CSSStyleSheet` objects for stylesheets explicitly linked into, or embedded in a document.

`Document.timeline` Read only 

Returns timeline as a special instance of `DocumentTimeline` that is automatically created on page load.

`Document.visibilityState` Read only 

Returns a `string` denoting the visibility state of the document. Possible values are `visible`, `hidden`, `prerender`, and `unloaded`.

### Extensions for HTMLDocument

*The `Document` interface for HTML documents inherits from the `HTMLDocument` interface or is extended for such documents.*

`Document.cookie`

Returns a semicolon-separated list of the cookies for that document or sets a single cookie.

`Document.defaultView` Read only 

Returns a reference to the window object.

`Document.designMode`

Gets/sets the ability to edit the whole document.

`Document.dir`

Gets/sets directionality (rtl/ltr) of the document.

`Document.fullscreenEnabled` Read only 

Indicates whether fullscreen mode is available.

`Document.lastModified` Read only 

Returns the date on which the document was last modified.

`Document.location` Read only 

Returns the URI of the current document.

`Document.readyState` Read only 

Returns loading status of the document.

`Document.referrer` Read only 

Returns the URI of the page that linked to this page.

`Document.title`

Sets or gets the title of the current document.

`Document.URL` Read only 

Returns the document location as a string.

### Deprecated properties

`Document.alinkColor` 
Deprecated

Returns or sets the color of active links in the document body.

`Document.all` 
Deprecated

Provides access to all elements in the document — it returns an `HTMLAllCollection` rooted at the document node. This is a legacy, non-standard property and should not be used.

`Document.anchors` 
Deprecated
 Read only 

Returns a list of all of the anchors in the document.

`Document.applets` 
Deprecated
 Read only 

Returns an empty `HTMLCollection`. Legacy property that used to return the list of applets within a document.

`Document.bgColor` 
Deprecated

Gets/sets the background color of the current document.

`Document.charset` 
Deprecated
 Read only 

Alias of `Document.characterSet`. Use this property instead.

`Document.domain` 
Deprecated

Gets/sets the domain of the current document.

`Document.fgColor` 
Deprecated

Gets/sets the foreground color, or text color, of the current document.

`Document.fullscreen` 
Deprecated

Returns `true` when the document is in fullscreen mode.

`Document.inputEncoding` 
Deprecated
 Read only 

Alias of `Document.characterSet`. Use this property instead.

`Document.lastStyleSheetSet` 
Deprecated
 Read only  
Non-standard

Returns the name of the style sheet set that was last enabled. Has the value `null` until the style sheet is changed by setting the value of `selectedStyleSheetSet`.

`Document.linkColor` 
Deprecated

Gets/sets the color of hyperlinks in the document.

`Document.preferredStyleSheetSet` 
Deprecated
 Read only  
Non-standard

Returns the preferred style sheet set as specified by the page author.

`Document.rootElement` 
Deprecated

Like `Document.documentElement`, but only for `<svg>` root elements. Use this property instead.

`Document.selectedStyleSheetSet` 
Deprecated

Non-standard

Returns which style sheet set is currently in use.

`Document.styleSheetSets` 
Deprecated
 Read only  
Non-standard

Returns a list of the style sheet sets available on the document.

`Document.vlinkColor` 
Deprecated

Gets/sets the color of visited hyperlinks.

`Document.xmlEncoding` 
Deprecated

Returns the encoding as determined by the XML declaration.

`Document.xmlStandalone` 
Deprecated

Returns `true` if the XML declaration specifies the document to be standalone (*e.g.,* An external part of the DTD affects the document's content), else `false`.

`Document.xmlVersion` 
Deprecated

Returns the version number as specified in the XML declaration or `"1.0"` if the declaration is absent.

Instance methods
----------------

*This interface also inherits from the `Node` and `EventTarget` interfaces.*

`Document.adoptNode()`

Adopt node from an external document.

`Document.append()`

Inserts a set of `Node` objects or string objects after the last child of the document.

`Document.captureEvents()` 
Deprecated

See `Window.captureEvents`.

`Document.caretPositionFromPoint()`

Returns a `CaretPosition` object containing the DOM node containing the caret, and caret's character offset within that node.

`Document.caretRangeFromPoint()` 
Non-standard

Gets a `Range` object for the document fragment under the specified coordinates.

`Document.createAttribute()`

Creates a new `Attr` object and returns it.

`Document.createAttributeNS()`

Creates a new attribute node in a given namespace and returns it.

`Document.createCDATASection()`

Creates a new CDATA node and returns it.

`Document.createComment()`

Creates a new comment node and returns it.

`Document.createDocumentFragment()`

Creates a new document fragment.

`Document.createElement()`

Creates a new element with the given tag name.

`Document.createElementNS()`

Creates a new element with the given tag name and namespace URI.

`Document.createEvent()`

Creates an event object.

`Document.createNodeIterator()`

Creates a `NodeIterator` object.

`Document.createProcessingInstruction()`

Creates a new `ProcessingInstruction` object.

`Document.createRange()`

Creates a `Range` object.

`Document.createTextNode()`

Creates a text node.

`Document.createTouch()` 
Deprecated

Non-standard

Creates a `Touch` object.

`Document.createTouchList()` 
Deprecated

Non-standard

Creates a `TouchList` object.

`Document.createTreeWalker()`

Creates a `TreeWalker` object.

`Document.elementFromPoint()`

Returns the topmost element at the specified coordinates.

`Document.elementsFromPoint()`

Returns an array of all elements at the specified coordinates.

`Document.enableStyleSheetsForSet()` 
Deprecated

Non-standard

Enables the style sheets for the specified style sheet set.

`Document.exitFullscreen()`

Stops document's fullscreen element from being displayed fullscreen.

`Document.exitPictureInPicture()`

Remove the video from the floating picture-in-picture window back to its original container.

`Document.exitPointerLock()`

Release the pointer lock.

`Document.getAnimations()`

Returns an array of all `Animation` objects currently in effect, whose target elements are descendants of the `document`.

`Document.getBoxQuads()` 
Experimental

Returns a list of `DOMQuad` objects representing the CSS fragments of the node.

`Document.getElementById()`

Returns an object reference to the identified element.

`Document.getElementsByClassName()`

Returns a list of elements with the given class name.

`Document.getElementsByTagName()`

Returns a list of elements with the given tag name.

`Document.getElementsByTagNameNS()`

Returns a list of elements with the given tag name and namespace.

`Document.getSelection()`

Returns a `Selection` object representing the range of text selected by the user, or the current position of the caret.

`Document.hasStorageAccess()`

Returns a `Promise` that resolves with a boolean value indicating whether the document has access to unpartitioned cookies.

`Document.importNode()`

Returns a clone of a node from an external document.

`Document.mozSetImageElement()` 
Non-standard

Allows you to change the element being used as the background image for a specified element ID.

`Document.prepend()`

Inserts a set of `Node` objects or string objects before the first child of the document.

`Document.querySelector()`

Returns the first Element node within the document, in document order, that matches the specified selectors.

`Document.querySelectorAll()`

Returns a list of all the Element nodes within the document that match the specified selectors.

`Document.releaseCapture()` 
Non-standard

Releases the current mouse capture if it's on an element in this document.

`Document.releaseEvents()` 
Deprecated

See `Window.releaseEvents()`.

`Document.replaceChildren()`

Replaces the existing children of a document with a specified new set of children.

`Document.requestStorageAccess()`

Allows a document loaded in a third-party context (i.e. embedded in an `<iframe>`) to request access to unpartitioned cookies, in cases where user agents by default block access to unpartitioned cookies by sites loaded in a third-party context to improve privacy.

`Document.requestStorageAccessFor()` 
Experimental

Allows top-level sites to request third-party cookie access on behalf of embedded content originating from another site in the same related website set.

`Document.startViewTransition()` 
Experimental

Starts a new view transition and returns a `ViewTransition` object to represent it.

The `Document` interface is extended with the `XPathEvaluator` interface:

`Document.createExpression()`

Compiles an `XPathExpression` which can then be used for (repeated) evaluations.

`Document.createNSResolver()`

Creates an `XPathNSResolver` object.

`Document.evaluate()`

Evaluates an XPath expression.

### Extension for HTML documents

The `Document` interface for HTML documents inherit from the `HTMLDocument` interface or is extended for such documents:

`Document.clear()` 
Deprecated

This method does nothing.

`Document.close()`

Closes a document stream for writing.

`Document.execCommand()` 
Deprecated

On an editable document, executes a formatting command.

`Document.getElementsByName()`

Returns a list of elements with the given name.

`Document.hasFocus()`

Returns `true` if the focus is currently located anywhere inside the specified document.

`Document.open()`

Opens a document stream for writing.

`Document.queryCommandEnabled()` 
Deprecated

Non-standard

Returns true if the formatting command can be executed on the current range.

`Document.queryCommandIndeterm()` 
Deprecated

Returns true if the formatting command is in an indeterminate state on the current range.

`Document.queryCommandState()` 
Deprecated

Non-standard

Returns true if the formatting command has been executed on the current range.

`Document.queryCommandSupported()` 
Deprecated

Non-standard

Returns true if the formatting command is supported on the current range.

`Document.queryCommandValue()` 
Deprecated

Returns the current value of the current range for a formatting command.

`Document.write()`

Writes text in a document.

`Document.writeln()`

Writes a line of text in a document.

Events
------

Listen to these events using `addEventListener()` or by assigning an event listener to the `oneventname` property of this interface. In addition to the events listed below, many events can bubble from nodes contained in the document tree.

`afterscriptexecute` 
Non-standard

Fired when a static `<script>` element finishes executing its script

`beforescriptexecute` 
Non-standard

Fired when a static `<script>` is about to start executing.

`prerenderingchange` 
Experimental

Fired on a prerendered document when it is activated (i.e. the user views the page).

`securitypolicyviolation`

Fired when a content security policy is violated.

`visibilitychange`

Fired when the content of a tab has become visible or has been hidden.

### Clipboard events

`copy`

Fired when the user initiates a copy action through the browser's user interface.

`cut`

Fired when the user initiates a cut action through the browser's user interface.

`paste`

Fired when the user initiates a paste action through the browser's user interface.

### Fullscreen events

`fullscreenchange`

Fired when the `Document` transitions into or out of fullscreen mode.

`fullscreenerror`

Fired if an error occurs while attempting to switch into or out of fullscreen mode.

### Load & unload events

`DOMContentLoaded`

Fired when the document has been completely loaded and parsed, without waiting for stylesheets, images, and subframes to finish loading.

`readystatechange`

Fired when the `readyState` attribute of a document has changed.

### Pointer lock events

`pointerlockchange`

Fired when the pointer is locked/unlocked.

`pointerlockerror`

Fired when locking the pointer failed.

### Scroll events

`scroll`

Fired when the document view or an element has been scrolled.

`scrollend`

Fired when the document view or an element has been scrolled.

### Selection events

`selectionchange`

Fired when the current text selection on a document is changed.

Specifications
--------------

| Specification |
| --- |
| DOM Standard # interface-document |
| HTML Standard # the-document-object |
| CSSOM View Module # extensions-to-the-document-interface |
| Pointer Lock 2.0 # extensions-to-the-document-interface |
| Selection API # extensions-to-document-interface |

Browser compatibility
---------------------

BCD tables only load in the browser with JavaScript enabled. Enable JavaScript to view data.