← Back to jQuery Course | Chapter 3: Events | Lesson 7 of 11

The jQuery Event Object

The event object tells you what type of event occurred.

In this page:

  1. Event Type
  2. Target Element
  3. Current Target
  4. Mouse Coordinates
  5. Prevent Default
Syntax
javascript 
$(selector).on("eventName", function (event) {
  event.preventDefault();
  event.stopPropagation();
  event.target;
});

Event Type

Every event handler receives an event object, and its type property tells you exactly which kind of event fired, useful when one function is shared across several event types.

Example: Event Type

javascript 
<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<head>
  <script src="https://code.jquery.com/jquery-3.7.1.min.js"></script>
  <style>
    button { padding:6px 14px; margin:4px; background:#2c6aa0; color:white; border:none; border-radius:4px; cursor:pointer; }
    #resetBtn { background:white; color:#2c6aa0; border:1px solid #2c6aa0; }
    #output { margin-top:10px; padding:8px; border:1px solid #ccc; border-radius:4px; background:#f7f7f7; font-family:monospace; min-height:24px; }
    #demo :where(p, div, span, li, h1, h2, h3, h4, td, th, blockquote, label, section, article, aside) { border:1px solid #4a7fb5; background:#eaf2fb; padding:6px 10px; margin:4px 0; border-radius:4px; }
    #demo :where(ul, ol) { border:1px dashed #888; background:#fafafa; padding:8px 8px 8px 32px; margin:6px 0; }
    #demo :where(table) { border-collapse:collapse; }
    #demo :where(td, th) { border-radius:0; }
    #demo :where(input, select, textarea) { margin:4px 0; }
  </style>
</head>
<body>
  <button id="resetBtn">Reset</button>
  <section id="demo">
    <button id="btn">Click or hover</button>

  </section>
  <div id="output"></div>
  <script>
    var original = $("#demo").html();

    function init() {
      $("#btn").on("click mouseenter", function(event) {
        $("#output").append($("<div>").text("Event type: " + event.type));
      });
    }
    init();

    $("#resetBtn").click(function() {
      $("#demo").html(original);
      $("#output").empty();
      init();
    });
  </script>
</body>
</html>

Target Element

event.target is the original element that received the event, which may be a child element nested deep inside whatever you actually attached the handler to.

Example: Target Element

javascript 
<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<head>
  <script src="https://code.jquery.com/jquery-3.7.1.min.js"></script>
  <style>
    #box { background:steelblue; color:#1a1a1a; padding:10px; border-radius:4px; display:inline-block; margin:10px 0; }
    button { padding:6px 14px; margin:4px; background:#2c6aa0; color:white; border:none; border-radius:4px; cursor:pointer; }
    #resetBtn { background:white; color:#2c6aa0; border:1px solid #2c6aa0; }
    #output { margin-top:10px; padding:8px; border:1px solid #ccc; border-radius:4px; background:#f7f7f7; font-family:monospace; min-height:24px; }
    #demo :where(p, div, span, li, h1, h2, h3, h4, td, th, blockquote, label, section, article, aside) { border:1px solid #4a7fb5; background:#eaf2fb; padding:6px 10px; margin:4px 0; border-radius:4px; }
    #demo :where(ul, ol) { border:1px dashed #888; background:#fafafa; padding:8px 8px 8px 32px; margin:6px 0; }
    #demo :where(table) { border-collapse:collapse; }
    #demo :where(td, th) { border-radius:0; }
    #demo :where(input, select, textarea) { margin:4px 0; }
  </style>
</head>
<body>
  <button id="resetBtn">Reset</button>
  <section id="demo">
    <div id="box"><span>Inner text</span></div>

  </section>
  <div id="output"></div>
  <script>
    var original = $("#demo").html();

    function init() {
      $("#box").on("click", function(event) {
        $("#output").append($("<div>").text("Target: " + event.target.tagName));
      });
    }
    init();

    $("#resetBtn").click(function() {
      $("#demo").html(original);
      $("#output").empty();
      init();
    });
  </script>
</body>
</html>

Current Target

event.currentTarget is always the element the handler was directly attached to, which can differ from event.target when the event bubbled up from a descendant -- this distinction matters most in delegated events.

Example: Current Target

javascript 
<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<head>
  <script src="https://code.jquery.com/jquery-3.7.1.min.js"></script>
  <style>
    #box { background:steelblue; color:#1a1a1a; padding:10px; border-radius:4px; display:inline-block; margin:10px 0; }
    button { padding:6px 14px; margin:4px; background:#2c6aa0; color:white; border:none; border-radius:4px; cursor:pointer; }
    #resetBtn { background:white; color:#2c6aa0; border:1px solid #2c6aa0; }
    #output { margin-top:10px; padding:8px; border:1px solid #ccc; border-radius:4px; background:#f7f7f7; font-family:monospace; min-height:24px; }
    #demo :where(p, div, span, li, h1, h2, h3, h4, td, th, blockquote, label, section, article, aside) { border:1px solid #4a7fb5; background:#eaf2fb; padding:6px 10px; margin:4px 0; border-radius:4px; }
    #demo :where(ul, ol) { border:1px dashed #888; background:#fafafa; padding:8px 8px 8px 32px; margin:6px 0; }
    #demo :where(table) { border-collapse:collapse; }
    #demo :where(td, th) { border-radius:0; }
    #demo :where(input, select, textarea) { margin:4px 0; }
  </style>
</head>
<body>
  <button id="resetBtn">Reset</button>
  <section id="demo">
    <div id="box"><span>Inner text</span></div>

  </section>
  <div id="output"></div>
  <script>
    var original = $("#demo").html();

    function init() {
      $("#box").on("click", function(event) {
        $("#output").append($("<div>").text("currentTarget: " + event.currentTarget.id + "target: " + event.target.tagName));
      });
    }
    init();

    $("#resetBtn").click(function() {
      $("#demo").html(original);
      $("#output").empty();
      init();
    });
  </script>
</body>
</html>

Mouse Coordinates

Mouse events carry coordinate properties like clientX and clientY, giving you the pointer's position relative to the browser viewport at the moment the event fired.

Example: Mouse Coordinates

javascript 
<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<head>
  <script src="https://code.jquery.com/jquery-3.7.1.min.js"></script>
  <style>
    button { padding:6px 14px; margin:4px; background:#2c6aa0; color:white; border:none; border-radius:4px; cursor:pointer; }
    #resetBtn { background:white; color:#2c6aa0; border:1px solid #2c6aa0; }
    #output { margin-top:10px; padding:8px; border:1px solid #ccc; border-radius:4px; background:#f7f7f7; font-family:monospace; min-height:24px; }
    #demo :where(p, div, span, li, h1, h2, h3, h4, td, th, blockquote, label, section, article, aside) { border:1px solid #4a7fb5; background:#eaf2fb; padding:6px 10px; margin:4px 0; border-radius:4px; }
    #demo :where(ul, ol) { border:1px dashed #888; background:#fafafa; padding:8px 8px 8px 32px; margin:6px 0; }
    #demo :where(table) { border-collapse:collapse; }
    #demo :where(td, th) { border-radius:0; }
    #demo :where(input, select, textarea) { margin:4px 0; }
  </style>
</head>
<body>
  <button id="resetBtn">Reset</button>
  <section id="demo">
    <div id="pad" style="height:100px">Move mouse here</div>

  </section>
  <div id="output"></div>
  <script>
    var original = $("#demo").html();

    function init() {
      $("#pad").on("mousemove", function(event) {
        $("#output").append($("<div>").text("X: " + event.clientX + "Y: " + event.clientY));
      });
    }
    init();

    $("#resetBtn").click(function() {
      $("#demo").html(original);
      $("#output").empty();
      init();
    });
  </script>
</body>
</html>

Prevent Default

Calling event.preventDefault() stops the browser's normal built-in action for that event, such as following a link's href or submitting a form, without stopping the event from continuing to propagate.

Example: Prevent Default

javascript 
<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<head>
  <script src="https://code.jquery.com/jquery-3.7.1.min.js"></script>
  <style>
    button { padding:6px 14px; margin:4px; background:#2c6aa0; color:white; border:none; border-radius:4px; cursor:pointer; }
    #resetBtn { background:white; color:#2c6aa0; border:1px solid #2c6aa0; }
    #output { margin-top:10px; padding:8px; border:1px solid #ccc; border-radius:4px; background:#f7f7f7; font-family:monospace; min-height:24px; }
    #demo :where(p, div, span, li, h1, h2, h3, h4, td, th, blockquote, label, section, article, aside) { border:1px solid #4a7fb5; background:#eaf2fb; padding:6px 10px; margin:4px 0; border-radius:4px; }
    #demo :where(ul, ol) { border:1px dashed #888; background:#fafafa; padding:8px 8px 8px 32px; margin:6px 0; }
    #demo :where(table) { border-collapse:collapse; }
    #demo :where(td, th) { border-radius:0; }
    #demo :where(input, select, textarea) { margin:4px 0; }
  </style>
</head>
<body>
  <button id="resetBtn">Reset</button>
  <section id="demo">
    <a id="link" href="https://example.com">Click me</a>

  </section>
  <div id="output"></div>
  <script>
    var original = $("#demo").html();

    function init() {
      $("#link").on("click", function(event) {
        event.preventDefault();
        $("#output").append($("<div>").text("Navigation stopped"));
      });
    }
    init();

    $("#resetBtn").click(function() {
      $("#demo").html(original);
      $("#output").empty();
      init();
    });
  </script>
</body>
</html>
Related Topics

Event Propagation and Bubbling · Event Binding with on() · The Hover Event · Document Ready Event

{# common_mistakes/chapter_summary/browser_support: on Hindi pages the view already swaps in the hi_ translation fields (or blanks these out if untranslated), so this renders correctly for both languages without a lang_code check here. #}
Common Mistakes
  1. Using event.target when you mean the element the handler is bound to; if the user clicks a child such as a <span> inside #box, event.target is the span while event.currentTarget is #box.
  2. Forgetting to accept the event parameter, writing function() { console.log(event.type); } and relying on the old global window.event instead of function(event).
  3. Calling event.preventDefault() and assuming it also stops bubbling, when stopping the event travelling to parents needs event.stopPropagation().
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