Javascript – Removing the text before an element with jQuery

domjavascriptjquery

Imagine this scenario:

<span>Item 1</span> | <span>Item 2</span>

How can I target the | and remove it? Also, assume I always need to remove the | before the span with "Item 2" in it, and the list can grow with items being added before OR after "Item 2." All new items will be enclosed within span and they'll be separated by |.

Best Answer

$('span').each(function() {
    if ($(this).text() == 'Item 2') {
        $(this.previousSibling).remove();
    }
});

http://jsfiddle.net/spFUG/2/

Related Solutions

Javascript – How to check if an element is hidden in jQuery

Since the question refers to a single element, this code might be more suitable:

// Checks CSS content for display:[none|block], ignores visibility:[true|false]
$(element).is(":visible");

// The same works with hidden
$(element).is(":hidden");

It is the same as twernt's suggestion, but applied to a single element; and it matches the algorithm recommended in the jQuery FAQ.

We use jQuery's is() to check the selected element with another element, selector or any jQuery object. This method traverses along the DOM elements to find a match, which satisfies the passed parameter. It will return true if there is a match, otherwise return false.

Javascript – Setting “checked” for a checkbox with jQuery

Modern jQuery

Use .prop():

$('.myCheckbox').prop('checked', true);
$('.myCheckbox').prop('checked', false);

DOM API

If you're working with just one element, you can always just access the underlying HTMLInputElement and modify its .checked property:

$('.myCheckbox')[0].checked = true;
$('.myCheckbox')[0].checked = false;

The benefit to using the .prop() and .attr() methods instead of this is that they will operate on all matched elements.

jQuery 1.5.x and below

The .prop() method is not available, so you need to use .attr().

$('.myCheckbox').attr('checked', true);
$('.myCheckbox').attr('checked', false);

Note that this is the approach used by jQuery's unit tests prior to version 1.6 and is preferable to using $('.myCheckbox').removeAttr('checked'); since the latter will, if the box was initially checked, change the behaviour of a call to .reset() on any form that contains it – a subtle but probably unwelcome behaviour change.

For more context, some incomplete discussion of the changes to the handling of the checked attribute/property in the transition from 1.5.x to 1.6 can be found in the version 1.6 release notes and the Attributes vs. Properties section of the .prop() documentation.