Web/API/NodeFilter/acceptNode

The NodeFilter.acceptNode() method returns an unsigned short that will be used to tell if a given Node must be accepted or not by the NodeIterator or TreeWalker iteration algorithm. This method is expected to be written by the user of a NodeFilter. Possible return values are:

Constant	Description
`NodeFilter.FILTER_ACCEPT`	Value returned by the `NodeFilter.acceptNode()` method when a node should be accepted.
`NodeFilter.FILTER_REJECT`	Value to be returned by the `NodeFilter.acceptNode()` method when a node should be rejected. The children of rejected nodes are not visited by the `NodeIterator` or `TreeWalker` object; this value is treated as "skip this node and all its children".
`NodeFilter.FILTER_SKIP`	Value to be returned by `NodeFilter.acceptNode()` for nodes to be skipped by the `NodeIterator` or `TreeWalker` object. The children of skipped nodes are still considered. This is treated as "skip this node but not its children".

The function should return NodeFilter.FILTER_ACCEPT, which causes the TreeWalker to return the node, NodeFilter.FILTER_REJECT, which causes the TreeWalker to ignore the entire subtree, or NodeFilter.FILTER_SKIP.

The browser doesn't provide any object implementing this method. It is the user who is expected to write an object implementing the NodeFilter interface, tailoring the acceptNode() method to its needs, and using it with some TreeWalker or NodeIterator objects.

Syntax

result = nodeFilter.acceptNode(node)

Parameters

node: Is a Node being the object to check against the filter.

Example

var nodeIterator = document.createNodeIterator(
  // Node to use as root
  document.getElementById('someId'),

  // Only consider nodes that are text nodes (nodeType 3)
  NodeFilter.SHOW_TEXT,

  // Object containing the function to use for the acceptNode method
  // of the NodeFilter
    { acceptNode: function(node) {
      // Logic to determine whether to accept, reject or skip node
      // In this case, only accept nodes that have content
      // other than whitespace
      if ( ! /^\s*$/.test(node.data) ) {
        return NodeFilter.FILTER_ACCEPT;
      }
    }
  },
  false
);

// Show the content of every non-empty text node that is a child of root
var node;

while ((node = iterator.nextNode())) {
  alert(node.data);
}

Specifications

Specification	Status	Comment
DOMThe definition of 'NodeFilter.acceptNode()' in that specification.	Living Standard	No change from Document Object Model (DOM) Level 2 Traversal and Range Specification
Document Object Model (DOM) Level 2 Traversal and Range SpecificationThe definition of 'NodeFilter.acceptNode()' in that specification.	Obsolete	Initial definition.

Browser compatibility

Update compatibility data on GitHub

	Desktop						Mobile
	Chrome	Edge	Firefox	Internet Explorer	Opera	Safari	Android webview	Chrome for Android	Firefox for Android	Opera for Android	Safari on iOS	Samsung Internet
`acceptNode`	Chrome Full support 1	Edge Full support 12	Firefox Full support 2	IE Full support 9	Opera Full support 9	Safari Full support 3	WebView Android Full support Yes	Chrome Android Full support Yes	Firefox Android Full support 4	Opera Android Full support 10.1	Safari iOS Full support 3	Samsung Internet Android Full support Yes

Legend

Full support: Full support