Web/API/NodeIterator/previousNode

The NodeIterator.previousNode() method returns the previous node in the set represented by the NodeIterator and moves the position of the iterator backwards within the set.

This method returns null when the current node is the first node in the set.

In old browsers, as specified in old versions of the specifications, the method may throws the INVALID_STATE_ERR DOMException if this method is called after the NodeIterator.detach()method. Recent browsers never throw.

Syntax

node = nodeIterator.previousNode();

Example

var nodeIterator = document.createNodeIterator(
    document.body,
    NodeFilter.SHOW_ELEMENT,
    { acceptNode: function(node) { return NodeFilter.FILTER_ACCEPT; } },
    false // this optional argument is not used any more
);
currentNode = nodeIterator.nextNode(); // returns the next node
previousNode = nodeIterator.previousNode(); // same result, since we backtracked to the previous node

Specifications

Specification	Status	Comment
DOMThe definition of 'NodeIterator.previousNode' in that specification.	Living Standard	As `detach()` is now a no-op method, this method cannot throw anymore.
Document Object Model (DOM) Level 2 Traversal and Range SpecificationThe definition of 'NodeIterator.previousNode' 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
`previousNode`	Chrome Full support 1	Edge Full support 12	Firefox Full support 3.5	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