Range.compareNode()

Deprecated: This feature is no longer recommended. Though some browsers might still support it, it may have already been removed from the relevant web standards, may be in the process of being dropped, or may only be kept for compatibility purposes. Avoid using it, and update existing code if possible; see the compatibility table at the bottom of this page to guide your decision. Be aware that this feature may cease to work at any time.

Non-standard: This feature is non-standard and is not on a standards track. Do not use it on production sites facing the Web: it will not work for every user. There may also be large incompatibilities between implementations and the behavior may change in the future.

The Range.compareNode() returns a constant indicating the position of the Node.

The possible values are:

NODE_BEFORE (0): Node starts before the Range
NODE_AFTER (1): Node ends after the Range
NODE_BEFORE_AND_AFTER (2): Node starts before and ends after the Range
NODE_INSIDE (3): Node starts after and ends before the Range, i.e. the Node is completely selected by the Range.

Warning: This method has been removed from Gecko 1.9 and will not exist in future versions of Firefox, which was the only browser implementing it; you should switch to Range.compareBoundaryPoints() as soon as possible.

The following function can be used as replacement:

function rangeCompareNode(range, node) {
  var nodeRange = node.ownerDocument.createRange();
  try {
    nodeRange.selectNode(node);
  }
  catch (e) {
    nodeRange.selectNodeContents(node);
  }
  var nodeIsBefore = range.compareBoundaryPoints(Range.START_TO_START, nodeRange) == 1;
  var nodeIsAfter = range.compareBoundaryPoints(Range.END_TO_END, nodeRange) == -1;

  if (nodeIsBefore && !nodeIsAfter)
    return 0;
  if (!nodeIsBefore && nodeIsAfter)
    return 1;
  if (nodeIsBefore && nodeIsAfter)
    return 2;

  return 3;
}

Syntax

returnValue = range.compareNode( referenceNode );

Parameters

referenceNode: The Node to compare with the Range.

Example

range = document.createRange();
range.selectNode(document.getElementsByTagName("div").item(0));
returnValue = range.compareNode(document.getElementsByTagName("p").item(0));

Notes

This method is obsolete; you should use the W3C DOM Range.compareBoundaryPoints() method.

Specifications

This method is not standard and therefore not part of any specification.

Browser compatibility

	Desktop						Mobile
	Chrome	Edge	Firefox	Internet Explorer	Opera	Safari	WebView Android	Chrome Android	Firefox for Android	Opera Android	Safari on IOS	Samsung Internet
`compareNode`	1-45	No	1-3	No	15-32	3	1-45	18-45	No	14-32	1	1.0-5.0