Retrieves the parent object in the document hierarchy.
Syntax
HTMLN/AScripting[ oElement = ] object.parentNode
Possible Values
oElement Object that receives the parent node.The property is read-only. The property has no default value.
The property is read-only. The property has no default value.
Remarks
The topmost object returns null as its parent. In Microsoft Internet Explorer 6, This property now applies to the attribute object.
The topmost object returns null as its parent.
null
In Microsoft Internet Explorer 6, This property now applies to the attribute object.
Examples
This example assigns the parentNode of a span object to a variable. <SCRIPT> var oParent = oSpan.parentNode; </SCRIPt> : <BODY> <SPAN ID=oSpan>A Span</SPAN> </BODY> This example assigns the parentNode of a node, created with the createElement method, to a variable. var oNode = document.createElement("B"); document.body.insertBefore(oNode); var oParent = oNode.parentNode;
This example assigns the parentNode of a span object to a variable.
<SCRIPT> var oParent = oSpan.parentNode; </SCRIPt> : <BODY> <SPAN ID=oSpan>A Span</SPAN> </BODY>
This example assigns the parentNode of a node, created with the createElement method, to a variable.
var oNode = document.createElement("B"); document.body.insertBefore(oNode); var oParent = oNode.parentNode;
Standards Information
This property is defined in World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) Document Object Model (DOM) Level 1 .
Applies To
A, ABBR, ACRONYM, ADDRESS, APPLET, AREA, attribute, B, BASE, BASEFONT, BDO, BGSOUND, BIG, BLOCKQUOTE, BODY, BR, BUTTON, CAPTION, CENTER, CITE, CODE, COL, COLGROUP, COMMENT, DD, DEL, DFN, DIR, DIV, DL, DT, EM, EMBED, FIELDSET, FONT, FORM, FRAME, FRAMESET, HEAD, hn, HR, HTML, I, IFRAME, IMG, INPUT type=button, INPUT type=checkbox, INPUT type=file, INPUT type=hidden, INPUT type=image, INPUT type=password, INPUT type=radio, INPUT type=reset, INPUT type=submit, INPUT type=text, INS, KBD, LABEL, LEGEND, LI, LINK, LISTING, MAP, MARQUEE, MENU, nextID, OBJECT, OL, OPTION, P, PLAINTEXT, PRE, Q, S, SAMP, SCRIPT, SELECT, SMALL, SPAN, STRIKE, STRONG, SUB, SUP, TABLE, TBODY, TD, TEXTAREA, TextNode, TFOOT, TH, THEAD, TITLE, TR, TT, U, UL, VAR, XMP
See Also
About the W3C Document Object Model
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