Document: pointerLockElement property

Value

An Element or null.

Examples

Checking pointer lock status

This example contains a <div> element that in turn contains a <button>. Clicking the button requests pointer lock for the <div>.

The example also listens for the pointerlockchange event: when this event is fired, the event handler disables the "Lock" button if an element in the document has the pointer lock, and enables the button otherwise.

The effect of this is that if you click the "Lock" button, the pointer is locked and the button is disabled: if you then exit pointer lock (for example, by pressing the Escape key), the button is enabled again.

HTML

<div id="container">
  <button id="lock">Lock</button>
</div>

CSS

div {
  height: 100px;
  width: 200px;
  border: 2px solid blue;
}

JavaScript

const lock = document.querySelector("#lock");
const container = document.querySelector("#container");

lock.addEventListener("click", () => {
  container.requestPointerLock();
});

document.addEventListener("pointerlockchange", () => {
  const locked = document.pointerLockElement;
  lock.disabled = Boolean(locked);
});

Result

Specifications

Browser compatibility

See also

• Document.exitPointerLock()
• Element.requestPointerLock()
• Pointer Lock