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Obsolete
This feature is obsolete. Although it may still work in some browsers, its use is discouraged since it could be removed at any time. Try to avoid using it.
Important: For compatibility reasons, this property has been replaced by the Node.getRootNode() method.
The Node.rootNode read-only property returns a Node object representing the topmost node in the tree, or the current node if it's the topmost node in the tree. This is found by walking backward along Node.parentNode until the top is reached.
Syntax
rootNode = node.rootNode;
Value
A Node object representing the topmost node in the tree.
Example
Running the following line in supporting browsers should return a reference to the HTML/document node:
console.log(document.body.rootNode);
Notes
Gecko-based browsers insert text nodes into a document to represent whitespace in the source markup. Therefore a node obtained, for example, using Node.firstChild or Node.previousSibling may refer to a whitespace text node rather than the actual element the author intended to get.
See Whitespace in the DOM and W3C DOM 3 FAQ: Why are some Text nodes empty? for more information.
Specifications
| Specification | Status | Comment |
|---|---|---|
| DOM The definition of 'Node.rootNode' in that specification. |
Living Standard | Initial definition. |
Browser compatibility
| Desktop | Mobile | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
rootNode | Chrome No support No | Edge ? | Firefox No support No | IE ? | Opera No support No | Safari ? | WebView Android No support No | Chrome Android No support No | Firefox Android No support No | Opera Android No support No | Safari iOS ? | Samsung Internet Android No support No |
Legend
- No support
- No support
- Compatibility unknown
- Compatibility unknown
- Non-standard. Expect poor cross-browser support.
- Non-standard. Expect poor cross-browser support.
- Deprecated. Not for use in new websites.
- Deprecated. Not for use in new websites.