[javascript] jQuery "on create" event for dynamically-created elements

I need to be able to dynamically create <select> element and turn it into jQuery .combobox(). This should be element creation event, as opposed to some "click" event in which case I could just use jQuery .on().

So does something like this exist?

$(document).on("create", "select", function() {
    $(this).combobox();
}

I'm reluctant to use livequery, because it's very outdated.

UPDATE The mentioned select/combobox is loaded via ajax into a jQuery colorbox (modal window), thus the problem - I can only initiate combobox using colorbox onComplete, however on change of one combobox another select/combobox must be dynamically created, therefor I need a more generic way to detect creation of an element (selectin this case).

UPDATE2 To try and explain the problem further - I have select/combobox elements created recursively, there is also a lot of initiating code inside .combobox(), therefore if I used a classic approach, like in @bipen's answer, my code would inflate to insane levels. Hope this explains the problem better.

UPDATE3 Thanks everyone, I now understand that since deprecation of DOMNodeInserted there is a void left in DOM mutation and there is no solution to this problem. I'll just have to rethink my application.

One way, which seems reliable (though tested only in Firefox and Chrome) is to use JavaScript to listen for the animationend (or its camelCased, and prefixed, sibling animationEnd) event, and apply a short-lived (in the demo 0.01 second) animation to the element-type you plan to add. This, of course, is not an onCreate event, but approximates (in compliant browsers) an onInsertion type of event; the following is a proof-of-concept:

$(document).on('webkitAnimationEnd animationend MSAnimationEnd oanimationend', function(e){
    var eTarget = e.target;
    console.log(eTarget.tagName.toLowerCase() + ' added to ' + eTarget.parentNode.tagName.toLowerCase());
    $(eTarget).draggable(); // or whatever other method you'd prefer
});

With the following HTML:

<div class="wrapper">
    <button class="add">add a div element</button>
</div>

And (abbreviated, prefixed-versions-removed though present in the Fiddle, below) CSS:

/* vendor-prefixed alternatives removed for brevity */
@keyframes added {
    0% {
        color: #fff;
    }
}

div {
    color: #000;
    /* vendor-prefixed properties removed for brevity */
    animation: added 0.01s linear;
    animation-iteration-count: 1;
}

JS Fiddle demo.

Obviously the CSS can be adjusted to suit the placement of the relevant elements, as well as the selector used in the jQuery (it should really be as close to the point of insertion as possible).

Documentation of the event-names:

Mozilla   |  animationend
Microsoft |  MSAnimationEnd
Opera     |  oanimationend
Webkit    |  webkitAnimationEnd
W3C       |  animationend

References:

• caniuse.com summary of compatibility of CSS Animations.
• CSS AnimationEvent Interface (W3C).
• JavaScript animationend vendor-support.

There is a plugin, adampietrasiak/jquery.initialize, which is based on MutationObserver that achieves this simply.

$.initialize(".some-element", function() {
    $(this).css("color", "blue");
});

I Think it's worth mentioning that in some cases, this would work:

$( document ).ajaxComplete(function() {
// Do Stuff
});

You can on the DOMNodeInserted event to get an event for when it's added to the document by your code.

$('body').on('DOMNodeInserted', 'select', function () {
      //$(this).combobox();
});

$('<select>').appendTo('body');
$('<select>').appendTo('body');

Fiddled here: http://jsfiddle.net/Codesleuth/qLAB2/3/

EDIT: after reading around I just need to double check DOMNodeInserted won't cause problems across browsers. This question from 2010 suggests IE doesn't support the event, so test it if you can.

See here: [link] Warning! the DOMNodeInserted event type is defined in this specification for reference and completeness, but this specification deprecates the use of this event type.

Just came up with this solution that seems to solve all my ajax problems.

For on ready events I now use this:

function loaded(selector, callback){
    //trigger after page load.
    $(function () {
        callback($(selector));
    });
    //trigger after page update eg ajax event or jquery insert.
    $(document).on('DOMNodeInserted', selector, function () {
        callback($(this));
    });
}

loaded('.foo', function(el){
    //some action
    el.css('background', 'black');
});

And for normal trigger events I now use this:

$(document).on('click', '.foo', function () {
    //some action
    $(this).css('background', 'pink');
});

For me binding to the body does not work. Binding to the document using jQuery.bind() does.

$(document).bind('DOMNodeInserted',function(e){
             var target = e.target;
         });

instead of...

$(".class").click( function() {
    // do something
});

You can write...

$('body').on('click', '.class', function() {
    // do something
});

if you are using angularjs you can write your own directive. I had the same problem whith bootstrapSwitch. I have to call $("[name='my-checkbox']").bootstrapSwitch(); in javascript but my html input object was not created at that time. So I write an own directive and create the input element with <input type="checkbox" checkbox-switch>

In the directive I compile the element to get access via javascript an execute the jquery command (like your .combobox() command). Very important is to remove the attribute. Otherwise this directive will call itself and you have build a loop

app.directive("checkboxSwitch", function($compile) {
return {
    link: function($scope, element) {
        var input = element[0];
        input.removeAttribute("checkbox-switch");
        var inputCompiled = $compile(input)($scope.$parent);
        inputCompiled.bootstrapSwitch();
    }
}
});

create a <select> with id , append it to document.. and call .combobox

  var dynamicScript='<select id="selectid"><option value="1">...</option>.....</select>'
  $('body').append(dynamicScript); //append this to the place your wanted.
  $('#selectid').combobox();  //get the id and add .combobox();

this should do the trick.. you can hide the select if you want and after .combobox show it..or else use find..

 $(document).find('select').combobox() //though this is not good performancewise

As mentioned in several other answers, mutation events have been deprecated, so you should use MutationObserver instead. Since nobody has given any details on that yet, here it goes...

Basic JavaScript API

The API for MutationObserver is fairly simple. It's not quite as simple as the mutation events, but it's still okay.

function callback(records) {_x000D_
  records.forEach(function (record) {_x000D_
    var list = record.addedNodes;_x000D_
    var i = list.length - 1;_x000D_
    _x000D_
 for ( ; i > -1; i-- ) {_x000D_
   if (list[i].nodeName === 'SELECT') {_x000D_
     // Insert code here..._x000D_
     console.log(list[i]);_x000D_
   }_x000D_
 }_x000D_
  });_x000D_
}_x000D_
_x000D_
var observer = new MutationObserver(callback);_x000D_
_x000D_
var targetNode = document.body;_x000D_
_x000D_
observer.observe(targetNode, { childList: true, subtree: true });

<script>_x000D_
  // For testing_x000D_
  setTimeout(function() {_x000D_
    var $el = document.createElement('select');_x000D_
    document.body.appendChild($el);_x000D_
  }, 500);_x000D_
</script>

Let's break that down.

var observer = new MutationObserver(callback);

This creates the observer. The observer isn't watching anything yet; this is just where the event listener gets attached.

observer.observe(targetNode, { childList: true, subtree: true });

This makes the observer start up. The first argument is the node that the observer will watch for changes on. The second argument is the options for what to watch for.

• childList means I want to watch for child elements being added or removed.
• subtree is a modifier that extends childList to watch for changes anywhere in this element's subtree (otherwise, it would just look at changes directly within targetNode).

The other two main options besides childList are attributes and characterData, which mean about what they sound like. You must use one of those three.

function callback(records) {
  records.forEach(function (record) {

Things get a little tricky inside the callback. The callback receives an array of MutationRecords. Each MutationRecord can describe several changes of one type (childList, attributes, or characterData). Since I only told the observer to watch for childList, I won't bother checking the type.

var list = record.addedNodes;

Right here I grab a NodeList of all the child nodes that were added. This will be empty for all the records where nodes aren't added (and there may be many such records).

From there on, I loop through the added nodes and find any that are <select> elements.

Nothing really complex here.

jQuery

...but you asked for jQuery. Fine.

(function($) {

  var observers = [];

  $.event.special.domNodeInserted = {

    setup: function setup(data, namespaces) {
      var observer = new MutationObserver(checkObservers);

      observers.push([this, observer, []]);
    },

    teardown: function teardown(namespaces) {
      var obs = getObserverData(this);

      obs[1].disconnect();

      observers = $.grep(observers, function(item) {
        return item !== obs;
      });
    },

    remove: function remove(handleObj) {
      var obs = getObserverData(this);

      obs[2] = obs[2].filter(function(event) {
        return event[0] !== handleObj.selector && event[1] !== handleObj.handler;
      });
    },

    add: function add(handleObj) {
      var obs = getObserverData(this);

      var opts = $.extend({}, {
        childList: true,
        subtree: true
      }, handleObj.data);

      obs[1].observe(this, opts);

      obs[2].push([handleObj.selector, handleObj.handler]);
    }
  };

  function getObserverData(element) {
    var $el = $(element);

    return $.grep(observers, function(item) {
      return $el.is(item[0]);
    })[0];
  }

  function checkObservers(records, observer) {
    var obs = $.grep(observers, function(item) {
      return item[1] === observer;
    })[0];

    var triggers = obs[2];

    var changes = [];

    records.forEach(function(record) {
      if (record.type === 'attributes') {
        if (changes.indexOf(record.target) === -1) {
          changes.push(record.target);
        }

        return;
      }

      $(record.addedNodes).toArray().forEach(function(el) {
        if (changes.indexOf(el) === -1) {
          changes.push(el);
        }
      })
    });

    triggers.forEach(function checkTrigger(item) {
      changes.forEach(function(el) {
        var $el = $(el);

        if ($el.is(item[0])) {
          $el.trigger('domNodeInserted');
        }
      });
    });
  }

})(jQuery);

This creates a new event called domNodeInserted, using the jQuery special events API. You can use it like so:

$(document).on("domNodeInserted", "select", function () {
  $(this).combobox();
});

I would personally suggest looking for a class because some libraries will create select elements for testing purposes.

Naturally, you can also use .off("domNodeInserted", ...) or fine-tune the watching by passing in data like this:

$(document.body).on("domNodeInserted", "select.test", {
  attributes: true,
  subtree: false
}, function () {
  $(this).combobox();
});

This would trigger checking for the appearance of a select.test element whenever attributes changed for elements directly inside the body.

You can see it live below or on jsFiddle.

(function($) {_x000D_
  $(document).on("domNodeInserted", "select", function() {_x000D_
    console.log(this);_x000D_
    //$(this).combobox();_x000D_
  });_x000D_
})(jQuery);

<script src="https://ajax.googleapis.com/ajax/libs/jquery/2.1.1/jquery.min.js"></script>_x000D_
_x000D_
<script>_x000D_
  // For testing_x000D_
  setTimeout(function() {_x000D_
    var $el = document.createElement('select');_x000D_
    document.body.appendChild($el);_x000D_
  }, 500);_x000D_
</script>_x000D_
_x000D_
<script>_x000D_
  (function($) {_x000D_
_x000D_
    var observers = [];_x000D_
_x000D_
    $.event.special.domNodeInserted = {_x000D_
_x000D_
      setup: function setup(data, namespaces) {_x000D_
        var observer = new MutationObserver(checkObservers);_x000D_
_x000D_
        observers.push([this, observer, []]);_x000D_
      },_x000D_
_x000D_
      teardown: function teardown(namespaces) {_x000D_
        var obs = getObserverData(this);_x000D_
_x000D_
        obs[1].disconnect();_x000D_
_x000D_
        observers = $.grep(observers, function(item) {_x000D_
          return item !== obs;_x000D_
        });_x000D_
      },_x000D_
_x000D_
      remove: function remove(handleObj) {_x000D_
        var obs = getObserverData(this);_x000D_
_x000D_
        obs[2] = obs[2].filter(function(event) {_x000D_
          return event[0] !== handleObj.selector && event[1] !== handleObj.handler;_x000D_
        });_x000D_
      },_x000D_
_x000D_
      add: function add(handleObj) {_x000D_
        var obs = getObserverData(this);_x000D_
_x000D_
        var opts = $.extend({}, {_x000D_
          childList: true,_x000D_
          subtree: true_x000D_
        }, handleObj.data);_x000D_
_x000D_
        obs[1].observe(this, opts);_x000D_
_x000D_
        obs[2].push([handleObj.selector, handleObj.handler]);_x000D_
      }_x000D_
    };_x000D_
_x000D_
    function getObserverData(element) {_x000D_
      var $el = $(element);_x000D_
_x000D_
      return $.grep(observers, function(item) {_x000D_
        return $el.is(item[0]);_x000D_
      })[0];_x000D_
    }_x000D_
_x000D_
    function checkObservers(records, observer) {_x000D_
      var obs = $.grep(observers, function(item) {_x000D_
        return item[1] === observer;_x000D_
      })[0];_x000D_
_x000D_
      var triggers = obs[2];_x000D_
_x000D_
      var changes = [];_x000D_
_x000D_
      records.forEach(function(record) {_x000D_
        if (record.type === 'attributes') {_x000D_
          if (changes.indexOf(record.target) === -1) {_x000D_
            changes.push(record.target);_x000D_
          }_x000D_
_x000D_
          return;_x000D_
        }_x000D_
_x000D_
        $(record.addedNodes).toArray().forEach(function(el) {_x000D_
          if (changes.indexOf(el) === -1) {_x000D_
            changes.push(el);_x000D_
          }_x000D_
        })_x000D_
      });_x000D_
_x000D_
      triggers.forEach(function checkTrigger(item) {_x000D_
        changes.forEach(function(el) {_x000D_
          var $el = $(el);_x000D_
_x000D_
          if ($el.is(item[0])) {_x000D_
            $el.trigger('domNodeInserted');_x000D_
          }_x000D_
        });_x000D_
      });_x000D_
    }_x000D_
_x000D_
  })(jQuery);_x000D_
</script>

Note

This jQuery code is a fairly basic implementation. It does not trigger in cases where modifications elsewhere make your selector valid.

For example, suppose your selector is .test select and the document already has a <select>. Adding the class test to <body> will make the selector valid, but because I only check record.target and record.addedNodes, the event would not fire. The change has to happen to the element you wish to select itself.

This could be avoided by querying for the selector whenever mutations happen. I chose not to do that to avoid causing duplicate events for elements that had already been handled. Properly dealing with adjacent or general sibling combinators would make things even trickier.

For a more comprehensive solution, see https://github.com/pie6k/jquery.initialize, as mentioned in Damien Ó Ceallaigh's answer. However, the author of that library has announced that the library is old and suggests that you shouldn't use jQuery for this.

This could be done with DOM4 MutationObservers but will only work in Firefox 14+/Chrome 18+ (for now).

However there is an "epic hack" (author's words not mine!) that works in all browsers that support CSS3 animations which are: IE10, Firefox 5+, Chrome 3+, Opera 12, Android 2.0+, Safari 4+. See the demo from the blog. The hack is to use a CSS3 animation event with a given name that is observed and acted upon in JavaScript.

You can use DOMNodeInserted mutation event (no need delegation):

$('body').on('DOMNodeInserted', function(e) {
    var target = e.target; //inserted element;
});

EDIT: Mutation events are deprecated, use mutation observer instead