onactivate Event

Fires when the object is set as the active element.

Syntax

Inline HTML <ELEMENT onactivate = "handler" ... > All platforms
Event property object.onactivate = handler JScript only
object.onactivate = GetRef("handler") Visual Basic Scripting Edition (VBScript) 5.0 or later only
Named script <SCRIPT FOR = object EVENT = onactivate> Internet Explorer only

Event Information

Bubbles Yes
Cancels No
To invoke
Click an element, other than the active element of the document.
Use the keyboard to move focus from the active element to another element.
Invoke the setActive method on an element, when the element is not the active element.
Default action Change activation from the event.fromElement to the event.srcElement.

Event Object Properties

Although event handlers in the DHTML Object Model do not receive parameters directly, a handler can query an event object for data.
Available Properties
altKey Sets or retrieves a value that indicates the state of the ALT key.
altLeft Sets or retrieves a value that indicates the state of the left ALT key.
clientX Sets or retrieves the x-coordinate of the mouse pointer's position relative to the client area of the window, excluding window decorations and scroll bars.
clientY Sets or retrieves the y-coordinate of the mouse pointer's position relative to the client area of the window, excluding window decorations and scroll bars.
ctrlLeft Sets or retrieves the state of the left CTRL key.
offsetX Sets or retrieves the x-coordinate of the mouse pointer's position relative to the object firing the event.
offsetY Sets or retrieves the y-coordinate of the mouse pointer's position relative to the object firing the event.
returnValue Sets or retrieves the return value from the event.
screenX Retrieves the x-coordinate of the mouse pointer's position relative to the user's screen.
screenY Sets or retrieves the y-coordinate of the mouse pointer's position relative to the user's screen.
shiftLeft Retrieves the state of the left SHIFT key.
srcElement Sets or retrieves the object that fired the event.
type Sets or retrieves the event name from the event object.
x Sets or retrieves the x-coordinate, in pixels, of the mouse pointer's position relative to a relatively positioned parent element.
y Sets or retrieves the y-coordinate, in pixels, of the mouse pointer's position relative to a relatively positioned parent element.

Remarks

Note Using the setActive method has no effect on document focus. Using the focus method on an individual element causes the element to gain focus and become the active element.
When one object loses activation and another object becomes the activeElement, the onfocus event fires on the object becoming the activeElement only after the onblur event fires on the object losing activation.
Each document may have up to one active element. Set the active element with the setActive or focus methods.
Using the focus method on a document that does not have the focus moves the document to the front of the display. Additionally, the document's active element gains focus.
The onactivate event fires before the onload event for any of the objects listed in the Applies To section.
For Microsoft® Internet Explorer 5.5 and later, focus on a document, and the active element of a document can be managed separately. Use the onactivate event to manage formatting changes when an element is made active.
For Internet Explorer 6 and later, the event.fromElement property is now exposed by this event.

Example

The following example demonstrates the order of event firing for the onactivate and onload events. As each event fires, it appends a string to the div element within the document. The onactivate event fires before the onload event.
<HTML>
<HEAD>
<SCRIPT>
function fnActivate(){
oDIV1.innerHTML += "<BR><BR>The <B>onactivate</B> event, available as of \
Internet Explorer 5.5, fires first on the BODY element.";
}
function fnLoad(){
oDIV1.innerHTML += "<BR><BR>The <B>onload</B> event, available as of     \
Internet Explorer 4.0, fires after the <i>onactivate</i> event fires  \
on the BODY element.";
}
</SCRIPT>
</HEAD>
<BODY onactivate="fnActivate();" onload="fnLoad();">
<DIV id="oDIV1"></DIV>
</BODY>
</HTML>
This feature requires Microsoft® Internet Explorer 5.5 or later. Click the following icon to install the latest version. Then reload this page to view the sample.

Standards Information

There is no public standard that applies to this event.

Applies To

A, ACRONYM, ADDRESS, APPLET, AREA, B, BDO, BIG, BLOCKQUOTE, BODY, BUTTON, CAPTION, CENTER, CITE, CUSTOM, DD, DFN, DIR, DIV, DL, document, DT, EM, EMBED, FIELDSET, FONT, FORM, FRAME, FRAMESET, hn, HR, 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, ISINDEX, KBD, LABEL, LEGEND, LI, LISTING, MARQUEE, MENU, OBJECT, OL, P, PLAINTEXT, PRE, Q, RT, RUBY, S, SAMP, SELECT, SMALL, SPAN, STRIKE, STRONG, SUB, SUP, TABLE, TBODY, TD, TEXTAREA, TFOOT, TH, THEAD, TR, TT, U, UL, VAR, window, XMP