open Method

Internet Development Index

This method works in two ways. It opens a document to collect the output of the write and writeln methods. In this case, only the first two parameters, sUrl and sName are used. When values for the additional parameters are specified, this method opens a window in the same way as the window.open method for the window object.

What's New for Microsoft® Internet Explorer 6

As of Internet Explorer 6, the _media value of the sName parameter specifies that this method loads a URL in the Media Bar.

Syntax

oNewDoc = document.open(sUrl [, sName] [, sFeatures] [, bReplace])

Parameters

sUrl Required. When opening a new document, sUrl is a String that specifies a Multipurpose Internet Mail Extensions (MIME) type for the document. When opening a new window, sUrl is a String that specifies the URL to render in the new window. If a sUrl is not specified, a new window with about:blank is displayed.
text/html Default. Currently the only MIME type supported for this method.
sName Optional. When opening up a new document, specifying the String?SPAN CLASS="clsLiteral">replace for sName designates that the new document is to replace the current document in the history list. If the value replace is not specified when opening up a document, a new entry will simply be added to the history list. When opening a window, this is a String that specifies the name of the window. The value of this parameter may be specified as the value of the TARGET attribute for a form or a element. This value will then will define this new window as the place to load a document.
replace This value is only used for opening up a new document and specifies that the new document is to replace the current entry in the history list.
_blank When opening a window, the sUrl is loaded into a new, unnamed window.
_parent When opening a new window, the sUrl is loaded into the current frame's parent. If the frame has no parent, this value acts as the value _self.
_search Available in Internet Explorer 5 and later. When opening a window, the sUrl is opened in the browser's search pane.
_self When opening a window, the current document is replaced with the specified sUrl .
_top sUrl replaces any framesets that may be loaded. If there are no framesets defined, this value acts as the value _self.
_media Available in Internet Explorer 6 and later. The sUrl is loaded in the Media Bar.
sFeatures Optional. This String is only used when opening a new window and specifies the settings of the window's display features. This parameter is a list of items separated by commas. Each item consists of an option and a value, separated by an equals sign (for example, "fullscreen=yes, toolbar=yes"). The following features are supported.
channelmode = { yes | no | 1 | 0 } Specifies whether to display the window in theater mode and show the channel band. The default is no.
directories = { yes | no | 1 | 0 } Specifies whether to add directory buttons. The default is yes.
fullscreen = { yes | no | 1 | 0 } Specifies whether to display the browser in full-screen mode. The default is no. Use full-screen mode carefully. Because this mode hides the browser's title bar and menus, you should always provide a button or other visual clue to help the user close the window. ALT+F4 closes the new window. A window in full-screen mode must also be in theater mode (channelmode).
height = number Specifies the height of the window, in pixels. The minimum value is 100.
left = number Specifies the left position, in pixels. This value is relative to the upper-left corner of the screen. The value must be greater than or equal to 0.
location = { yes | no | 1 | 0 } Specifies whether to display the input field for entering URLs directly into the browser. The default is yes.
menubar = { yes | no | 1 | 0 } Specifies whether to display the menu bar. The default is yes.
resizable = { yes | no | 1 | 0 } Specifies whether to display resize handles at the corners of the window. The default is yes.
scrollbars = { yes | no | 1 | 0 } Specifies whether to display horizontal and vertical scroll bars. The default is yes.
status = { yes | no | 1 | 0 } Specifies whether to add a status bar at the bottom of the window. The default is yes.
titlebar = { yes | no | 1 | 0 } Specifies whether to display a title bar for the window. This parameter is ignored unless the calling application is an HTML Application or a trusted dialog box. The default is yes.
toolbar = { yes | no | 1 | 0 } Specifies whether to display the browser toolbar, making buttons such as Back, Forward, and Stop available. The default is yes.
top = number Specifies the top position, in pixels. This value is relative to the upper-left corner of the screen. The value must be greater than or equal to 0.
width = number Sets the width of the window, in pixels. The minimum value is 100.
bReplace Optional. When the sUrl is loaded into the same window, this Boolean parameter specifies whether the sUrl creates a new entry or replaces the current entry in the window's history list.
true sUrl replaces the current document in the history list
false sUrl creates a new entry in the history list.

Return Value

Returns a reference to the new document or window object. Use this reference to access properties and methods of the new document or window.

Remarks

When a function fired by an event on any object calls the open method, the window.open method is implied.
<SCRIPT LANGUAGE="JScript">
function foo() {
open('about:blank');}
</SCRIPT>
<BODY onclick="foo();">
Click this page and window.open() is called.
</BODY>
When an event on any object calls the open method, the document.open method is implied.
<BUTTON onclick="open('Sample.htm');">
Click this button and document.open() is called.
</BUTTON>

Example

The following example shows how to use the open method to replace the current document with a new document and display the HTML markup contained in the variable sMarkup.

<HTML>
<HEAD>
<TITLE>First Document</TITLE>
<script>
function replace(){
var oNewDoc = document.open("text/html", "replace");
var sMarkup = "<HTML><HEAD><TITLE>New Document</TITLE><BODY>Hello, world</BODY></HTML>";
oNewDoc.write(sMarkup);
oNewDoc.close();
}
</script>
</HEAD>
<BODY>
<h1>I just want to say</h1><br>
<!--Button will call the replace function and replace the current page with a new one-->
<Input type ="button" value = "Finish Sentence" onclick="replace();">
</BODY>
</html>

Standards Information

This method is defined in World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) Document Object Model (DOM) Level 1 .

Applies To

document