XML DOM insertBefore() Method

Node Object

Definition and Usage

insertBefore() The method inserts a new child node before the specified child node of the current node.

Note:If newchild is already in the tree, it is first deleted.

Syntax

nodeObject.insertBefore(newchild,existingnode,

)

) Description
newchild Required. Node object. The new child node to be inserted.
existingnode

Required. Node object. The node before which the new child node is to be inserted.

If the existing node is empty, the new child node is inserted at the end of the child node list.

Technical Details

DOM Version: Core Level 1 Node Object. Modified in DOM Level 3.
Return value: Node object. The node to be inserted.

Example

The following code loads "books.xml", creates a new <book> node, and inserts it before the last <book> node:

var xhttp = new XMLHttpRequest();
xhttp.onreadystatechange = function() {
   if (this.readyState == 4 && this.status == 200) {
       myFunction(this);
   }
};
xhttp.open("GET", "books.xml", true);
xhttp.send();
function myFunction(xml) {
    var xmlDoc = xml.responseXML;
    var newNode = xmlDoc.createElement("book");
    var x = xmlDoc.documentElement;
    var y = xmlDoc.getElementsByTagName("book");
    document.getElementById("demo").innerHTML =
    "Book elements before: " + y.length + "<br>";
    x.insertBefore(newNode, y[3]);
    document.getElementById("demo").innerHTML +=
    "Book elements after: " + y.length;
}

Try It Yourself

Browser Support

Chrome Edge Firefox Safari Opera
Chrome Edge Firefox Safari Opera
Support Support Support Support Support

All mainstream browsers support insertBefore() Methods.

Node Object