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HTML DOM appendChild() Method

Element Object Reference Element Object

Example

Append an item in a list:

var node = document.createElement("LI");                 // Create a <li> node
var textnode = document.createTextNode("Water");         // Create a text node
node.appendChild(textnode);                              // Append the text to <li>
document.getElementById("myList").appendChild(node);     // Append <li> to <ul> with id="myList"

Before appending:

  • Coffee
  • Tea

After appending:

  • Coffee
  • Tea
  • Water
Try it Yourself »

More "Try it Yourself" examples below.


Definition and Usage

The appendChild() method appends a node as the last child of a node.

Tip: If you want create a new paragraph, with text, remember to create the text as a Text node which you append to the paragraph, then append the paragraph to the document.

You can also use this method to move an element from one element to another (See "More Examples").

Tip: Use the insertBefore() method to insert a new child node before a specified, existing, child node.


Browser Support

The numbers in the table specify the first browser version that fully supports the method.

Method
appendChild() Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes

Syntax

node.appendChild(node)

Parameter Values

Parameter Type Description
node Node object Required. The node object you want to append

Technical Details

Return Value: A Node Object, representing the appended node
DOM Version Core Level 1 Node Object

Examples

More Examples

Example

Move a list item from one list to another:

var node = document.getElementById("myList2").lastChild;
document.getElementById("myList1").appendChild(node);

Before appending:

  • Coffee
  • Tea
  • Water
  • Milk

After appending:

  • Coffee
  • Tea
  • Milk
  • Water
Try it Yourself »

Example

Create a <p> element and append it to a <div> element:

var para = document.createElement("P");                       // Create a <p> node
var t = document.createTextNode("This is a paragraph.");      // Create a text node
para.appendChild(t);                                          // Append the text to <p>
document.getElementById("myDIV").appendChild(para);           // Append <p> to <div> with id="myDIV"
Try it Yourself »

Example

Create a <p> element with some text and append it to the end of the document body:

var x = document.createElement("P");                        // Create a <p> node
var t = document.createTextNode("This is a paragraph.");    // Create a text node
x.appendChild(t);                                           // Append the text to <p>
document.body.appendChild(x);                               // Append <p> to <body>
Try it Yourself »

Related Pages

HTML DOM reference: element.hasChildNodes() Method

HTML DOM reference: element.insertBefore() Method

HTML DOM reference: element.removeChild() Method

HTML DOM reference: element.replaceChild() Method

HTML DOM reference: document.createElement() Method

HTML DOM reference: document.createTextNode() Method

HTML DOM reference: document.adoptNode() Method

HTML DOM reference: document.importNode() Method


Element Object Reference Element Object