Document: createEvent() method
Warning: Many methods used with createEvent, such as initCustomEvent, are deprecated.
Use event constructors instead.
Creates an event of the type specified. The
returned object should be first initialized and can then be passed to
EventTarget.dispatchEvent.
Syntax
createEvent(type)
Parameters
type-
A string that represents the type of event to be created. Possible event types include
"UIEvents","MouseEvents","MutationEvents", and"HTMLEvents". See Notes section for details.
Return value
An Event object.
Examples
// Create the event.
const event = document.createEvent("Event");
// Define that the event name is 'build'.
event.initEvent("build", true, true);
// Listen for the event.
elem.addEventListener(
"build",
(e) => {
// e.target matches elem
},
false
);
// Target can be any Element or other EventTarget.
elem.dispatchEvent(event);
Notes
Event type strings suitable for passing to createEvent() are listed in the
DOM standard — see the table in step 2. Bear in mind that most event objects now have constructors, which
are the modern recommended way to create event object instances.
Gecko supports some non-standard event object aliases, which are listed below.
| Event Module | Standard event object | Gecko also supports |
|---|---|---|
| Text event module | TextEvent |
TextEvents |
| Keyboard event module | KeyboardEvent |
KeyEvents |
| Basic events module | Event |
Events |
Specifications
| Specification |
|---|
| DOM Standard # dom-document-createevent |
Browser compatibility
BCD tables only load in the browser