jQuery .text() Method

Posted in jQuery Tutorial

Updated on Oct 13, 2024

By Mari Selvan

👁️ 57 - Views

⏳ 4 mins

💬 1 Comment

Photo Credit to CodeToFun

🙋 Introduction

In jQuery, manipulating text content within HTML elements is a common task, and the .text() method provides a straightforward solution for this purpose. Whether you need to retrieve the text content of an element or update it dynamically, mastering the .text() method can greatly enhance your web development capabilities.

This guide explores the usage of the jQuery .text() method with clear examples to help you harness its power effectively.

🧠 Understanding .text() Method

The .text() method in jQuery is used to retrieve the text content of an element or set the text content of an element to a specified value. It operates on the text nodes within the selected elements, making it ideal for manipulating textual content without affecting the HTML structure.

💡 Syntax

The syntax for the .text() method is straightforward:

syntax.js

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$(selector).text() // Get the text content
$(selector).text(text) // Set the text content

📝 Example

Retrieving Text Content:

To retrieve the text content of an element, simply use the .text() method without any parameters. For example:
index.html
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```
<div id="sampleDiv">This is a sample text.</div>
```
example.js
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```
var textContent = $("#sampleDiv").text();
console.log(textContent); // Output: This is a sample text.
```
This will log the text content of the sampleDiv element to the console.
Setting Text Content:

To set the text content of an element to a specific value, pass the desired text as a parameter to the .text() method. For example:
index.html
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```
<div id="sampleDiv">This is a sample text.</div>
```
example.js
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```
$("#sampleDiv").text("Updated text content.");
```
This will update the text content of the sampleDiv element to "Updated text content."
Manipulating Text Content Dynamically:

You can dynamically manipulate text content based on certain conditions or user interactions. For instance, let's update the text content of a button when it is clicked:
index.html
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```
<button id="clickButton">Click Me</button>
<p id="outputText"></p>
```
example.js
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```
$("#clickButton").click(function() {
  $("#outputText").text("Button clicked!");
});
```
This will set the text content of the paragraph element with the ID outputText to "Button clicked!" when the button is clicked.
Escaping HTML Entities:

When setting text content dynamically, be cautious of HTML entities. jQuery automatically escapes HTML entities to prevent XSS attacks. For example:
example.js
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```
var htmlContent = "<script>alert('XSS attack');</script>";
$("#outputDiv").text(htmlContent); // HTML entities will be escaped
```

🎉 Conclusion

The jQuery .text() method provides a convenient way to manipulate text content within HTML elements dynamically. Whether you need to retrieve text content, update it based on user interactions, or safeguard against XSS attacks, this method offers a versatile solution.

By mastering its usage, you can streamline text manipulation tasks in your web development projects effectively.