Hijacking onchange event without interfering with original function

Question

im writing on a library i want to include on different pages who might already use the onchange event - is there any way to attach my event to onchange without removing the original one?

EDIT:

onchange on the window obj. not only a single element - onchange as in a hash change in the url etc. sorry if i confused them!

Answer 1

If I'm correct it sounds like you want to inject new code into an existing event. This may help you if you want a pure JavaScript solution and here is a fiddle demonstrating the feature. http://jsfiddle.net/VZCve/1/

var element = document.getElementById("myElementId");

element.onchange = (function (onchange) {
  return function(evt) {
    // reference to event to pass argument properly
    evt  = evt || event;

    // if an existing event already existed then execute it.
    if (onchange) {
      onchange(evt);
    }

    // new code "injection"
    alert("hello2");
  }
})(element.onchange);

EDITED: Now that the tags are changed and you are reference jQuery in your Question

jQuery will continue to bind new functions using jQuery.change().

note the following will execute all change functions assigned

$(document).ready(function () {
  $("#myElement").change(function() { alert('executed') });
  $("#myElement").change(function() { alert('executed again') });
  $("#myElement").change(function() { alert('executed again again') });
});

When you trigger the change event for the element in the selector you will receive 3 alerts.

Note the order of the events firing is dependent on the order each function was bound to the element.

Here is a simple fiddle demonstrating the functionality in jQuery http://jsfiddle.net/VZCve/

Answer 2

Using jQuery's .change() function to assign an onchange handler will not override existing onchange events (or other jQuery-assigned handlers). See a working demonstration here: http://jsfiddle.net/nrabinowitz/EyKdm/

Answer 3

Newer browsers have an addEventListener which can do it but dean.edwards solution is better

is more compatible with older browsers

you could also use a costem eventhandeler(s) whitch call array's of functions (done properly you could handle the return value of the sub-functions to decide if you want to run the next function, also couts for event

if(typeof element.onclickfunctions == "undefined"){
  element.onclickfunctions = [];
}
element.onclickfunctions.push( function(event){return Myfunct(event);});//or var
element.onclick = function(event){
  for(x in element.onclickfuncitons){
    if(! x(event)){
      break;
    }
  }
};

code not tested please comment before downvote