jQuery: Why does .width() sometimes return 0 after inserting elements with .html()?

Question

I am getting some html and inserting it with .html(), after which I am trying to get the width of one of newly inserted elements with .width() (which h

Answer 1

jQuery will return a zero width if the element is not visible. For example, I was having the same issue with an item being inserted onto a hidden form tab. Temporarily assigning it to the body, where it was visible, I was able to determine the width:

$("body").append(el); // First assign it to the body so that it's visible
var width = el.width(); // The width will now be correct
wrapper.append(el); // Now place the element where you want it.

One caveat is that if the element inherits different styling when assigned to the body then the width may not be correct.