How can I retrieve the previous URL in AngularJS

Question

I know I can get the current URL using $location.search() and $location.path() but I need a way to get previous one. Can I use a global variable or so

Answer 1

Angular $rootScope will have the all information across your all app components.

Here below $location service injected on $rootscope will give you the route information.

$rootScope.$on('$locationChangeStart', function (event, current, previous) {
        console.log("Previous URL" +previous);
});

Answer 2

You can use for example ui-router to control the flow of your application and with this library it's easy to implement previousState by saving it in $stateChangeSuccess event.

Answer 3

You can do this when listening on the $routeChangeSuccess event. Parameters are currentRoute and previousRoute. You can also use $locationChangeStart and save the current route yourself.

See here:

AngularJS $route

AngularJS $location