jQuery Get html Including Element Tag

Incase you are using a lot of ajax functionality (I know I am) it might be useful to grab an elements html including the tag. I’m sure there must be an easier way than just cloning the element in a wrapper and then grabbing the wrapper html using jQuery to get the inner html including element tag html.

Until I find a better (more efficient way) here is the code snippet.

.clone().wrap('
').parent().html();
Some other ways (from post comments, thanks guys):

//Not sure how portable it is across browsers
$(‘#foo’)[0].outerHTML;

var foo = $(‘#bar’);

var foo = $('h1');
console.log(foo);
//output: jQuery(h1) < - DOM Element
console.dir(foo[0]);
//output: DOM element props and funcs
console.log(foo[0]['outerHTML']);
//output: 
Title


Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) about jQuery HTML Including Element Tag



What is the jQuery .html() method and how does it work? The jQuery .html() method is a built-in function in jQuery that gets the HTML contents of the first element in the set of matched elements or sets the HTML contents of every matched element. It can both read and write HTML content. When this method is used to return content, it returns the content of the first matched element. When it is used to set content, it overwrites the content of ALL matched elements.  How can I use the jQuery .html() method to get the HTML content of an element? To get the HTML content of an element using jQuery .html() method, you simply need to call the .html() method on the jQuery object that represents the element. For example, to get the HTML content of a div with the id “myDiv”, you would use the following code:var content = $("#myDiv").html();This will store the HTML content of the div in the variable “content”.  How can I use the jQuery .html() method to set the HTML content of an element? To set the HTML content of an element using jQuery .html() method, you need to pass the new content as a string to the .html() method. For example, to set the HTML content of a div with the id “myDiv”, you would use the following code:$("#myDiv").html("<p>New content</p>");This will replace the current content of the div with the new content.  Can I use the jQuery .html() method to get the HTML content including the element itself? No, the jQuery .html() method only gets the inner HTML content of the element, not the element itself. If you want to get the HTML content including the element itself, you can use the .prop() method with “outerHTML” as the property name. For example:var content = $("#myDiv").prop("outerHTML");This will get the HTML content of the div including the div tag itself.  Can I use the jQuery .html() method with multiple elements at once? Yes, you can use the jQuery .html() method with multiple elements at once. When used to get content, it will return the content of the first matched element. When used to set content, it will set the content of all matched elements. For example, to set the same content for all divs, you would use the following code:$("div").html("<p>New content for all divs</p>");This will replace the current content of all divs with the new content.  What happens if I use the jQuery .html() method on an empty set of elements? If you use the jQuery .html() method on an empty set of elements, it will not have any effect. When used to get content, it will return undefined. When used to set content, it will not change any elements.  Can I use the jQuery .html() method to insert scripts into my HTML? Yes, you can use the jQuery .html() method to insert scripts into your HTML. However, be aware that any scripts inserted in this way will not be executed.  What is the difference between the jQuery .html() and .text() methods? The main difference between the jQuery .html() and .text() methods is that .html() gets or sets the HTML content of elements, while .text() gets or sets the text content. This means that .html() will include any HTML tags in the content, while .text() will not.  Can I use the jQuery .html() method to insert HTML-encoded content? Yes, you can use the jQuery .html() method to insert HTML-encoded content. The .html() method will automatically decode any HTML entities in the content.  Can I chain multiple jQuery methods with .html()? Yes, like most jQuery methods, .html() can be chained with other jQuery methods. This allows you to perform multiple operations on the same set of elements in a single line of code. For example, you could change the HTML content of an element and then hide it with the following code:$("#myDiv").html("<p>New content</p>").hide();This will replace the current content of the div with the new content and then hide the div.