Revision 987769 of Location

<p>{{APIRef}}</p>

<p>The <strong><code>Location</code></strong> interface represents the location of the object it is linked to. Changes done on it are reflected on the object it relates to. Both the {{domxref("Document")}} and {{domxref("Window")}} interface have such a linked <code>Location</code>, accessible via {{domxref("Document.location")}} and {{domxref("Window.location")}} respectively.</p>

<h2 id="Properties">Properties</h2>

<p><em>The <code>Location</code></em><em> interface doesn't inherit any property, but implements those from {{domxref("URLUtils")}}.</em></p>

<dl>
 <dt>{{domxref("Location.href")}}</dt>
 <dd>Is a {{domxref("DOMString")}} containing the whole URL. If changed the associated document navigate to the new page. It can be set from a different origin than the associated document.</dd>
 <dt>{{domxref("Location.protocol")}}</dt>
 <dd>Is a {{domxref("DOMString")}} containing the protocol scheme of the URL, including the final <code>':'</code>.</dd>
 <dt>{{domxref("Location.host")}}</dt>
 <dd>Is a {{domxref("DOMString")}} containing the host, that is the <em>hostname</em>, a <code>':'</code>, and the <em>port</em> of the URL.</dd>
 <dt>{{domxref("Location.hostname")}}</dt>
 <dd>Is a {{domxref("DOMString")}} containing the domain of the URL.</dd>
 <dt>{{domxref("Location.port")}}</dt>
 <dd>Is a {{domxref("DOMString")}} containing the port number of the URL.</dd>
 <dt>{{domxref("Location.pathname")}}</dt>
 <dd>Is a {{domxref("DOMString")}} containing an initial <code>'/'</code> followed by the path of the URL.</dd>
 <dt>{{domxref("Location.search")}}</dt>
 <dd>Is a {{domxref("DOMString")}} containing a <code>'?'</code> followed by the parameters of the URL. Also known as "querystring".</dd>
 <!-- <dt>
  {{domxref("URLUtils.searchParams")}}</dt>
 <dd>
  Returns a {{domxref("URLSearchParams")}} object allowing to access the GET query arguments contained in the URL.</dd> -->
 <dt>{{domxref("Location.hash")}}</dt>
 <dd>Is a {{domxref("DOMString")}} containing a <code>'#'</code> followed by the fragment identifier of the URL.</dd>
 <dt>{{domxref("Location.username")}}</dt>
 <dd>Is a {{domxref("DOMString")}} containing the username specified before the domain name.</dd>
 <dt>{{domxref("Location.password")}}</dt>
 <dd>Is a {{domxref("DOMString")}} containing the password specified before the domain name.</dd>
 <dt>{{domxref("Location.origin")}} {{readOnlyInline}}</dt>
 <dd>Returns a {{domxref("DOMString")}} containing the canonical form of the origin of the specific location.</dd>
</dl>

<h2 id="Methods">Methods</h2>

<p><em>The <code>Location</code></em><em> interface doesn't inherit any method<em>, but implements those from {{domxref("URLUtils")}}</em>.</em></p>

<dl>
 <dt>{{domxref("Location.assign()")}}</dt>
 <dd>Loads the resource at the URL provided in parameter.</dd>
 <dt>{{domxref("Location.reload()")}}</dt>
 <dd>Reloads the resource from the current URL. Its optional unique parameter is a {{domxref("Boolean")}}, which, when it is <code>true</code>, causes the page to always be reloaded from the server. If it is <code>false</code> or not specified, the browser may reload the page from its cache.</dd>
 <dt>{{domxref("Location.replace()")}}</dt>
 <dd>Replaces the current resource with the one at the provided URL. The difference from the <code>assign()</code> method is that after using <code>replace()</code> the current page will not be saved in session {{domxref("History")}}, meaning the user won't be able to use the <em>back</em> button to navigate to it.</dd>
 <dt>{{domxref("Location.toString()")}}</dt>
 <dd>Returns a {{domxref("DOMString")}} containing the whole URL. It is a synonym for {{domxref("URLUtils.href")}}, though it can't be used to modify the value.</dd>
</dl>

<h2 id="Examples">Examples</h2>

<pre class="brush: js">
// Create anchor element and use href property for the purpose of this example
// A more correct alternative is to browse to the URL and use document.location or window.location
var url = document.createElement('a');
url.href = 'https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/search?q=URL#search-results-close-container';
console.log(url.href);      // https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/search?q=URL#search-results-close-container
console.log(url.protocol);  // https:
console.log(url.host);      // developer.mozilla.org
console.log(url.hostname);  // developer.mozilla.org
console.log(url.port);      // (blank - https assumes port 443)
console.log(url.pathname);  // /en-US/search
console.log(url.search);    // ?q=URL
console.log(url.hash);      // #search-results-close-container
console.log(url.origin);    // https://developer.mozilla.org
</pre>

<h2 id="Specifications">Specifications</h2>

<table class="standard-table">
 <tbody>
  <tr>
   <th scope="col">Specification</th>
   <th scope="col">Status</th>
   <th scope="col">Comment</th>
  </tr>
  <tr>
   <td>{{SpecName('HTML WHATWG', "history.html#the-location-interface", "Location")}}</td>
   <td>{{Spec2('HTML WHATWG')}}</td>
   <td>No change from {{SpecName("HTML5 W3C")}}.</td>
  </tr>
  <tr>
   <td>{{SpecName('HTML5 W3C', "browsers.html#the-location-interface", "Location")}}</td>
   <td>{{Spec2('HTML5 W3C')}}</td>
   <td>Initial definition.</td>
  </tr>
 </tbody>
</table>

<h2 id="Browser_compatibility">Browser compatibility</h2>

<p>{{CompatibilityTable}}</p>

<div id="compat-desktop">
<table class="compat-table">
 <tbody>
  <tr>
   <th>Feature</th>
   <th>Chrome</th>
   <th>Firefox (Gecko)</th>
   <th>Internet Explorer</th>
   <th>Opera</th>
   <th>Safari (WebKit)</th>
  </tr>
  <tr>
   <td>Basic support</td>
   <td>{{CompatVersionUnknown}}</td>
   <td>{{CompatVersionUnknown}}</td>
   <td>{{CompatVersionUnknown}}</td>
   <td>{{CompatVersionUnknown}}</td>
   <td>{{CompatVersionUnknown}}</td>
  </tr>
  <tr>
   <td><code>origin</code> on <code>Windows.location</code></td>
   <td>{{CompatUnknown}}</td>
   <td>{{CompatGeckoDesktop("21")}}</td>
   <td>{{CompatUnknown}}</td>
   <td>{{CompatUnknown}}</td>
   <td>{{CompatUnknown}}</td>
  </tr>
  <tr>
   <td><code>origin</code> on all <code>location</code> objects (but on Workers, that use {{domxref("WorkerLocation")}}</td>
   <td>{{CompatUnknown}}</td>
   <td>{{CompatGeckoDesktop("26")}}</td>
   <td>{{CompatUnknown}}</td>
   <td>{{CompatUnknown}}</td>
   <td>{{CompatUnknown}}</td>
  </tr>
  <tr>
   <td><code>username</code> and <code>password</code></td>
   <td>{{CompatUnknown}}</td>
   <td>{{CompatGeckoDesktop("26")}}</td>
   <td>{{CompatUnknown}}</td>
   <td>{{CompatUnknown}}</td>
   <td>{{CompatUnknown}}</td>
  </tr>
  <!-- <tr>
    <td><code>searchParams</code></td>
    <td>{{CompatUnknown}}</td>
    <td>{{CompatGeckoDesktop("34")}}</td>
    <td>{{CompatUnknown}}</td>
    <td>{{CompatUnknown}}</td>
    <td>{{CompatUnknown}}</td>
   </tr> -->
 </tbody>
</table>
</div>

<div id="compat-mobile">
<table class="compat-table">
 <tbody>
  <tr>
   <th>Feature</th>
   <th>Android</th>
   <th>Firefox Mobile (Gecko)</th>
   <th>IE Phone</th>
   <th>Opera Mobile</th>
   <th>Safari Mobile</th>
  </tr>
  <tr>
   <td>Basic support</td>
   <td>{{CompatVersionUnknown}}</td>
   <td>{{CompatVersionUnknown}}</td>
   <td>{{CompatVersionUnknown}}</td>
   <td>{{CompatVersionUnknown}}</td>
   <td>{{CompatVersionUnknown}}</td>
  </tr>
  <tr>
   <td><code>origin</code> on <code>Windows.location</code></td>
   <td>{{CompatUnknown}}</td>
   <td>{{CompatGeckoMobile("21")}}</td>
   <td>{{CompatUnknown}}</td>
   <td>{{CompatUnknown}}</td>
   <td>{{CompatUnknown}}</td>
  </tr>
  <tr>
   <td><code>origin</code> on all <code>location</code> objects (but on Workers, that use {{domxref("WorkerLocation")}})</td>
   <td>{{CompatUnknown}}</td>
   <td>{{CompatGeckoMobile("26")}}</td>
   <td>{{CompatUnknown}}</td>
   <td>{{CompatUnknown}}</td>
   <td>{{CompatUnknown}}</td>
  </tr>
  <tr>
   <td><code>username</code> and <code>password</code></td>
   <td>{{CompatUnknown}}</td>
   <td>{{CompatGeckoMobile("26")}}</td>
   <td>{{CompatUnknown}}</td>
   <td>{{CompatUnknown}}</td>
   <td>{{CompatUnknown}}</td>
  </tr>
  <!-- <tr>
    <td><code>searchParams</code></td>
    <td>{{CompatUnknown}}</td>
    <td>{{CompatGeckoMobile("34")}}</td>
    <td>{{CompatUnknown}}</td>
    <td>{{CompatUnknown}}</td>
    <td>{{CompatUnknown}}</td>
   </tr> -->
 </tbody>
</table>
</div>

<h2 id="See_also">See also</h2>

<ul>
 <li>Two methods creating such an object: {{domxref("Window.location")}} and {{domxref("Document.location")}}.</li>
</ul>