Location

The Location interface represents the location (URL) of the object it is linked to. Changes done on it are reflected on the object it relates to. Both the Document and Window interface have such a linked Location, accessible via Document.location and Window.location respectively.

Properties

The Location interface doesn't inherit any property, but implements those from URLUtils.

Location.href
Is a DOMString containing the entire URL. If changed, the associated document navigates to the new page. It can be set from a different origin than the associated document.
Location.protocol
Is a DOMString containing the protocol scheme of the URL, including the final ':'.
Location.host
Is a DOMString containing the host, that is the hostname, a ':', and the port of the URL.
Location.hostname
Is a DOMString containing the domain of the URL.
Location.port
Is a DOMString containing the port number of the URL.
Location.pathname
Is a DOMString containing an initial '/' followed by the path of the URL.
Location.search
Is a DOMString containing a '?' followed by the parameters of the URL. Also known as "querystring".
Location.hash
Is a DOMString containing a '#' followed by the fragment identifier of the URL.
Location.username
Is a DOMString containing the username specified before the domain name.
Location.password
Is a DOMString containing the password specified before the domain name.
Location.origin Read only
Returns a DOMString containing the canonical form of the origin of the specific location.

Methods

The Location interface doesn't inherit any method, but implements those from URLUtils.

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

Examples

JavaScript
// 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

Specifications

Specification Status Comment
WHATWG HTML Living Standard
The definition of 'Location' in that specification.
Living Standard No change from HTML5.
HTML5
The definition of 'Location' in that specification.
Recommendation Initial definition.

Browser compatibility

Feature Chrome Firefox (Gecko) Internet Explorer Opera Safari (WebKit)
Basic support (Yes) (Yes) (Yes) (Yes) (Yes)
origin on Windows.location ? 21 (21) ? ? ?
origin on all location objects (but on Workers, that use WorkerLocation ? 26 (26) ? ? ?
username and password ? 26 (26) ? ? ?
Feature Android Firefox Mobile (Gecko) IE Phone Opera Mobile Safari Mobile
Basic support (Yes) (Yes) (Yes) (Yes) (Yes)
origin on Windows.location ? 21.0 (21) ? ? ?
origin on all location objects (but on Workers, that use WorkerLocation) ? 26.0 (26) ? ? ?
username and password ? 26.0 (26) ? ? ?

See also

License

© 2016 Mozilla Contributors
Licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License v2.5 or later.
https://developer.mozilla.org/en-us/docs/web/api/location

API HTML DOM Interface Location Reference