How To Get Css Property Value In Javascript

by

When working with web applications, it’s common to manipulate the appearance and style of elements using JavaScript. It can be useful to access the CSS property values of elements and use those values to perform various tasks, like updating the style or checking if an element has a specific style applied.

In this blog post, we will learn how to get the CSS property value of an element using JavaScript. Let’s get started!

Using the window.getComputedStyle() Method

The most common way to get the CSS property value of an element is by using the window.getComputedStyle() method. This method takes two arguments:

  • The first argument is the DOM element you want to get the style of.
  • The second argument is an optional pseudo-element (like ::before or ::after) that you want to retrieve the style from. If you don’t need the style of a pseudo-element, you can pass null or leave it empty.

Here’s an example of how to use the window.getComputedStyle() method:

    const element = document.querySelector("#my-element");
    const computedStyle = window.getComputedStyle(element, null);
    const backgroundColor = computedStyle.getPropertyValue("background-color");
    console.log(backgroundColor);

In the example above, we’re querying an element with the ID my-element, getting its computed style, and retrieving the value of its background-color property. We then log the value to the console.

Using the element.style Property

Another way to get the CSS property value of an element is by accessing its style property directly. Note that this method only works for inline styles that are set directly on an element using the style attribute or by manipulating the element.style property.

Here’s an example of how to use the element.style property:

    const element = document.querySelector("#my-element");
    const backgroundColor = element.style.backgroundColor;
    console.log(backgroundColor);

In this example, we’re querying an element with the ID my-element, getting its inline style, and retrieving the value of its background-color property. We then log the value to the console.

Conclusion

In this blog post, we discussed two methods to get the CSS property value of an element using JavaScript: the window.getComputedStyle() method and the element.style property. Both methods have their use cases, but the window.getComputedStyle() method is generally more versatile, as it can retrieve both computed styles and styles applied by external stylesheets.

Now that you know how to access CSS property values using JavaScript, you can start using these techniques to make your web applications more dynamic and interactive!