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Q&A Dye all label asterisks Red with vanilla JavaScript

In HTML, style information is applied to elements; it can't be applied to individual characters in a text node. Therefore, if you want to style the * differently, it needs a dedicated element. You...

posted 3y ago by meriton‭ · edited 3y ago by meriton‭

Answer

#3: Post edited by

meriton‭ · 2021-03-22T04:20:39Z (over 3 years ago)

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In HTML, style information is applied to *elements*; it can't be applied to individual characters in a text node. Therefore, if you want to style the `*` differently, it needs a dedicated element.
You can use a pseudo element for that, but since an element can't have two after pseudo elements, you can't attach it to the label. Unfortunately, you can't attach it to the `input` either, because `input` is not a container.
That leaves either adding an element through markup or JavaScript. Adding it in markup clutters the markup, and may cause bugs if the span and input disagree on whether the field is required.
I'd therefore add it via JavaScript. If I had to to this without a web application framework, I'd do something like this:
document.querySelectorAll("input[required]").forEach(e => {
const span = document.createElement("span");
~~span.className = "required";~~
e.parentNode.insertBefore(span, e);
})
and then style that element with CSS
~~span.required::after {~~
content: "*";
color: red;
}
This way, all required inputs automatically get the necessary DOM element.

In HTML, style information is applied to *elements*; it can't be applied to individual characters in a text node. Therefore, if you want to style the `*` differently, it needs a dedicated element.
You can use a pseudo element for that, but since an element can't have two after pseudo elements, you can't attach it to the label. Unfortunately, you can't attach it to the `input` either, because `input` is not a container.
That leaves either adding an element through markup or JavaScript. Adding it in markup clutters the markup, and may cause bugs if the span and input disagree on whether the field is required.
I'd therefore add it via JavaScript. If I had to to this without a web application framework, I'd do something like this:
document.querySelectorAll("input[required]").forEach(e => {
const span = document.createElement("span");
span.className = "requiredMarker";
e.parentNode.insertBefore(span, e);
})
and then style that element with CSS
span.requiredMarker::after {
content: "*";
color: red;
}
This way, all required inputs automatically get the necessary DOM element.

#2: Post edited by

meriton‭ · 2021-03-22T04:19:38Z (over 3 years ago)

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~~In HTML, style information is applied to *elements*; it can't be applied to individual characters in a text node. Therefore, if you want to style `*` differently, it needs a dedicated element.~~
You can use a pseudo element for that, but since an element can't have two after pseudo elements, you can't attach it to the label. Unfortunately, you can't attach it to the `input` either, because `input` is not a container.
That leaves either adding an element through markup or JavaScript. Adding it in markup clutters the markup, and may cause bugs if the span and input disagree on whether the field is required.
I'd therefore add it via JavaScript. If I had to to this without a web application framework, I'd do something like this:
document.querySelectorAll("input[required]").forEach(e => {
const span = document.createElement("span");
span.className = "required";
e.parentNode.insertBefore(span, e);
})
and then style that element with CSS
span.required::after {
content: "*";
color: red;
}
~~This way, changing a requiredness of an input automatically changes the appearance of the label.~~

In HTML, style information is applied to *elements*; it can't be applied to individual characters in a text node. Therefore, if you want to style the `*` differently, it needs a dedicated element.
You can use a pseudo element for that, but since an element can't have two after pseudo elements, you can't attach it to the label. Unfortunately, you can't attach it to the `input` either, because `input` is not a container.
That leaves either adding an element through markup or JavaScript. Adding it in markup clutters the markup, and may cause bugs if the span and input disagree on whether the field is required.
I'd therefore add it via JavaScript. If I had to to this without a web application framework, I'd do something like this:
document.querySelectorAll("input[required]").forEach(e => {
const span = document.createElement("span");
span.className = "required";
e.parentNode.insertBefore(span, e);
})
and then style that element with CSS
span.required::after {
content: "*";
color: red;
}
This way, all required inputs automatically get the necessary DOM element.

#1: Initial revision by

meriton‭ · 2021-03-22T04:17:11Z (over 3 years ago)

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In HTML, style information is applied to *elements*; it can't be applied to individual characters in a text node. Therefore, if you want to style `*` differently, it needs a dedicated element. 

You can use a pseudo element for that, but since an element can't have two after pseudo elements, you can't attach it to the label. Unfortunately, you can't attach it to the `input` either, because `input` is not a container. 

That leaves either adding an element through markup or JavaScript. Adding it in markup clutters the markup, and may cause bugs if the span and input disagree on whether the field is required. 

I'd therefore add it via JavaScript. If I had to to this without a web application framework, I'd do something like this:

	document.querySelectorAll("input[required]").forEach(e => {
	  const span = document.createElement("span");
	  span.className = "required";
	  e.parentNode.insertBefore(span, e);
	})

and then style that element with CSS

    span.required::after {
      content: "*";
      color: red;
    }

This way, changing a requiredness of an input automatically changes the appearance of the label.

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