November 11, 1999 - Using the Status Bar | WebReference

November 11, 1999 - Using the Status Bar

Yehuda Shiran November 11, 1999
Using the Status Bar
Tips: November 1999

Yehuda Shiran, Ph.D.
Doc JavaScript

At the bottom of the browser window is a status bar. Part of that bar includes a text field that normally discloses the document loading progress of the URL of alink that the mouse is pointing to at any given instant. You can control the temporary content of that text field by assigning a text string to the window object's status property. In multi-frame environments, you can set the window.status property without having to worry about referencing the individual frame. The status property is commonly used to explain the nature of the destination of a link in response to the onMouseOver event:

<SCRIPT LANGUAGE="JavaScript">
<!--
function display(str) {
  window.status = str;
  return true;
}
// -->
</SCRIPT>
<A HREF="https://www.docjs.com/"
   onMouseOver="return display('Free JavaScript columns, tips, and scripts.')"
   onMouseOut="return display('')">Doc JavaScript</A>

Here's the live example: Doc JavaScript. Note that the status property is supported by all JavaScript-enabled browsers. Also notice that the event handler must return true. This statement is required or the status message will not display.