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DataTables issue: VM9075 dataTables.min.js:24Uncaught TypeError: Cannot set property '_DT_CellIndex' of undefined

I just started using DataTables and everything works fine when creating the table.
When I display 5, 24, 47 rows in my table, DataTables behaves as I would expect.
But I have this table that has around 700 rows and I get the error in Google Chrome,
"VM9075 dataTables.min.js:24Uncaught TypeError: Cannot set property '_DT_CellIndex' of undefined "
and in IE 9,
"SCRIPT5007: Unable to set value of the property '_DT_CellIndex': object is null or undefined
jquery-1.10.2.min.js, line 4 character 2367"
I don't have jQuery included twice btw.
I'm not sure how to proceed from here.
I tried to use the unminified version of the .js file to debug it more myself but i kept getting an "ext" method or property is undefined and couldn't fix that either.
Any help is appreciated!

I figured it out
The biggest issue was not knowing exactly what this error actually meant.
In my case it meant "the number of every <td> element in your table that is a child of a <tr> element doesn't match the number of <th> elements that are a child of the <thead> element."
My table was being generated by the server, and some of the <tr> elements had 27 <td> children (which was filling the whole width of the table up, but some of the <tr> elements only had 3, 4, or 5, ... <td> child elements which isn't a valid table.
I solved it by adding empty <td> elements in my table for the <tr> elements that lacked the correct number of <td> elements
var makeTableValidObject = {
thisWasCalled: 0,
makeTableValid: function() {
var tableToWorkOn = document.getElementById("table1");
//check the number of columns in the <thead> tag
//thead //tr //th elements
var numberOfColumnsInHeadTag = tableToWorkOn.children[1].children[0].children.length;
var numberOf_trElementsToValidate = tableToWorkOn.children[2].children.length;
//now go through each <tr> in the <tbody> and see if they all match the length of the thead columns
//tbody //all trs//all tds elements
//tableToWorkOn.children[2].children.children);
for(var i = 0; i < numberOf_trElementsToValidate; i++) {
//row my row make sure the columns have the correct number of elements
var tdColumnArray = tableToWorkOn.children[2].children[i].children
var trElementToAppendToIfNeeded = tableToWorkOn.children[2].children[i];
if(tdColumnArray.length != numberOfColumnsInHeadTag) {
//since they don't match up, make them valid
if(tdColumnArray.length < numberOfColumnsInHeadTag) {
//add the necessary number of blank <td> tags to the <tr> element to make this <tr> valid
var tdColumnArrayLength = tdColumnArray.length;
for(var j = 0; j < (numberOfColumnsInHeadTag - tdColumnArrayLength); j++) {
var blank_tdElement = document.createElement("td");
blank_tdElement.id = "validating_tdId" + i + "_" + j;
trElementToAppendToIfNeeded.appendChild(blank_tdElement);
}
}
else {
//TODO: remove <td> tags to make this <tr> valid if necessary
}
}
}
}
};
Edit 1:
It has been awhile and this question is still getting a bunch of views. I have since updated the code.
I replaced the first line of code with the second line to be more general
var numberOfColumnsInHeadTag = tableToWorkOn.children[1].children[0].children.length;
var numberOfColumnsInHeadTag = tableToWorkOn.querySelectorAll('thead')[0].querySelectorAll('th');
Pretty much where ever in the prior code you see the children.children I replaced that with the querySelectorAll(...) Function.
It uses css selectors which makes it amazingly powerful.
stay blessed

Ran into this same issue and implemented this same solution (essentially) in jquery based on Coty's. Hope this helps someone. :)
$( '.table' ).each(function( i ) {
var worktable = $(this);
var num_head_columns = worktable.find('thead tr th').length;
var rows_to_validate = worktable.find('tbody tr');
rows_to_validate.each( function (i) {
var row_columns = $(this).find('td').length;
for (i = $(this).find('td').length; i < num_head_columns; i++) {
$(this).append('<td class="hidden"></td>');
}
});
});

As answered by Coty, the problem lies in the mismatch of td elements generated in the header and body of table.
I'd like to highlight one of the reasons why it can occur (For .Net Users).
If Page numbers are being displayed at the end of gridview, they can disrupt table structure.
Remove AllowPaging="true" from your gridview to solve this.
And no worries because Datatable handles Paging.

you always keep four column but sometimes you will receive or append null td or only one td, td count always match with total column so when you does not have record then make td as following.
<th>No</th>
<th>Name</th>
<th>place</th>
<th>Price</th>
----------------------------------------
<td colspan="4">Data not found.</td>
<td style="display: none;"></td>
<td style="display: none;"></td>
<td style="display: none;"></td>

this error can also be triggered if you try to set options for the responsive extension for more columns than you have.

$( '.table' ).each(function( i ) {
var worktable = $(this);
var num_head_columns = worktable.find('thead tr th').length;
var rows_to_validate = worktable.find('tbody tr');
rows_to_validate.each( function (i) {
var row_columns = $(this).find('td').length;
for (i = $(this).find('td').length; i < num_head_columns; i++) {
$(this).append('<td class="hidden"></td>');
}
});
});

Check if variable exists in a html table with javascript

I have two tables at the moment. What Im looking to achieve is to select a row in one table, obtain the "filename" field from that and then check if that filename exists in the other table. If the file exists in both tables I want to change the colour of my progress tracker. Right now I have the selecting of the row working, but I can't seem to check it against the other table. Any help would be greatly appreciated.
HTML:
<table id="table">
<tr>
<td>--</td>
<td>Filename</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>1</td>
<td>Example1</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>2</td>
<td>Example2</td>
</tr>
</table>
<table id="table2">
<tr>
<td>--</td>
<td>Filename</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>1</td>
<td>Example1</td>
</tr>
</table>
<div id="words">
</div>
JavaScript:
$("#table").find("tr").click(function(){
$(this).addClass('selected').siblings().removeClass('selected');
var value=$(this).find('td:nth-child(2)').html();
//alert(value);
document.getElementById("words").innerHTML = value;
});
Thanks again for the help!

$("#table").on('click','tr',function(){ // <-- #1
var $this = $(this), // <-- #2
filename = $this.find('td:nth-child(2)').text(), // <-- #3
$words = $('#words');
$this.addClass('selected').siblings().removeClass('selected');
$words.html(filename).css('color','black');
if ( valueInTable('table2', 1, filename ) ){ // <-- #4
$words.css('color', 'blue');
}
});
function valueInTable(tableID, columnNum, searchString){
var found = false;
$( '#' + tableID + ' tr td:nth-child(' + columnNum + ')' ).each(function(){
if ($(this).text() == searchString ){
found = true;
return false;
}
});
return found;
}
This is important, this binds the event to the table. When a click occurs somewhere inside the table it checks the event registry, in this case, it checks to see if a TR was clicked. This is both a performance gain, since you're not creating an event for each row of the table, but also if you create new rows dynamically, you don't have to create a new event when you do. You create this event once and it's in place for all new/old rows of the table
Cache $(this) into a variable. You use it more than once and chances are you'll use it even more. You should not create a new jQuery object every time you want to refer to $(this), so stick it in a variable and reuse that
While .html() may work for you, if you have other embedded HTML, you might get values you were not intending (e.g., <span>filename</span>), for that reason, you only need .text(), which will just give you the text value and strip off all the nested HTML (leaving you with only filename)
Using a function comes with a penalty, but it's good to put long-logic elsewhere, in case you're doing anything more involved. For instance, your table could expand in width (number of columns) and you might also want to search them for a value, or you might have more tables you want to look in; this same function can be used for both of those cases.
as noted, the :contains() selector was built for what you're after However, there is one caveat. The problem with contains is that it lacks customization. If you want to modify your comparison to be a RegEx, or if you want to perform other manipulation using trim or truncate, you can't do that with contains. You could easily modify the code below to do: $.trim( $(this).text() ) == $.trim( searchString )

As #Pete commented, you can use if ($('#table2 td:contains(' + value + ')').length) as follows
$("#table").find("tr").click(function(){
$(this).addClass('selected').siblings().removeClass('selected');
var value=$(this).find('td:nth-child(2)').html();
//alert(value);
if ($('#table2 td:contains(' + value + ')').length) {
document.getElementById("words").innerHTML = value;
} else {
document.getElementById("words").innerHTML = "false";
}
});
See the JSFiddle for working example: https://jsfiddle.net/v14L4bqr/

td's in table creating with jquery without html

Here is my jsfiddle work. I have some issues with generating table without any html. I have one json object that i need to itterate and to put keys and values in table like:
<tr> <td> key </td> <td> key </td> ... </tr>
<tr> <td> val </td> <td> val </td> ... </tr>
I tried first to generate the table like this one, but next i wanted to use jquery version of creating td's and tr's, but the all keys and values were appended in only one td and actually this is not what i want.

You have to loop through keys the first time to set the head of table, after that make the rows inside each and append every one to the table to make the body of your table, check example code bellow :
$.ajax({
type : "POST",
dataType : "json",
url : '/echo/json/',
data : { json: JSON.stringify( jsonData ) },
success : function(data){
var jsn = $(data.markers);
//First time append table head
if(!header)
{
var row = $('<tr></tr>');
for(key in jsn[0])
{
row.append('<th>'+key+'</th>');
}
table.append(row);
header = true;
}
for ( var i = 0; i < jsn.length ; i++){
var row = $('<tr></tr>');
$.each(jsn[i], function(key,val)
{
row.append('<td>'+val+'</td>');
});
table.append(row);
}
}
});
Take a look at Working fiddle.
Hope this helps.

The issue was in the scope of the col and row variables. You must reassign them in the loop, or redeclare.
Here is the updated jsfiddle. By the way there is no need to use for loop. In jQuery it is enough to use the $.each function on the object.
From here you can see how to create table structure and replace the key and val with the actual data you need.

You need to create new row object in each for iteration:
for (var mrksIndex = 0, mrksLength = jsn.length; mrksIndex <= mrksLength; ++mrksIndex) {
row = $("<tr/>");
$.each(jsn[mrksIndex], function (key, val) {
col = $("<td/>");
col.append(key);
row.append(col);
table.append(row);
});
}
Demo: https://jsfiddle.net/6dw2u8uz/15/

How to make a table with rows that can be copied (adding a new row after that one, containing the same) with Javascript?

I am trying to make a table containing several rows, each with a button in the last cell that creates a copy of the row.
All the other cells contains an input (text).
The content (value) of the inputs that are added must be the same as the one above (the one they are copies of).
The copies cannot be copied however!
The inputs must have a unique name something like this:
1-1-name
1-1-age
1-1-country
1-1-email
and if this row is copied, the copied inputs must have names like this
1-2-name
1-2-age
1-2-country
1-2-email
The next one with 3 instead of 2, and so on.
The problem with this, I guess, is that I must do this without JQuery. I can only use Javascript. Is this even possible?

Take a look at this fiddle. Here is a pure js (no-jQuery) way to duplicate a table row and increment it's ID:
var idInit;
var table = document.getElementById('theTable');
table.addEventListener('click', duplicateRow); // Make the table listen to "Click" events
function duplicateRow(e){
if(e.target.type == "button"){ // "If a button was clicked"
var row = e.target.parentElement.parentElement; // Get the row
var newRow = row.cloneNode(true); // Clone the row
incrementId(newRow); // Increment the row's ID
var cells = newRow.cells;
for(var i = 0; i < cells.length; i++){
incrementId(cells[i]); // Increment the cells' IDs
}
insertAfter(row, newRow); // Insert the row at the right position
idInit++;
}
}
function incrementId(elem){
idParts = elem.id.split('-'); // Cut up the element's ID to get the second part.
idInit ? idParts[1] = idInit + 1 : idInit = idParts[1]++; // Increment the ID, and set a temp variable to keep track of the id's.
elem.id = idParts.join('-'); // Set the new id to the element.
}
function insertAfter(after, newNode){
after.parentNode.insertBefore(newNode, after.nextSibling);
}​
<table id="theTable">
<tr id="1-1">
<td id="1-1-name"><input type="text"/></td>
<td id="1-1-age"><input type="text"/></td>
<td id="1-1-country"><input type="text"/></td>
<td id="1-1-email"><input type="text"/></td>
<td id="1-1-button"><input type="button" value="Copy"/></td>
</tr>
</table>​
Edit: Updated to insert the new row after the clicked one. Now with buttons and inputs!

Yes this is possible,
you should create a new table row ,
then set its innerHTML to the innerHTML of the row above.
jQuery is a JavaScript library, which means it is built with JavaScript functions.
So everything you can do with jQuery, you can do with JavaScript too.
Léon

Keep checkbox values on content update

I've been struggling with this issue for a while now. Maybe you can help.
I have a table with a checkbox at the beginning of each row. I defined a function which reloads the table at regular intervals. It uses jQuery's load() function on a JSP which generates the new table.
The problem is that I need to preserve the checkbox values until the user makes up his mind on which items to select. Currently, their values are lost between updates.
The current code I use that tries to fix it is:
refreshId = setInterval(function()
{
var allTicks = new Array();
$('#myTable input:checked').each(function() {
allTicks.push($(this).attr('id'));
});
$('#myTable').load('/get-table.jsp', null,
function (responseText,textStatus, req ){
$('#my-table').tablesorter();
//alert(allTicks + ' length ' + allTicks.length);
for (i = 0 ; i < allTicks.length; i++ )
$("#my-table input#" + allTicks[i]).attr('checked', true);
});
}, $refreshInterval);
The id of each checkbox is the same as the table entry next to it.
My idea was to store all the checked checkboxes' ids into an array before the update and to change their values after the update is done, as most of the entries will be preserved, and the ones that are new won't really matter.
'#myTable' is the div in which the table is loaded and '#my-table' is the id of the table which is generated. The checkbox inputs are generated along with the new table and with the same ids as before.
The weird thing is that applying tablesorter to the newly generated table works, but getting the elements with the stored ids doesn't.
Any solutions?
P.S: I know that this approach to table generation isn't really the best, but my JS skills were limited back then. I'd like to keep this solution for now and fix the problem.
EDIT:
Applied the syntax suggested by Didier G. and added some extra test blocks that check the status before and after the checkbox ticking.
Looks like this now:
refreshId = setInterval(function()
{
var allTicks = []
var $myTable = $('#my-table');
allTicks = $myTable.find('input:checked').map(function() { return this.id; });
$('#myTable').load('/get-table.jsp', null,
function (responseText,textStatus, req ){
$myTable = $('#my-table');
$('#my-table').tablesorter();
var msg = 'Before: \n';
$myTable.find('input').each(function(){
msg = msg + this.id + " " + $(this).prop('checked') + '\n';
});
//alert(msg);
//alert(allTicks + ' length ' + allTicks.length);
for (i = 0 ; i < allTicks.length; i++ ){
$myTable.find('#' + allTicks[i]).prop('checked', true);
}
msg = 'After: '
$myTable.find('input').each(function(){
msg = msg + this.id + " " + $(this).prop('checked') + '\n';
});
//alert(msg);
});
}, $refreshInterval);
If I uncomment the alert lines, and check 2 checkboxes, on the next update I get (for 3 row table):
Before: host2 false
host3 false
host4 false
object [Object] length 2
After: host2 false
host3 false
host4 false
Also did a previous check on the contents of the array and it has all the correct entries.
Can the DOM change or working with an entirely new table instance be a cause of this?
EDIT2:
Here's a sample of the table generated by the JSP (edited for confidentiality purposes):
<table id="my-table" class="tablesorter">
<thead>
<tr>
<th>Full Name</th>
<th>IP Address</th>
<th>Role</th>
<th>Job Slots</th>
<th>Status</th>
<th>Management</th>
</tr>
</thead>
<tbody>
<tr>
<td>head</td>
<td>10.20.1.14</td>
<td>H</td>
<td>4</td>
<td>ON</td>
<td>Permanent</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>
<input type="checkbox" id="host2" name="host2"/>
host2
</td>
<td>10.20.1.7</td>
<td>C</td>
<td>4</td>
<td>BSTART</td>
<td>Dynamic</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><input type="checkbox" id="host3" name="host3"/>
host3</td>
<td>10.20.1.9</td>
<td>C</td>
<td>4</td>
<td>BSTART</td>
<td>Dynamic</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><input type="checkbox" id="host4" name="host4"/>
host4</td>
<td>10.20.1.11</td>
<td>C</td>
<td>4</td>
<td>BSTART</td>
<td>Dynamic</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
Note that the id and name of the checkbox coincide with the host name. Also note that the first td does not have a checkbox. That's the expected behavior.

Changing 'special' attributes like disbaled or checked should be done like this:
$(...).attr('checked','checked');
or this way if you are using jQuery 1.6 or later:
$(...).prop('checked', true); // more reliable
See jQUery doc about .attr() and .prop()
Here's your piece of code modified with a few optimizations (check the comments):
refreshId = setInterval(function()
{
var allTicks = [],
$myTable = $('#myTable'); // select once and re-use
// .map() returns an array which is what you are after
// also never do this: $(this).attr('id').
// 'id' is a property available in javascript and
// in .map() (and in .each()), 'this' is the current DOMElement so simply do:
// this.id
allTicks = $myTable.find('input:checked').map(function() { return this.id; });
$myTable.load('/get-table.jsp', null, function (responseText,textStatus, req ) {
$myTable.tablesorter();
//alert(allTicks + ' length ' + allTicks.length);
for (i = 0 ; i < allTicks.length; i++ )
// avoid prefixing with tagname if you have the ID: input#theId
// #xxx is unique and jquery will use javascript getElementById which is super fast ;-)
$myTable.find('#' + allTicks[i]).prop('checked', true);
});
}, $refreshInterval);

Let us assume that the JavaScript does retrieve and set the checkboxes ticks.
Then there still is a problem with the asynchrone Ajax call.
First try it with a very large $refreshInterval.
Place the for-loop before the tablesorter call.
Do not setInterval, but setTimeout and schedule this for one single time.
Then in the load function schedule the next time.
This prevents overlapping calls which were a possible cause for the error.
But may stop refreshing, when the load is not called. (Not so important.)

After lots of painful hours of digging up every small detail, I realized that my problem was not how I coded the thing, nor was it stuff like unexpected DOM changes, but a simple detail I failed to see:
The id I was trying to assign to the checkbox contained a period (".") character.
This causes lots of problems for jQuery when trying to look up that sort of id, because a period as-is acts as a class descriptor. To avoid this, the period character must be escaped using 2 backslashes.
For example:
$("#my.id") // incorrect
$("#my\\.id") // correct
So then the fix in my case would be:
$myTable.find('#' + allTicks[i].replace(".", "\\.")).prop('checked', true);
... and it finally works.
Thanks everyone for all your helping hands!