Detect/Warn when back button is pressed - javascript

Is there a way detect/catch the browser back button being pressed and in doing so ask them if they are sure about going back?
Building an application and it will soon be converted to an ajax based application and per requirements it's supposed to reset the application if a user goes 'back'...
I mainly want this to catch the accidental back button presses as I personally feel that if someone can't follow the directions that are given to them at the beginning of the application.... I'm not worried about their extra work.
If there isn't a way to do this is would the best solution be to launch the application in a new window/tab so that there is no history for it to go back to?

you can use onbeforeunload to detect back button or accidental page navigations:
window.addEventListener("beforeunload", function() {
var ans = confirm("Are you sure?");
if (ans) {
//TODO: add your code here
}
}, false);
to replace the current page in browser history you can use window.location.replace():
window.location.replace("yourNewURL");

You can also set the onbeforeunload function like this:
window.onbeforeunload = function() {
return "Are you sure you wish to leave?";
};

Related

How to disable browser feature

I am developing a project where user gets a conformation page. I want user not to click back or close tab or reload.
Now either I need to disable the browser features or get back button,tab close event, or reload event to java script so that I could take the needed steps to prevent my data to get lost.
I have used this:
window.onbeforeunload = function()
{
return "Try This";
};
But this get called even when I click a button that redirects the page.
If you just want to have the alert, understanding that the user is ultimately in control and can bypass your alert, then do what you're doing but use a flag that disables it when you're navigating and don't want the alert. E.g.:
var warnWhenLeaving = true;
window.onbeforeunload = function() {
if (warnWhenLeaving) {
return "your message here";
}
};
then in a click handler on the link/button/whatever that moves the user on that you don't want this to pop up on:
warnWhenLeaving = false;
In a comment you asked:
can i know that what user has clicked when alert is generated with this function. That is can i know what user has clicked (leave this page/stay on page)
The answer is: Sort of, but not really; you're almost certainly better off not trying to.
But: If you see your onbeforeunload function run, then you know the user is leaving the page and the browser is likely to show them your message. The browsers I'm familiar with handle the popup like an alert: All JavaScript code on the page is blocked while the popup is there. So if you schedule a callback via setTimeout, you won't get the callback if they leave and you will if they stay:
window.onbeforeunload = function() {
if (warnWhenLeaving) {
setTimeout(function() {
display("You stayed, yay!");
}, 0);
return "No, don't go!";
}
};
Live Example
So in theory, if you get the callback, they stayed; if you see an unload event, they left. (Note that there are very few things you can do in an unload event.)
I've tried that on current Chrome, current Firefox, IE8, and IE11: It works on all of those. Whether it will work in the next release of any of them is anybody's guess. Whether it works reliably on mobile browsers is something you'd have to test, and again could change.

How to stop unloading the page?

I have a page where user needs to enter some data and click save to validate the changes, but my problem is if the user is trying to close the browser window or click on a different link to navigate to a different page..I need to delete all the entries the user has saved so far..
I am doing it the following way
window.onbeforeunload = function()
{
if(confirm('Are you sure you want to navigate'))
{
//Invoke `enter code here`server side method
}
else
{
// return false;
}
}
Everything works fine if he click on Yes, the problem comes when he click on "No"..Even if he click on No..the page unload method is getting called and it is redirected to a different page..but I want it to stay in the same page in same state...can you please help me in achieving this.
Thanks and appreciate your response....
You cannot stop the user from leaving the page. What you can do is alert a message to them, asking if they want to leave or not.
The window.onbeforeunload event should return a string (and only a string). This string will be printed on the alert box made by the browser.
You cannot use your own alert box, or block the user from leaving (or redirect them).
window.onbeforeunload = function(){
return 'Are you sure you want to leave?';
};
Or with jQuery
$(window).on('beforeunload', function(){
return 'Are you sure you want to leave?';
});
When a user leaves the page, you can use the onunload event to make an AJAX call (you may need to use async: false here).
Example:
$(window).unload(function(){
$.ajax({
url: '/path/to/page/',
async: false, // this may be needed to make sure the browser doesn't
// unload before this is done
success: function(){
// Do something
}
});
});
NOTE: Instead of doing this, why don't you just save everything when the user is completed? Instead of saving it and then removing it if the user doesn't finish?
First of all: you can't! It's impossible. onbeforeunload only accepts a string as return value and will then close if the user wants that.
But then think about what happens if the computer is being without energy and shuts down? Or the browser will closed by the Task Manager? Or even more "realistic": The internet connection get lost! => Then you got invalid data states too!
You are trying to solve a false problem! Your problem isn't this function, your problem is the state of your formular!
Why do you need some kind of function? Do you saving the data before he clicks on save? Then don't! Or make sure to have another query which detects unfinished data in your database and delete it after a timeout!
onbeforeunload only accepts a string as return value. That string will be displayed by the browser with the option to stay on the page or leave it. But that's ll you can do.
You can use something like this, just call the following function on your page
function noBack() {
window.onbeforeunload = function(){window.history.forward()}
}
this disables Back button if window.history is clean, otherwise it works only first time.

Gmail-style Exit Message

I realize this is likely a duplicate, but I've been googling/SOing for a day now and I can't find a satisfactory answer. If there is an answer already on SO, please send me there.
I have a client that insists on having an exit message popup confirming they want to exit the site, just like Gmail does. (I've already tried arguing against it. He is immovable, so no comments about how that is bad practice please.)
I've found this code:
<script>
window.onbeforeunload = function() {
return 'Are you sure you want to exit?';
}
<script>
But it runs no matter what I do - reloading the page, clicking on the nav, etc.
I just want the message to show up when the user closes the tab/browser. I suspect it's something simple I'm missing but I'm not a Javascript expert.
Any help would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks
EDIT
Here's what is working pretty good. Thanks to all!
var isLeavingSite = true;
//This would be called on each link/button click that navigates
$('a, input[type="submit"]').click(function(){
isLeavingSite = false;
});
window.onbeforeunload = function() {
if(isLeavingSite)
return 'Are you sure you want to exit?';
}
Though it could be a fair amount of work (depending on how your site is written), you could do something like this (pseudo-code):
var isLeavingSite = true;
//This would be called on each link/button click that navigates
function GlobalLinkHandler()
{
isLeavingSite = false;
}
window.onbeforeunload = function() {
if(isLeavingSite)
return 'Are you sure you want to exit?';
}
If you're using jQuery, you can use the code below to flip the isLeavingSite flag:
$('a, input[type="submit"]').click(function(){ isLeavingSite = false; });
What'll have to do is make use a variable that you set if any link is clicked on the site, then inside the onbeforeunload event check if that variable is set meaning they clicked a link or not set meaning they're closing the tab.
You can also use that variable to simple set the href of the link; that will allow you to then check what link they clicked on inside the onbeforeunload event and allow you to check if they're clicking on a link to go to another page on your site or clicking on an external link to another site.
If your using jQuery try this Confirm before exit

Implement a Back-Button 'Warning' in Javascript for use in Flex

I have a Flex application where I want to give the user a warning if they hit the back-button so they don't mistakenly leave the app. I know this can't be done entirely in Actionscript due to cross-browser incompatibility. What I'm looking for is just the Javascript implementation to catch the back-button.
Does anyone have a simple non-library cross-browser script to catch the back-button? I can't seem to find a post that shows an example.
You can use the window.onbeforeunload event.
window.onbeforeunload = function () {
return "Are you sure you want to leave my glorious Flex app?"
}
The user can press okay to leave, cancel to stay.
As you stated, this throws the alert any time the page changes. In order to make sure it only happens on a back button click, we have to eliminate the alert message whenever they're leaving the page from natural, expected sources.
var okayToLeave = false;
window.onbeforeunload = function () {
if (!okayToLeave) {
return "Are you sure you want to leave my glorious Flex app?"
}
}
function OkayToLeave() {
okayToLeave = true;
}
You'll have the responsibility of setting the variable to true whenever they click a button or link that will take them from that page naturally. I'd use a function for unobtrusive javascript.
Set your event handlers in the DOM ready:
referenceToElement.addEventListener('onClick', OkayToLeave(), false);
This is untested, but should point you in the right direction. Although it may seem like a nuisance to do this, I imagine it's more complete functionality. It covers the cases where a user may click on a favorite, or be redirected from an external application.

How to block users from closing a window in Javascript?

Is it possible to block users from closing the window using the exit button [X]? I am actually providing a close button in the page for the users to close the window.Basically what I'm trying to do is to force the users to fill the form and submit it. I don't want them to close the window till they have submitted it.
I really appreciate your comments, I'm not thinking of hosting on any commercial website. Its an internal thing, we are actually getting all the staff to participate in this survey we have designed....
I know its not the right way but I was wondering if there was a solution to the problem we have got here...
Take a look at onBeforeUnload.
It wont force someone to stay but it will prompt them asking them whether they really want to leave, which is probably the best cross browser solution you can manage. (Similar to this site if you attempt to leave mid-answer.)
<script language="JavaScript">
window.onbeforeunload = confirmExit;
function confirmExit() {
return "You have attempted to leave this page. Are you sure?";
}
</script>
Edit: Most browsers no longer allow a custom message for onbeforeunload.
See this bug report from the 18th of February, 2016.
onbeforeunload dialogs are used for two things on the Modern Web:
Preventing users from inadvertently losing data.
Scamming users.
In an attempt to restrict their use for the latter while not stopping the former, we are going to not display the string provided by the webpage. Instead, we are going to use a generic string.
Firefox already does this[...]
If you don't want to display popup for all event you can add conditions like
window.onbeforeunload = confirmExit;
function confirmExit() {
if (isAnyTaskInProgress) {
return "Some task is in progress. Are you sure, you want to close?";
}
}
This works fine for me
What will you do when a user hits ALT + F4 or closes it from Task Manager
Why don't you keep track if they did not complete it in a cookie or the DB and when they visit next time just bring the same screen back...:BTW..you haven't finished filling this form out..."
Of course if you were around before the dotcom bust you would remember porn storms, where if you closed 1 window 15 others would open..so yes there is code that will detect a window closing but if you hit ALT + F4 twice it will close the child and the parent (if it was a popup)
This will pop a dialog asking the user if he really wants to close or stay, with a message.
var message = "You have not filled out the form.";
window.onbeforeunload = function(event) {
var e = e || window.event;
if (e) {
e.returnValue = message;
}
return message;
};
You can then unset it before the form gets submitted or something else with
window.onbeforeunload = null;
Keep in mind that this is extremely annoying. If you are trying to force your users to fill out a form that they don't want to fill out, then you will fail: they will find a way to close the window and never come back to your mean website.
How about that?
function internalHandler(e) {
e.preventDefault(); // required in some browsers
e.returnValue = ""; // required in some browsers
return "Custom message to show to the user"; // only works in old browsers
}
if (window.addEventListener) {
window.addEventListener('beforeunload', internalHandler, true);
} else if (window.attachEvent) {
window.attachEvent('onbeforeunload', internalHandler);
}
If your sending out an internal survey that requires 100% participation from your company's employees, then a better route would be to just have the form keep track of the responders ID/Username/email etc. Every few days or so just send a nice little email reminder to those in your organization to complete the survey...you could probably even automate this.
It's poor practice to force the user to do something they don't necessarily want to do. You can't ever really prevent them from closing the browser.
You can achieve a similar effect, though, by making a div on your current web page to layer over top the rest of your controls so your form is the only thing accessible.
Well you can use the window.onclose event and return false in the event handler.
function closedWin() {
confirm("close ?");
return false; /* which will not allow to close the window */
}
if(window.addEventListener) {
window.addEventListener("close", closedWin, false);
}
window.onclose = closedWin;
Code was taken from this site.
In the other hand, if they force the closing (by using task manager or something in those lines) you cannot do anything about it.

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