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JavaScript JavaScript and the DOM (Retiring) Getting a Handle on the DOM Practice Selecting Elements

Posted by Todd Alcock
Todd Alcock
5,516 Points

Querying links in a list with a specific id

Having trouble selecting the links in a unordered list with the id of gallery.

js/app.js 
let navigationLinks = document.querySelectorAll('nav a');
let galleryLinks;
let footerImages;
index.html 
<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
  <head>
    <meta charset="utf-8">
    <title>Nick Pettit | Designer</title>
    <link rel="stylesheet" href="css/normalize.css">
    <link href='http://fonts.googleapis.com/css?family=Changa+One|Open+Sans:400italic,700italic,400,700,800' rel='stylesheet' type='text/css'>
    <link rel="stylesheet" href="css/main.css">
    <link rel="stylesheet" href="css/responsive.css">
    <meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1.0">
  </head>
  <body>
    <header>
      <a href="index.html" id="logo">
        <h1>Nick Pettit</h1>
        <h2>Designer</h2>
      </a>
      <nav>
        <ul>
          <li><a href="index.html" class="selected">Portfolio</a></li>
          <li><a href="about.html">About</a></li>
          <li><a href="contact.html">Contact</a></li>
        </ul>
      </nav>
    </header>
    <div id="wrapper">
      <section>
        <ul id="gallery">
          <li>
            <a href="img/numbers-01.jpg">
              <img src="img/numbers-01.jpg" alt="">
              <p>Experimentation with color and texture.</p>
            </a>
          </li>
          <li>
            <a href="img/numbers-02.jpg">
              <img src="img/numbers-02.jpg" alt="">
              <p>Playing with blending modes in Photoshop.</p>
            </a>
          </li>
        </ul>
      </section>
      <footer>
        <a href="http://twitter.com/nickrp"><img src="img/twitter-wrap.png" alt="Twitter Logo" class="social-icon"></a>
        <a href="http://facebook.com/nickpettit"><img src="img/facebook-wrap.png" alt="Facebook Logo" class="social-icon"></a>
        <p>&copy; 2016 Nick Pettit.</p>
      </footer>
    </div>
  <script src="js/app.js"></script>
  </body>
</html>

3 Answers

Owa Aquino
Owa Aquino
19,277 Points
Owa Aquino
Owa Aquino
19,277 Points

Hi Todd,

To get the link under the ul with "gallery" id. You just need to select the id using #.

Like this

let galleryLinks = document.querySelectorAll('#gallery li a');

Hope this helps.

Todd Alcock
Todd Alcock
5,516 Points
Todd Alcock
Todd Alcock
5,516 Points

Yes you are correct. I actually stepped away for a while and was able to get although mine worked without the 'li' but the 'li' makes it more complete.

Thank You!!

Owa Aquino
Owa Aquino
19,277 Points
Owa Aquino
Owa Aquino
19,277 Points

Yes that works too. But adding the 'li' makes it more specific. Because what if the ul contains an anchor tag outside the 'li' and you only wanted to select those with 'li'.

Like this.

<ul>
<li><a>Home</a></li>
<li><a>About</a></li>
<a>Click here for details</a>
</ul>

You'll end up selecting all <a> tags.

Hope this helps clear it out. Be more specific when selecting the elements. It's a good practice. :)

Cheers!

tyler borg
tyler borg
9,429 Points
tyler borg
tyler borg
9,429 Points

So does the ID tag always have to come first in querySelectorAll? It seems like it should come last if you're selecting the <ul> and <a> elements first.