Event: initEvent() method

{{APIRef("DOM")}}{{deprecated_header}}{{AvailableInWorkers}}

The Event.initEvent() method is used to initialize the value of an {{ domxref("event") }} created using {{domxref("Document.createEvent()")}}.

Events initialized in this way must have been created with the {{domxref("Document.createEvent()") }} method. This method must be called to set the event before it is dispatched, using {{ domxref("EventTarget.dispatchEvent()") }}. Once dispatched, it doesn't do anything anymore.

[!NOTE] Do not use this method anymore as it is deprecated. Instead use specific event constructors, like {{domxref("Event.Event", "Event()")}}. The section on Creating and dispatching events gives more information about the way to use these.

Syntax

initEvent(type, bubbles, cancelable)

Parameters

• type
  • : A string defining the type of event.
• bubbles
  • : A boolean value deciding whether the event should bubble up through the event chain or not. Once set, the read-only property {{ domxref("Event.bubbles") }} will give its value.
• cancelable
  • : A boolean value defining whether the event can be canceled. Once set, the read-only property {{ domxref("Event.cancelable") }} will give its value.

Return value

None.

Example

// Create the event.
const event = document.createEvent("Event");

// Create a click event that bubbles up and
// cannot be canceled
event.initEvent("click", true, false);

// Listen for the event.
elem.addEventListener("click", (e) => {
  // e.target matches elem
});

elem.dispatchEvent(event);

Specifications

{{Specifications}}

Browser compatibility

{{Compat}}

See also

• The constructor to use instead of this deprecated method: {{domxref("Event.Event", "Event()")}}. To create more specific event interfaces than Event, use the constructor defined for the desired event interface.