files/en-us/web/api/htmldialogelement/show/index.md
{{ APIRef("HTML DOM") }}
The show() method of the {{domxref("HTMLDialogElement")}} interface displays the dialog as a non-modal dialog.
A non-modal dialog is one where users can interact with content outside/behind the open dialog.
show()
None.
None ({{jsxref("undefined")}}).
InvalidStateError {{domxref("DOMException")}}
The following example shows a simple button that, when clicked, opens a {{htmlelement("dialog")}} using the show() method.
When the dialog is open, you can still interact with the rest of the page, including clicking the Click me button that triggers an alert.
You can click the Close dialog button to close the dialog (via the {{domxref("HTMLDialogElement.close()", "close()")}} method).
<dialog id="dialog">
<button type="button" id="close">Close dialog</button>
</dialog>
<p><button id="open">Open dialog</button></p>
<p><button id="alert">Trigger alert</button></p>
const dialog = document.getElementById("dialog");
const openButton = document.getElementById("open");
const closeButton = document.getElementById("close");
const alertButton = document.getElementById("alert");
// Open button opens a modeless dialog
openButton.addEventListener("click", () => {
dialog.show();
});
// Alert button triggers an alert
alertButton.addEventListener("click", () => {
alert("you clicked me!");
});
// Close button closes the dialog box
closeButton.addEventListener("click", () => {
dialog.close();
});
{{EmbedLiveSample("Basic usage", '100%', "250px")}}
{{Specifications}}
{{Compat}}