event.preventDefault()

Categories: Events > Event Object

event.preventDefault()Returns: undefined

Description: If this method is called, the default action of the event will not be triggered.

For example, clicked anchors will not take the browser to a new URL. We can use event.isDefaultPrevented() to determine if this method has been called by an event handler that was triggered by this event.

Example:

Cancel the default action (navigation) of the click.

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<!doctype html>
<html lang="en">
<head>
  <meta charset="utf-8">
  <title>event.preventDefault demo</title>
  <script src="https://code.jquery.com/jquery-3.7.1.js"></script>
</head>
<body>
 
<a href="https://jquery.com">default click action is prevented</a>
<div id="log"></div>
 
<script>
$( "a" ).on( "click", function( event ) {
  event.preventDefault();
  $( "<div>" )
    .append( "default " + event.type + " prevented" )
    .appendTo( "#log" );
});
</script>
 
</body>
</html>

Demo: