Event: target property

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

The read-only target property of the {{domxref("Event")}}  interface is a reference to the object onto which the event was dispatched. It is different from {{domxref("Event.currentTarget")}}  when the event handler is called during the bubbling or capturing phase of the event.

Value

The associated {{domxref("EventTarget")}} .

Example

The event.target property can be used in order to implement event delegation.

// Make a list
const ul = document.createElement("ul");
document.body.appendChild(ul);

const li1 = document.createElement("li");
const li2 = document.createElement("li");
ul.appendChild(li1);
ul.appendChild(li2);

function hide(evt) {
  // evt.target refers to the clicked <li> element
  // This is different from evt.currentTarget, which would refer to the parent <ul> in this context
  evt.target.style.visibility = "hidden";
}

// Attach the listener to the list
// It will fire when each <li> is clicked
ul.addEventListener("click", hide);

Specifications

{{Specifications}} 

Browser compatibility

{{Compat}} 

See also

• Learn: Event bubbling