In IE, the event object is accessed completely through the explicit object "window.event". It supports the following properties:
| Properties | Description | NS Equivalent? |
|---|---|---|
| altKey, ctrlKey, shiftKey | Boolean properties that indicate whether the Alt, Ctrl, and Shift keys were pressed at time of the event. | Same. |
| button | An integer indicating which mouse button was pressed or released, 1 = left, 2 = right, 4 = middle. If multiple buttons are pressed, the value is the sum of both buttons, such as 3 (1+2) for left and right. | Same, but different return values. |
| cancelBubble | Set to true to prevent the event from bubbling. | stopPropagation() |
| clientX, clientY | Returns the mouse coordinates at the time of the event relative to upper-left corner of the window. | Same. |
| fromElement, toElement | For mouseover and mouseout events, these properties indicate the elements the mouse is leaving from and moving onto, respectively. | relatedTarget |
| keyCode | Property indicating the Unicode for the key pressed. Use String.fromCharCode(keyCode) to convert code to string. | charCode |
| offsetX, offsetY | Returns the mouse coordinates relative to the originating element. | N/A |
| returnValue | Set to false to cancel any default action for the event. | preventDefault() |
| srcElement | The element in which the event occurred on. | target |
| type | A string indicating the type of event, such as "mouseover", "click", etc. | Same. |
In NS6+, the event object is accessed by passing an event parameter into the event handler function in question.
| Properties | Description | IE Equivalent? |
|---|---|---|
| altKey, ctrlKey, metaKey, shiftKey | Boolean properties that indicate whether the Alt, Ctrl, Meta, and Shift keys were pressed at time of the event. | Same, though IE doesn't support "metaKey". |
| bubbles | A Boolean value indicating whether or not the event bubbles. | N/A |
| button | An integer indicating which mouse button was pressed or released, 0 = left, 2 = right, 1 = middle. Slightly different in IE, as described above. | Same, but different return values. |
| cancelable | A Boolean value indicating whether or not the event can be canceled. | N/A |
| charCode | Property indicating the Unicode for the key pressed. Use String.fromCharCode(which) to convert code to string. | keyCode |
| clientX, clientY | Returns the mouse coordinates at the time of the event relative to upper-left corner of the window. | Same. |
| currentTarget | The node that this event handler is currently being run on. | N/A |
| eventPhase | An integer value indicating which phase of the event flow this event is being processed in. One of CAPTURING_PHASE (1), AT_TARGET (2) or BUBBLING_PHASE (3). | N/A |
| layerX, layerY | Returns the mouse coordinates relative to the container element. (non standard). | offsetX, offsetY |
| pageX, pageY | Returns the left and top coordinates of event relative to the top left corner of the visible page. pageY would return the same value as "window.pageYOffset+e.clientY", for example. | N/A |
| relatedTarget | On a "mouseover" event it indicates the node that the mouse has left. On a "mouseout" event it indicates the node the mouse has moved onto. | fromElement, toElement |
| screenX, screenY | Returns the coordinates of the mouse relative to the screen when the event fired. | N/A |
| target | The node that the event originated from. | srcElement |
| timestamp | Returns the time (in milliseconds since the epoch) the event was created, for example, when a key was pressed (onkeypress). Not all events return a timestamp. | N/A |
| type | A string indicating the type of event, such as "mouseover", "click", etc. | Same. |
| which | NS4/NS6+ legacy property indicating the Unicode for the key pressed. Identical to "charCode", except this property works in NS4 as well.. | keyCode |
| Methods | Description | IE Equivalent? |
|---|---|---|
| preventDefault() | Set to true to cancel any default action for the event. | returnValue |
| stopPropagation() | Set to true to prevent
the event from bubbling. |
cancelBubble |