Calculate text width with JavaScript

Question

I\'d like to use JavaScript to calculate the width of a string. Is this possible without having to use a monospace typeface?

If it\'s not built-in, my only idea is t

Answer 1

jQuery:

(function($) {

 $.textMetrics = function(el) {

  var h = 0, w = 0;

  var div = document.createElement('div');
  document.body.appendChild(div);
  $(div).css({
   position: 'absolute',
   left: -1000,
   top: -1000,
   display: 'none'
  });

  $(div).html($(el).html());
  var styles = ['font-size','font-style', 'font-weight', 'font-family','line-height', 'text-transform', 'letter-spacing'];
  $(styles).each(function() {
   var s = this.toString();
   $(div).css(s, $(el).css(s));
  });

  h = $(div).outerHeight();
  w = $(div).outerWidth();

  $(div).remove();

  var ret = {
   height: h,
   width: w
  };

  return ret;
 }

})(jQuery);