How do I check if the mouse is over an element in jQuery?

Question

Is there a quick & easy way to do this in jQuery that I\'m missing?

I don\'t want to use the mouseover event because I\'m already using it for something else. I

Answer 1

I couldn't use any of the suggestions above.
Why I prefer my solution?
This method checks if mouse is over an element at any time chosen by You.
Mouseenter and :hover are cool, but mouseenter triggers only if you move the mouse, not when element moves under the mouse.
:hover is pretty sweet but ... IE

So I do this:

No 1. store mouse x, y position every time it's moved when you need to,
No 2. check if mouse is over any of elements that match the query do stuff ... like trigger a mouseenter event

// define mouse x, y variables so they are traced all the time
var mx = 0; //  mouse X position
var my = 0; //  mouse Y position

// update mouse x, y coordinates every time user moves the mouse
$(document).mousemove(function(e){
    mx = e.pageX;
    my = e.pageY;
});

// check is mouse is over an element at any time You need (wrap it in function if You need to)
$("#my_element").each(function(){
    boxX = $(this).offset().left;
    boxY = $(this).offset().top;
    boxW = $(this).innerWidth();
    boxH = $(this).innerHeight();
    if ((boxX <= mx) &&
        (boxX + 1000 >= mx) &&
        (boxY <= my) &&
        (boxY + boxH >= my))
    {
        // mouse is over it so you can for example trigger a mouseenter event
        $(this).trigger("mouseenter");
    }
});