JavaScript window resize event

Question

How can I hook into a browser window resize event?

There\'s a jQuery way of listening for resize events but I would prefer not to bring it into my project for just t

Answer 1

First off, I know the addEventListener method has been mentioned in the comments above, but I didn't see any code. Since it's the preferred approach, here it is:

window.addEventListener('resize', function(event){
  // do stuff here
});

Here's a working sample.

Answer 2

I do believe that the correct answer has already been provided by @Alex V, yet the answer does require some modernization as it is over five years old now.

There are two main issues:

1. Never use object as a parameter name. It is a reservered word. With this being said, @Alex V's provided function will not work in strict mode.

2. The addEvent function provided by @Alex V does not return the event object if the addEventListener method is used. Another parameter should be added to the addEvent function to allow for this.

NOTE: The new parameter to addEvent has been made optional so that migrating to this new function version will not break any previous calls to this function. All legacy uses will be supported.

Here is the updated addEvent function with these changes:

/*
    function: addEvent

    @param: obj         (Object)(Required)

        -   The object which you wish
            to attach your event to.

    @param: type        (String)(Required)

        -   The type of event you
            wish to establish.

    @param: callback    (Function)(Required)

        -   The method you wish
            to be called by your
            event listener.

    @param: eventReturn (Boolean)(Optional)

        -   Whether you want the
            event object returned
            to your callback method.
*/
var addEvent = function(obj, type, callback, eventReturn)
{
    if(obj == null || typeof obj === 'undefined')
        return;

    if(obj.addEventListener)
        obj.addEventListener(type, callback, eventReturn ? true : false);
    else if(obj.attachEvent)
        obj.attachEvent("on" + type, callback);
    else
        obj["on" + type] = callback;
};

An example call to the new addEvent function:

var watch = function(evt)
{
    /*
        Older browser versions may return evt.srcElement
        Newer browser versions should return evt.currentTarget
    */
    var dimensions = {
        height: (evt.srcElement || evt.currentTarget).innerHeight,
        width: (evt.srcElement || evt.currentTarget).innerWidth
    };
};

addEvent(window, 'resize', watch, true);

Answer 3

var EM = new events_managment();

EM.addEvent(window, 'resize', function(win,doc, event_){
    console.log('resized');
    //EM.removeEvent(win,doc, event_);
});

function events_managment(){
    this.events = {};
    this.addEvent = function(node, event_, func){
        if(node.addEventListener){
            if(event_ in this.events){
                node.addEventListener(event_, function(){
                    func(node, event_);
                    this.events[event_](win_doc, event_);
                }, true);
            }else{
                node.addEventListener(event_, function(){
                    func(node, event_);
                }, true);
            }
            this.events[event_] = func;
        }else if(node.attachEvent){

            var ie_event = 'on' + event_;
            if(ie_event in this.events){
                node.attachEvent(ie_event, function(){
                    func(node, ie_event);
                    this.events[ie_event]();
                });
            }else{
                node.attachEvent(ie_event, function(){
                    func(node, ie_event);
                });
            }
            this.events[ie_event] = func;
        }
    }
    this.removeEvent = function(node, event_){
        if(node.removeEventListener){
            node.removeEventListener(event_, this.events[event_], true);
            this.events[event_] = null;
            delete this.events[event_];
        }else if(node.detachEvent){
            node.detachEvent(event_, this.events[event_]);
            this.events[event_] = null;
            delete this.events[event_];
        }
    }
}

Answer 4

Never override the window.onresize function.

Instead, create a function to add an Event Listener to the object or element. This checks and incase the listeners don't work, then it overrides the object's function as a last resort. This is the preferred method used in libraries such as jQuery.

object: the element or window object
type: resize, scroll (event type)
callback: the function reference

var addEvent = function(object, type, callback) {
    if (object == null || typeof(object) == 'undefined') return;
    if (object.addEventListener) {
        object.addEventListener(type, callback, false);
    } else if (object.attachEvent) {
        object.attachEvent("on" + type, callback);
    } else {
        object["on"+type] = callback;
    }
};

Then use is like this:

addEvent(window, "resize", function_reference);

or with an anonymous function:

addEvent(window, "resize", function(event) {
  console.log('resized');
});

Answer 5

Thanks for referencing my blog post at http://mbccs.blogspot.com/2007/11/fixing-window-resize-event-in-ie.html.

While you can just hook up to the standard window resize event, you'll find that in IE, the event is fired once for every X and once for every Y axis movement, resulting in a ton of events being fired which might have a performance impact on your site if rendering is an intensive task.

My method involves a short timeout that gets cancelled on subsequent events so that the event doesn't get bubbled up to your code until the user has finished resizing the window.

Answer 6

The resize event should never be used directly as it is fired continuously as we resize.

Use a debounce function to mitigate the excess calls.

window.addEventListener('resize',debounce(handler, delay, immediate),false);

Here's a common debounce floating around the net, though do look for more advanced ones as featuerd in lodash.

const debounce = (func, wait, immediate) => {
    var timeout;
    return () => {
        const context = this, args = arguments;
        const later = function() {
            timeout = null;
            if (!immediate) func.apply(context, args);
        };
        const callNow = immediate && !timeout;
        clearTimeout(timeout);
        timeout = setTimeout(later, wait);
        if (callNow) func.apply(context, args);
    };
};

This can be used like so...

window.addEventListener('resize', debounce(() => console.log('hello'),
200, false), false);

It will never fire more than once every 200ms.

For mobile orientation changes use:

window.addEventListener('orientationchange', () => console.log('hello'), false);

Here's a small library I put together to take care of this neatly.