Redraw datatables after using ajax to refresh the table content?

Question

I am using Datatables and have a button on the page that refreshes the table using AJAX. To be clear the table isn\'t using an ajax source of data, we are just using ajax to ref

Answer 1

This is how I feed my table with data retrieved by ajax (not sure if this is the best practice tough, but it feels intuitive and works well):

/* initialise table */
oTable1 = $( '.tables table' ).dataTable
( {
    'sPaginationType': 'full_numbers',
    'bLengthChange': false,
    'aaData': [],
    'aoColumns': [{"sTitle": "Tables"}],
    'bAutoWidth': true
} );


 /*retrieve data*/
function getArr( conf_csv_path )
{
    $.ajax
    ({
        url  : 'my_url'
        success  : function( obj ) 
        {
            update_table( obj );
        }
    });
}


/* build table data */
function update_table( arr )
{        
    oTable1.fnClearTable();
    for ( input in arr )
    {
        oTable1.fnAddData( [ arr[input] );
    }                                
}

Answer 2

check fnAddData: https://legacy.datatables.net/ref

$(document).ready(function () {
  var table = $('#example').dataTable();
  var url = '/RESTApplicationTest/webresources/entity.person';
  $.get(url, function (data) {
    for (var i = 0; i < data.length; i++) {
      table.fnAddData([data[i].idPerson, data[i].firstname, data[i].lastname, data[i].email, data[i].phone])
    }
  });
});

Answer 3

It looks as if you could use the API functions to

• clear the table ( fnClearTable )
• add new data to the table ( fnAddData)
• redraw the table ( fnDraw )

http://datatables.net/api

UPDATE

I guess you're using the DOM Data Source (for server-side processing) to generate your table. I didn't really get that at first, so my previous answer won't work for that.

To get it to work without rewriting your server side code:

What you'll need to do is totally remove the old table (in the dom) and replace it with the ajax result content, then reinitialize the datatable:

// in your $.post callback:

function (data) {

    // remove the old table
    $("#ajaxresponse").children().remove();

    // replace with the new table
    $("#ajaxresponse").html(data);

    // reinitialize the datatable
    $('#rankings').dataTable( {
    "sDom":'t<"bottom"filp><"clear">',
    "bAutoWidth": false,
    "sPaginationType": "full_numbers",
        "aoColumns": [ 
        { "bSortable": false, "sWidth": "10px" },
        null,
        null,
        null,
        null,
        null,
        null,
        null,
        null,
        null,
        null,
        null
        ]

    } 
    );
}

Answer 4

Use this:

var table = $(selector).dataTables();
table.api().draw(false);

or

var table = $(selector).DataTables();
table.draw(false);

Answer 5

For users of modern DataTables (1.10 and above), all the answers and examples on this page are for the old api, not the new. I had a very hard time finding a newer example but finally did find this DT forum post (TL;DR for most folks) which led me to this concise example.

The example code worked for me after I finally noticed the $() selector syntax immediately surrounding the html string. You have to add a node not a string.

That example really is worth looking at but, in the spirit of SO, if you just want to see a snippet of code that works:

var table = $('#example').DataTable();
  table.rows.add( $(
          '<tr>'+
          '  <td>Tiger Nixon</td>'+
          '  <td>System Architect</td>'+
          '  <td>Edinburgh</td>'+
          '  <td>61</td>'+
          '  <td>2011/04/25</td>'+
          '  <td>$3,120</td>'+
          '</tr>'
  ) ).draw();

The careful reader might note that, since we are adding only one row of data, that table.row.add(...) should work as well and did for me.

Answer 6

Try destroying the datatable with bDestroy:true like this:

$("#ajaxchange").click(function(){
    var campaign_id = $("#campaigns_id").val();
    var fromDate = $("#from").val();
    var toDate = $("#to").val();

    var url = 'http://domain.com/account/campaign/ajaxrefreshgrid?format=html';
    $.post(url, { campaignId: campaign_id, fromdate: fromDate, todate: toDate},
            function( data ) { 

                $("#ajaxresponse").html(data);

                oTable6 = $('#rankings').dataTable( {"bDestroy":true,
                    "sDom":'t<"bottom"filp><"clear">',
                    "bAutoWidth": false,
                    "sPaginationType": "full_numbers",
"aoColumns": [ 
        { "bSortable": false, "sWidth": "10px" },
        null,
        null,
        null,
        null,
        null,
        null,
        null,
        null,
        null,
        null,
        null
        ]

} 
);
            });

});

bDestroy: true will first destroy and datatable instance associated with that selector before reinitializing a new one.