My Javascript cookie expires at session, not in 30 days

Question

jQuery(document).ready(function(){
        if (document.cookie.indexOf('visited=true') === -1) {
            var expires = new Date();
            expires.setDate(expires.getDate()+30);
            document.cookie = "visited=true; path=/; expires="+expires.toUTCString();
            jQuery.colorbox({open:true,href:"<?=home_url()?>/popup/?site_type=2",iframe:true, innerWidth:"700px", innerHeight:"410px"});
        }                   
});

This cookie expires when I shut down the browser, but I want it to last for 30 days until they see the popup again.

Did you know that you only have to write `jQuery` in its long form once? By wrapping your code in `(function($) { .... })(jQuery);`, you can use `$` no matter if `noConflict` has been used or not. Since you are using the DOM ready event: The jQuery object is also passed to this event's function, i.e. you can use `jQuery(document).ready(function($){` — ThiefMaster, Apr 24 '12 at 20:42
http://stackoverflow.com/questions/6561687/how-can-i-set-a-cookie-to-expire-after-x-days-with-this-code-i-have — zod, Apr 24 '12 at 20:45
Maybe this is forced by your browsers cookie-settings? The code seems to be OK for me. — Dr.Molle, Apr 24 '12 at 21:01

score 5 · Accepted Answer · answered Apr 24 '12 at 20:43

5

Instead of using expires, try max-age (in seconds). This doesn't involve the creation and modification of a Date instance.

if (document.cookie.indexOf('visited=true') === -1) {
    document.cookie = "visited=true; path=/; max-age=2592000;";

answered Apr 24 '12 at 20:43

Rob W

341,306
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Turned out to be my browser, but this is a good answer, with a simpler code, thanks :) – Doug Cassidy Apr 25 '12 at 02:02

Himanshu · Answer 2 · 2012-04-24T20:58:09.300

Use the Cookie object:

var CookieExpiryTime = {
    END_OF_SESSION : 0,
    SECOND : 1000,
    MINUTE : 1000 * 60,
    HOUR : 1000 * 60 * 60,
    DAY : 1000 * 60 * 60 * 24,
    YEAR : 1000 * 60 * 60 * 24 * 365,
    NEVER : 1000 * 60 * 60 * 24 * 365 * 20
}
var Cookie = {
    Set: function (n, v, time, path) {
        var e = '', d;
        if (time) {
            d = new Date();
            d.setTime(d.getTime() + (time));
            e = "; expires=" + d.toGMTString();
        }
        if (!path) path = "/";
        document.cookie = n + "=" + v + e + "; path="+path;
    },
    Get: function (n) {
        var match = n + "=", c = '', ca = document.cookie.split(';'), i;
        for (i = 0; i < ca.length; i++) {
            c=String(ca[i]).trim()
            if (c.indexOf(match) === 0) {
                return c.substring(match.length, c.length);
            }
        }
        return null;
    },
    Unset: function (n) {
        this.Set(n, "", -1);
    }
};

Just use the below code to set your cookie:

Cookie.Set("visited", "true", CookieExpiryTime.MONTH);

Simple as that!

Also, to add 30 days to your date, you would have to do so:

expires.setDate(expires.getDate()+30*24*60*60*1000);

since the time is in milliseconds and not in days.

When modifying the date via `.setDate()`, you're dealing with days, not milliseconds. — Pointy, Apr 24 '12 at 21:06

Jamund Ferguson · Answer 3 · 2012-04-24T20:55:45.200

0

A possible alternative is to use html5 localStorage. It's supported in IE8+ and doesn't have anything to do with sessions, so you won't be bit with any problems there. Here's how you might want to structure your code if you go the localStorage approach.

var 30_DAYS = 1000 * 60 * 60 * 24 * 30;
var msgSent = localStorage.msgSent;
var now = new Date().getTime();
var diff = now - msgSent;
if (!msgSent || msgSent > 30_DAYS) {
  sendMsg();
}

function sendMsg() {
 // do your popup thing
 localStorage.msgSent = new Date.getTime();
}

edited Apr 24 '12 at 20:55

answered Apr 24 '12 at 20:42

Jamund Ferguson

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3
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It's an alternative that I think might serve his purposes better, but yeah a little bit off-topic maybe. – Jamund Ferguson Apr 24 '12 at 20:48

My Javascript cookie expires at session, not in 30 days

3 Answers3