my function "clear()" is not getting called

Question

I have a function called clear() that gets called when a button in my form gets clicked. JS function:

function clear() {
  console.log("clear");
  document.getElementById("feet").value = '';
  document.getElementById("meters").value = '';
}

HTML:

<button onclick="clear();return false;">Clear</button>

When I click on the Clear button, the clear() function doesn't get called, any ideas why?

Could you post more code or create a jsfiddle displaying the issue? — Cobra_Fast, Aug 20 '13 at 17:39
See [Is “clear” a reserved word in Javascript?](http://stackoverflow.com/questions/7165570/is-clear-a-reserved-word-in-javascript) — j08691, Aug 20 '13 at 17:39
why are you using `clear();return false;`, why not include it in your function? — agconti, Aug 20 '13 at 17:39
Call it anything other than `clear` if you want to invoke it like this. — Paul S., Aug 20 '13 at 17:41
@JasonBoggess, a better solution would be to avoid inline javascript in the first place, [like this](http://jsfiddle.net/zbqXN/1/) or even [like this](http://jsfiddle.net/zbqXN/2/) if you want to use the name `clear()` — Smern, Aug 20 '13 at 18:08

score 3 · Accepted Answer · answered Aug 20 '13 at 17:44

3

Try not using clear(), use another name as @j08691 quoted.

answered Aug 20 '13 at 17:44

Roger Barreto

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score 1 · Answer 2 · answered Aug 20 '13 at 18:24

1

I don't know why you use return false in there But ithink if you try using it like this

<button onclick="_clear()">Clear</button>

it will work

answered Aug 20 '13 at 18:24

Kamal Upasena

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return false stops the browsers default behavior: http://stackoverflow.com/questions/128923/whats-the-effect-of-adding-return-false-to-an-onclick-event – Brian Aug 20 '13 at 18:38
Oh i see, i thought return false do nothing here, looks like there is something wrong with the document.getElementById("feet").value = ''; – Kamal Upasena Aug 20 '13 at 18:49

score 0 · Answer 3 · edited May 23 '17 at 10:31

0

You can't use clear as the name of the function (Is "clear" a reserved word in Javascript?). The problem is only when you try to call clear from within the document context which shadows the global window context. Change it to _clear and it will work.

function _clear() {
  console.log("clear");
  document.getElementById("feet").value = '';
  document.getElementById("meters").value = '';
}

HTML:

<button onclick="_clear();return false;">Clear</button>

edited May 23 '17 at 10:31

Community

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answered Aug 20 '13 at 17:47

Brian

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clear is NOT a reserved word. https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/JavaScript/Reference/Reserved_Words?redirectlocale=en-US&redirectslug=JavaScript%2FReference%2FReserved_Words – Schleis Aug 20 '13 at 18:02
Huh, I renamed the function _clear, tested it, and it worked so I just figured it was a reserved word. I didn't even go look it up. Let me change my post, thanks for the feedback. – Brian Aug 20 '13 at 18:05
@Brian You can use `clear` as the name of a function. You're wording is still incorrect. The problem is only when you try to call `clear` from within the `document` context which shadows the global `window` context. For example: `window.clear(); return false;` would work just fine (note that I do not recommend either the use of global functions or scripts inside HTML attributes). – Paul Aug 20 '13 at 18:07
OK. . . I did say THE function, but you're right it's not clear enough, pun intended. I'm going to steal your wordage and put it in, thanks. – Brian Aug 20 '13 at 18:09
Thanks to all for the comments – Brian Aug 20 '13 at 18:10
The question remained, what does "document.clear() do". Here it is: "The Document.clear() method does nothing, but doesn't raise any error." (From https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/API/Document/clear which goes on to say Deprecated: This feature is no longer recommended...) Apparently it only serves those in need of being confused. – captain puget Oct 25 '21 at 23:23

score 0 · Answer 4 · answered Aug 20 '13 at 19:20

0

The clear() method comes only within the document context and it is deprecated method. We can't use in this context. You can use _clear() or any other alternative method name.

answered Aug 20 '13 at 19:20

Nandu Hulsure

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my function "clear()" is not getting called

4 Answers4