document.adoptNode

Document.adoptNode() transfers a node from another document into the method's document. The adopted node and its subtree is removed from its original document (if any), and its ownerDocument is changed to the current document. The node can then be inserted into the current document.

Syntax

node = document.adoptNode(externalNode);

node

The adopted node that now has this document as its ownerDocument. The node's parentNode is null, since it has not yet been inserted into the document tree. Note that node and externalNode are the same object after this call.

externalNode

The node from another document to be adopted.

Example

var iframe = document.querySelector('iframe');
var iframeImages = iframe.contentDocument.querySelectorAll('img');
var newParent = document.getElementById('images');

iframeImages.forEach(function(imgEl) {
  newParent.appendChild(document.adoptNode(imgEl));
});

Notes

Nodes from external documents should be cloned using document.importNode() (or adopted using document.adoptNode()) before they can be inserted into the current document. For more on the Node.ownerDocument issues, see the W3C DOM FAQ.

Firefox doesn't currently enforce this rule (it did for a while during the development of Firefox 3, but too many sites break when this rule is enforced). We encourage Web developers to fix their code to follow this rule for improved future compatibility.

Specification

• DOM Level 3 Core: Document.adoptNode

Browser compatibilityUpdate compatibility data on GitHub

See also

• document.importNode