jQuery Traversing

Narrow Down The Search For Elements

The three most basic filtering methods are first(), last() and eq(), which allow you to select a specific element based on its position in a group of elements.

Other filtering methods, like filter() and not() allow you to select elements that match, or do not match, a certain criteria.

jQuery first() Method

The first() method returns the first element of the selected elements.

The following example selects the first <p> element inside the first <div> element:

Example

$(document).ready(function(){
$("div p").first();
});

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jQuery last() Method

The last() method returns the last element of the selected elements.

The following example selects the last <p> element inside the last <div> element:

Example

$(document).ready(function(){
$("div p").last();
});

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jQuery eq() method

The eq() method returns an element with a specific index number of the selected elements.

The index numbers start at 0, so the first element will have the index number 0 and not 1. The following example selects the second <p> element (index number 1):

Example

$(document).ready(function(){
$("p").eq(1);
});

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jQuery filter() Method

The filter() method lets you specify a criteria. Elements that do not match the criteria are removed from the selection, and those that match will be returned.

The following example returns all <p> elements with class name "intro":

Example

$(document).ready(function(){
$("p").filter(".intro");
});

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jQuery not() Method

The not() method returns all elements that do not match the criteria.

Tip: The not() method is the opposite of filter().

The following example returns all <p> elements that do not have class name "intro":

Example

$(document).ready(function(){
$("p").not(".intro");
});

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Test Yourself with Exercises!

Exercise 1 » Exercise 2 » Exercise 3 » Exercise 4 » Exercise 5 » Exercise 6 »