Internet Explorer Quirks

SCRIPT tags - TYPE attribute¶

`type='application/javascript'`	doesn't work
`type='text/javascript'`	works

Caching of AJAX calls¶

IE is know for aggressively caching AJAX results. To bypass this, use the following code.

$.ajaxSetup({ cache: false });

Setting Value of Dropdowns¶

When setting the value of a drop down list and the value doesn't exist in the list, the behavior is browser-dependent.

IE simply leaves the dropdown selection unchanged.
FF and Chrome revert to the first item in the list.

Image Titles¶

When an tag doesn't have a TITLE attribute, FF and Chrome show no tooltip; IE shows a tooltip containing the image's file name. The work-around is to change the tag to have an empty TITLE attribute.

Images for List Item Bullets¶

The following CSS will use the bullet.gif file as a bullet for the list items, but it doesn't work consistently in IE. (Some list items will have no bullet.)

li { background: url('bullet.gif') no-repeat left 5px; }

Work-around: The following CSS fixes the above problem.

li { list-style-image: url('/bullet.gif'); }

Drop Down Lists without Underlying Values¶

If you have a dropdown list (a <select> tag) where the options listed don't have underlying values (i.e., no value attribute), when the enclosing form is submitted, the dropdown list's value won't be included. (This issue seems to have been resolved in IE9.)

Change this...

<select name="Color">
    <option>Blue</option>
    <option>Red</option>
    <option>Green</option>
</select>

To this...

<select name="Color">
    <option value="Blue">Blue</option>
    <option value="Red">Red</option>
    <option value="Green">Green</option>
</select>

String Trim Function¶

The string trim function doesn't work in IE8 as it does in other browsers. Sometimes it fails silently; sometimes it gives the error message "Object doesn't support property or method 'trim'", possibly within a jQuery JavaScript file. The fix is to use the alternate syntax given below.

$(selector).val().trim()     // gives error in IE8

$.trim($(selector).val())    // use this syntax instead