How to: Check if Javascript is enabled

Hi there,

Rails has fantastic Javascript helpers, which I have immediately used for my website.

Since some features of my website now rely 100% on Javascript being enabled in the user's browser, I now need a way to either: a) block the usage of the site when Javascript is disabled, or b) display a very visible message that tells the user to enable Javascript.

Has anybody good ideas for a plugin (or some other solution) to check if Javascript is enabled and to then let the user know?

(I know, a good programmer would let the site work without JS as well, but currently, I'm not there yet...)

Thanks a bunch for any help with this! Tom

Quoting Tom Ha <rails-mailing-list@andreas-s.net>:

Hi there,

Rails has fantastic Javascript helpers, which I have immediately used for my website.

Since some features of my website now rely 100% on Javascript being enabled in the user's browser, I now need a way to either: a) block the usage of the site when Javascript is disabled, or b) display a very visible message that tells the user to enable Javascript.

Has anybody good ideas for a plugin (or some other solution) to check if Javascript is enabled and to then let the user know?

There is a <noscript> tag in HTML that does what you want.

HTH,   Jeffrey

Tom Ha wrote:

Hi there,

Rails has fantastic Javascript helpers, which I have immediately used for my website.

Actually, Rails has terrible JS helpers: they encourage a poor style of programming where JS is mixed into HTML. Generally, this is not a good idea.

Since some features of my website now rely 100% on Javascript being enabled in the user's browser, I now need a way to either: a) block the usage of the site when Javascript is disabled, or b) display a very visible message that tells the user to enable Javascript.

The <noscript> tag will work, or you could have a message in the HTML that your JS code will remove.

Has anybody good ideas for a plugin (or some other solution) to check if Javascript is enabled and to then let the user know?

(I know, a good programmer would let the site work without JS as well, but currently, I'm not there yet...)

Get there! Read about progressive enhancement.

Thanks a bunch for any help with this! Tom

Best,

+1 Not only for this, (because I think that using JavaScript in, almost, the year 2010 is more than OK), but just because you have to.

:slight_smile: Thanks, guys!