jQuery - Syntax Error

Question

I am using the following to identify the current selected (active) link in a site:

 $(function(){
 var path = location.pathname.substring(1);
 if ( path )
 $('#sidebar_content a[@href$="' + path + '"]').attr('class', 'selected');
 });

It appears to identify the path properly but also generates an error

Error: uncaught exception: Syntax error, unrecognized expression: [@href$="clinics/ohs_north_carolina"]

The page source does not show that the link has the class added.

Would appreciate some help.

Thanks.

Answer 1

[@attr] style selectors were removed in jQuery 1.3. Remove the @ symbol and it should work.

$('#sidebar_content a[href$="' + path + '"]').attr('class', 'selected');

From the docs:

Note: In jQuery 1.3 [@attr] style selectors were removed (they were previously deprecated in jQuery 1.2). Simply remove the '@' symbol from your selectors in order to make them work again.

• forrest: Hi Ayman, that certainly solved the problem. Thank you. One followup. Does this code apply the class="selected" attribute to the anchor tag? If so it does not show up in the source code. Thanks, Forrest
• Ayman Hourieh: Hi fmz, it's better to use .addClass('selected') as it does not override existing classes. Also, JavaScript changes to the DOM tree are usually not visible in the "view source" window in browsers.
• forrest: Hi Ayman, I appreciate your help here. I am trying to nail down a navigation issue that has been bugging me for days. I have an accordion navigation that I need to resolve. have it working on one level in that I can highlight the active link, but it is currently set manually. I would like to set that dynamically and this looks promising but appears to be lacking something. I would be happy to open another thread, but what I really need is an opportunity to work it through. Can you help?
• Ayman Hourieh: Hi fmz, please open a new thread and provide details. Feel free to add a link here so that I can find it. I'm sure you will get help whether from me or someone else. :)
• forrest: Hi Ayman, Here is the link: stackoverflow.com/questions/1829701/… Thanks again.