Stop user from leaving web page, except for when submitting form

Question

To stop the user from leaving my page, I'm using this javascript:

window.onbeforeunload = function()
{
  if($('textarea#usermessage').val() != '')
  {
    return "You have started writing a message.";
  }
};

This shows a message warning the user not to leave the page because they've started writing a message but not submitted. This shows up to save the user from losing this data.

Now, how can I stop this message from showing up when the form is submitted?

score 9 · Answer 1 · answered Jul 08 '11 at 08:22

9

function handleWindowLeaving(message, form) {
    $(window).bind('beforeunload', function (event) {
        return message;
    });
    $(form).bind('submit', function () {
        $(window).unbind('beforeunload');
    });
};

when calling this, pass your message and the form reference, and it will automatically remove onbeforeunload when submitting the form. Otherwise, show message to user

answered Jul 08 '11 at 08:22

archil

39,013
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What do you mean by form reference? Do you mean the name tag? – ingh.am Jul 11 '11 at 12:10
i mean jQuery selector for desired form element. $('form') for example – archil Jul 11 '11 at 12:31

score 5 · Accepted Answer · answered Jul 08 '11 at 08:23

5

Set a flag in your form's submit handler; check whether the flag is set in your unload handler. If it is - voila, it's a form submit!

answered Jul 08 '11 at 08:23

Piskvor left the building

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This was a lot simpler. Thanks – ingh.am Jul 11 '11 at 13:55

Stop user from leaving web page, except for when submitting form

2 Answers2