HTMLDialogElement: show() method

The show() method of the HTMLDialogElement interface displays the dialog as a non-modal dialog.

A non-modal dialog is one where users can interact with content outside/behind the open dialog.

Syntax

show()

Parameters

None.

Return value

None (undefined).

Exceptions

• InvalidStateError DOMException
  • : Thrown if the dialog is already open and modal (i.e., if the dialog has already been opened with showModal()).

Examples

Basic usage

The following example shows a simple button that, when clicked, opens a <dialog> using the show() method.

When the dialog is open, you can still interact with the rest of the page, including clicking the Click me button that triggers an alert.

You can click the Close dialog button to close the dialog (via the close() method).

HTML

<dialog id="dialog">
  <button type="button" id="close">Close dialog</button>
</dialog>

<p><button id="open">Open dialog</button></p>
<p><button id="alert">Trigger alert</button></p>

JavaScript

const dialog = document.getElementById("dialog");
const openButton = document.getElementById("open");
const closeButton = document.getElementById("close");
const alertButton = document.getElementById("alert");

// Open button opens a modeless dialog
openButton.addEventListener("click", () => {
  dialog.show();
});

// Alert button triggers an alert
alertButton.addEventListener("click", () => {
  alert("you clicked me!");
});

// Close button closes the dialog box
closeButton.addEventListener("click", () => {
  dialog.close();
});

Result

Specifications

Browser compatibility

See also

• HTML <dialog> element
• showModal()