Availability

JavaScript 1.0

Synopsis

window.status 

Description

status is a read/write string property that specifies a transient message to appear in the window's status line. The message generally appears only for a limited amount of time -- until it is overwritten by another message or until the user moves the mouse to some other area of the window, for example. When a message specified with status is erased, the status line returns to its default blank state or to the default message specified by the defaultStatus property.

Although only top-level windows have status lines, you can also set the status property of frames. Doing so displays the specified message in the top-level window's status line. Transient messages set by frames are visible regardless of which frame currently has focus or which frame the mouse is currently in. This behavior differs from that of the defaultStatus property.

Usage

status is used to display transient messages in the status line. To display semipermanent messages, use the defaultStatus property.

In general, setting the status property is useful only from event handlers and in code fragments deferred with the Window.setTimeout( ) method. If you set status directly from a script, the message is not visible to the user. It is not displayed right away, and when it is displayed, it is likely to be immediately overwritten by a browser message such as "Document: done".

If you want to set the status property in the onmouseover event handler of a hypertext link, you must return true from that event handler because when the mouse goes over a link, the default action is to display the URL of that link, thereby overwriting any status message set by the event handler. By returning true from the event handler, you cancel this default action and leave your own status message displayed (until the mouse moves off the link).

See Also

Window.defaultStatus