Question

Given the following code

var a = $('<div><div></div></div>');
a.css("visibility", "visible");
a.find("* :visible");

I receive an empty array [] as a result instead of a div. What am I doing wrong?

Answer 1

To check if an element is visible, it must be inserted into the DOM. You also don’t need the * selector. Try this:

var a = $('<div><div></div></div>'); // create an element
a.css("visibility", "visible");
$("BODY").append(a) // Add the element to the DOM first
a.find(":visible")

alert(a.find(":visible").length); // displays '1'