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Editorial Team
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Asked: 2026-05-18T08:27:33+00:00

When using the jQuery.ajax() method, I am struggling to filter the data that is

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When using the jQuery.ajax() method, I am struggling to filter the data that is returned to get exactly what I need. I know this is easy using .load() and probably the other jQuery AJAX methods but I need to use .ajax() specifically.

For example I know that this works;

var title = $(data).filter('title'); // Returns the page title

But what if I just want the contents of a div with id=”foo”?

var foo = $(data).filter('#foo'); // None of these work
var foo = $(data).find('#foo');   //
var foo = $('#foo', data);        //

Ideally, I want one method into which I can pass a normal jQuery selector, which will work for selecting titles, divs, or any other element that jQuery can select. This is so that I can pass in any string into my own ajax function – eg;

myApp.ajax({
    url: 'myPage.html',
    filterTitle: 'title',
    filterContent: '#main-content'
});

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

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1 Answer

  1. Editorial Team

    The use of filter() vs. find() depends on the structure of your retrieved HTML page. For example, if this is the retrieved page: 

    <!DOCTYPE html>

<html>

<head>
    <title>Foo</title>
</head>

<body>
    <div id="wrap">
        <div id="header">
            <h1>Foo</h1>
        </div>
        <div id="body"> content </div>
    </div>
    <div id="tooltip"> tooltip </div>
</body>

</html>

    If you want to select the top-level elements = elements that are direct children of <body> – in this example: #wrap or #tooltip – then you have to use filter().

    If you want to select other elements – in this example: #header, <h1>, #body, … – then you have to use find().

    I you don’t know whether your element is a child of <body> or not, you could use this “hack”:

    $("<div>").html(data).find( selector );

    By using this work-around, you always get the elements via find().

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