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@hsablonniere
Created May 2, 2012 22:42
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scrollIntoViewIfNeeded 4 everyone!!!

scrollIntoViewIfNeeded 4 everyone!!!

This gist provides a simple JavaScript implementation of the non-standard WebKit method scrollIntoViewIfNeeded that can be called on DOM elements.

Usage

Just use the code in index.js in your app or website. You can see usage in the test page test.html.

The parent element will only scroll if the element being called is out of the view. The boolean can force the element to be centered in the scrolling area.

Improvements

  • This code doesn't handle well cases where the element has position:absolute (and maybe other CSS modifications).
  • This code doesn't handle cases where the scroll area isn't the direct parent of the target element.

?/!

If you have any ideas to improve this code or if you think the WebKit implementation doesn't work like this, feel free to start a discussion...

Hubert SABLONNIÈRE @hsablonniere

if (!Element.prototype.scrollIntoViewIfNeeded) {
Element.prototype.scrollIntoViewIfNeeded = function (centerIfNeeded) {
centerIfNeeded = arguments.length === 0 ? true : !!centerIfNeeded;
var parent = this.parentNode,
parentComputedStyle = window.getComputedStyle(parent, null),
parentBorderTopWidth = parseInt(parentComputedStyle.getPropertyValue('border-top-width')),
parentBorderLeftWidth = parseInt(parentComputedStyle.getPropertyValue('border-left-width')),
overTop = this.offsetTop - parent.offsetTop < parent.scrollTop,
overBottom = (this.offsetTop - parent.offsetTop + this.clientHeight - parentBorderTopWidth) > (parent.scrollTop + parent.clientHeight),
overLeft = this.offsetLeft - parent.offsetLeft < parent.scrollLeft,
overRight = (this.offsetLeft - parent.offsetLeft + this.clientWidth - parentBorderLeftWidth) > (parent.scrollLeft + parent.clientWidth),
alignWithTop = overTop && !overBottom;
if ((overTop || overBottom) && centerIfNeeded) {
parent.scrollTop = this.offsetTop - parent.offsetTop - parent.clientHeight / 2 - parentBorderTopWidth + this.clientHeight / 2;
}
if ((overLeft || overRight) && centerIfNeeded) {
parent.scrollLeft = this.offsetLeft - parent.offsetLeft - parent.clientWidth / 2 - parentBorderLeftWidth + this.clientWidth / 2;
}
if ((overTop || overBottom || overLeft || overRight) && !centerIfNeeded) {
this.scrollIntoView(alignWithTop);
}
};
}
<!DOCTYPE html>
<title>scrollIntoViewIfNeeded test page</title>
<style type="text/css">
body {
font: 14px Arial;
}
#scroll-area {
border: 1px solid #AAA;
height: 7em;
margin: 0;
overflow: auto;
padding: 0;
width: 400px;
white-space: nowrap;
}
#scroll-area li {
background: #EEE;
border-radius: 5px;
display: inline-block;
list-style: none;
padding: 5px 10px;
}
#scroll-area li:nth-child(2n+1) {
background: #DDD;
text-align: right;
}
#scroll-area li.selected {
background: #BADA55;
}
</style>
<h1>scrollIntoViewIfNeeded test page</h1>
<ul id="scroll-area"><li class="selected">item #0</li><li>item #1</li><li>item #2</li><li>item #3</li><li>item #4</li><li>item #5</li><li>item #6</li><li>item #7</li><li>item #8</li><li>item #9</li><li>item #10</li><li>item #11</li><li>item #12</li><li>item #13</li><li>item #14</li><li>item #15</li><li>item #16</li><li>item #17</li><li>item #18</li><li>item #19</li><li>item #20</li><li>item #21</li><li>item #22</li><li>item #23</li><li>item #24</li><li>item #25</li><li>item #26</li><li>item #27</li><li>item #28</li><li>item #29</li><li>item #30</li><li>item #31</li><li>item #32</li><li>item #33</li><li>item #34</li><li>item #35</li><li>item #36</li><li>item #37</li><li>item #38</li><li>item #39</li><li>item #40</li><li>item #41</li><li>item #42</li><li>item #43</li><li>item #44</li><li>item #45</li><li>item #46</li><li>item #47</li><li>item #48</li><li>item #49</li><li>item #50</li><li>item #51</li><li>item #52</li><li>item #53</li><li>item #54</li><li>item #55</li><li>item #56</li><li>item #57</li><li>item #58</li><li>item #59</li><li>item #60</li><li>item #61</li><li>item #62</li><li>item #63</li><li>item #64</li><li>item #65</li><li>item #66</li><li>item #67</li><li>item #68</li><li>item #69</li><li>item #70</li><li>item #71</li><li>item #72</li><li>item #73</li><li>item #74</li><li>item #75</li><li>item #76</li><li>item #77</li><li>item #78</li><li>item #79</li><li>item #80</li><li>item #81</li><li>item #82</li><li>item #83</li><li>item #84</li><li>item #85</li><li>item #86</li><li>item #87</li><li>item #88</li><li>item #89</li><li>item #90</li><li>item #91</li><li>item #92</li><li>item #93</li><li>item #94</li><li>item #95</li><li>item #96</li><li>item #97</li><li>item #98</li><li>item #99</li></ul>
<div id="buttons-centerFalse">
<span><code>scrollIntoViewIfNeeded(false)</code> to item : </span>
<button data-item-idx="0">#0</button>
<button data-item-idx="11">#11</button>
<button data-item-idx="22">#22</button>
<button data-item-idx="24">#24</button>
<button data-item-idx="26">#26</button>
<button data-item-idx="33">#33</button>
<button data-item-idx="44">#44</button>
<button data-item-idx="55">#55</button>
<button data-item-idx="66">#66</button>
<button data-item-idx="77">#77</button>
<button data-item-idx="82">#82</button>
<button data-item-idx="84">#84</button>
<button data-item-idx="86">#86</button>
<button data-item-idx="99">#99</button>
</div>
<div id="buttons-centerTrue">
<span><code>scrollIntoViewIfNeeded(true)</code> to item : </span>
<button data-item-idx="0">#0</button>
<button data-item-idx="11">#11</button>
<button data-item-idx="22">#22</button>
<button data-item-idx="24">#24</button>
<button data-item-idx="26">#26</button>
<button data-item-idx="33">#33</button>
<button data-item-idx="44">#44</button>
<button data-item-idx="55">#55</button>
<button data-item-idx="66">#66</button>
<button data-item-idx="77">#77</button>
<button data-item-idx="82">#82</button>
<button data-item-idx="84">#84</button>
<button data-item-idx="86">#86</button>
<button data-item-idx="99">#99</button>
</div>
<div id="buttons-centerUndefined">
<span><code>scrollIntoViewIfNeeded(undefined)</code> to item : </span>
<button data-item-idx="0">#0</button>
<button data-item-idx="11">#11</button>
<button data-item-idx="22">#22</button>
<button data-item-idx="24">#24</button>
<button data-item-idx="26">#26</button>
<button data-item-idx="33">#33</button>
<button data-item-idx="44">#44</button>
<button data-item-idx="55">#55</button>
<button data-item-idx="66">#66</button>
<button data-item-idx="77">#77</button>
<button data-item-idx="82">#82</button>
<button data-item-idx="84">#84</button>
<button data-item-idx="86">#86</button>
<button data-item-idx="99">#99</button>
</div>
<div id="buttons-centerNoArgs">
<span><code>scrollIntoViewIfNeeded()</code> to item : </span>
<button data-item-idx="0">#0</button>
<button data-item-idx="11">#11</button>
<button data-item-idx="22">#22</button>
<button data-item-idx="24">#24</button>
<button data-item-idx="26">#26</button>
<button data-item-idx="33">#33</button>
<button data-item-idx="44">#44</button>
<button data-item-idx="55">#55</button>
<button data-item-idx="66">#66</button>
<button data-item-idx="77">#77</button>
<button data-item-idx="82">#82</button>
<button data-item-idx="84">#84</button>
<button data-item-idx="86">#86</button>
<button data-item-idx="99">#99</button>
</div>
<script src="index.js"></script>
<script>
(function () {
var scrollArea = document.getElementById('scroll-area'),
buttonsCenterFalse = document.getElementById('buttons-centerFalse'),
buttonsCenterTrue = document.getElementById('buttons-centerTrue'),
buttonsCenterUndefined = document.getElementById('buttons-centerUndefined'),
buttonsCenterNoArgs = document.getElementById('buttons-centerNoArgs'),
scrollIntoViewIfNeededToItemAndSelect;
scrollIntoViewIfNeededToItemAndSelect = function (itemIdx, centerIfNeeded) {
scrollArea.querySelector('.selected').className = '';
// Allow us to really have difference bewteen scrollIntoViewIfNeeded() and scrollIntoViewIfNeeded(undefined)
if (arguments.length === 1) {
scrollArea.children[itemIdx].scrollIntoViewIfNeeded();
} else {
scrollArea.children[itemIdx].scrollIntoViewIfNeeded(centerIfNeeded);
}
scrollArea.children[itemIdx].className = 'selected';
};
buttonsCenterFalse.addEventListener('click', function (e) {
if (e.target.nodeName === 'BUTTON') {
scrollIntoViewIfNeededToItemAndSelect(e.target.dataset.itemIdx, false);
}
}, false);
buttonsCenterTrue.addEventListener('click', function (e) {
if (e.target.nodeName === 'BUTTON') {
scrollIntoViewIfNeededToItemAndSelect(e.target.dataset.itemIdx, true);
}
}, false);
buttonsCenterUndefined.addEventListener('click', function (e) {
if (e.target.nodeName === 'BUTTON') {
scrollIntoViewIfNeededToItemAndSelect(e.target.dataset.itemIdx, undefined);
}
}, false);
buttonsCenterNoArgs.addEventListener('click', function (e) {
if (e.target.nodeName === 'BUTTON') {
scrollIntoViewIfNeededToItemAndSelect(e.target.dataset.itemIdx);
}
}, false);
})();
</script>
<!DOCTYPE html>
<title>scrollIntoViewIfNeeded test page</title>
<style type="text/css">
body {
font: 14px Arial;
}
#scroll-area {
border: 1px solid #AAA;
height: 7em;
margin: 0;
overflow: auto;
padding: 0;
}
#scroll-area li {
background: #EEE;
border-radius: 5px;
list-style: none;
padding: 5px 10px;
}
#scroll-area li:nth-child(2n+1) {
background: #DDD;
}
#scroll-area li.selected {
background: #BADA55;
}
</style>
<h1>scrollIntoViewIfNeeded test page</h1>
<ul id="scroll-area"><li class="selected">item #0</li><li>item #1</li><li>item #2</li><li>item #3</li><li>item #4</li><li>item #5</li><li>item #6</li><li>item #7</li><li>item #8</li><li>item #9</li><li>item #10</li><li>item #11</li><li>item #12</li><li>item #13</li><li>item #14</li><li>item #15</li><li>item #16</li><li>item #17</li><li>item #18</li><li>item #19</li><li>item #20</li><li>item #21</li><li>item #22</li><li>item #23</li><li>item #24</li><li>item #25</li><li>item #26</li><li>item #27</li><li>item #28</li><li>item #29</li><li>item #30</li><li>item #31</li><li>item #32</li><li>item #33</li><li>item #34</li><li>item #35</li><li>item #36</li><li>item #37</li><li>item #38</li><li>item #39</li><li>item #40</li><li>item #41</li><li>item #42</li><li>item #43</li><li>item #44</li><li>item #45</li><li>item #46</li><li>item #47</li><li>item #48</li><li>item #49</li><li>item #50</li><li>item #51</li><li>item #52</li><li>item #53</li><li>item #54</li><li>item #55</li><li>item #56</li><li>item #57</li><li>item #58</li><li>item #59</li><li>item #60</li><li>item #61</li><li>item #62</li><li>item #63</li><li>item #64</li><li>item #65</li><li>item #66</li><li>item #67</li><li>item #68</li><li>item #69</li><li>item #70</li><li>item #71</li><li>item #72</li><li>item #73</li><li>item #74</li><li>item #75</li><li>item #76</li><li>item #77</li><li>item #78</li><li>item #79</li><li>item #80</li><li>item #81</li><li>item #82</li><li>item #83</li><li>item #84</li><li>item #85</li><li>item #86</li><li>item #87</li><li>item #88</li><li>item #89</li><li>item #90</li><li>item #91</li><li>item #92</li><li>item #93</li><li>item #94</li><li>item #95</li><li>item #96</li><li>item #97</li><li>item #98</li><li>item #99</li></ul>
<div id="buttons-centerFalse">
<span><code>scrollIntoViewIfNeeded(false)</code> to item : </span>
<button data-item-idx="0">#0</button>
<button data-item-idx="11">#11</button>
<button data-item-idx="22">#22</button>
<button data-item-idx="24">#24</button>
<button data-item-idx="26">#26</button>
<button data-item-idx="33">#33</button>
<button data-item-idx="44">#44</button>
<button data-item-idx="55">#55</button>
<button data-item-idx="66">#66</button>
<button data-item-idx="77">#77</button>
<button data-item-idx="82">#82</button>
<button data-item-idx="84">#84</button>
<button data-item-idx="86">#86</button>
<button data-item-idx="99">#99</button>
</div>
<div id="buttons-centerTrue">
<span><code>scrollIntoViewIfNeeded(true)</code> to item : </span>
<button data-item-idx="0">#0</button>
<button data-item-idx="11">#11</button>
<button data-item-idx="22">#22</button>
<button data-item-idx="24">#24</button>
<button data-item-idx="26">#26</button>
<button data-item-idx="33">#33</button>
<button data-item-idx="44">#44</button>
<button data-item-idx="55">#55</button>
<button data-item-idx="66">#66</button>
<button data-item-idx="77">#77</button>
<button data-item-idx="82">#82</button>
<button data-item-idx="84">#84</button>
<button data-item-idx="86">#86</button>
<button data-item-idx="99">#99</button>
</div>
<div id="buttons-centerUndefined">
<span><code>scrollIntoViewIfNeeded(undefined)</code> to item : </span>
<button data-item-idx="0">#0</button>
<button data-item-idx="11">#11</button>
<button data-item-idx="22">#22</button>
<button data-item-idx="24">#24</button>
<button data-item-idx="26">#26</button>
<button data-item-idx="33">#33</button>
<button data-item-idx="44">#44</button>
<button data-item-idx="55">#55</button>
<button data-item-idx="66">#66</button>
<button data-item-idx="77">#77</button>
<button data-item-idx="82">#82</button>
<button data-item-idx="84">#84</button>
<button data-item-idx="86">#86</button>
<button data-item-idx="99">#99</button>
</div>
<div id="buttons-centerNoArgs">
<span><code>scrollIntoViewIfNeeded()</code> to item : </span>
<button data-item-idx="0">#0</button>
<button data-item-idx="11">#11</button>
<button data-item-idx="22">#22</button>
<button data-item-idx="24">#24</button>
<button data-item-idx="26">#26</button>
<button data-item-idx="33">#33</button>
<button data-item-idx="44">#44</button>
<button data-item-idx="55">#55</button>
<button data-item-idx="66">#66</button>
<button data-item-idx="77">#77</button>
<button data-item-idx="82">#82</button>
<button data-item-idx="84">#84</button>
<button data-item-idx="86">#86</button>
<button data-item-idx="99">#99</button>
</div>
<script src="index.js"></script>
<script>
(function () {
var scrollArea = document.getElementById('scroll-area'),
buttonsCenterFalse = document.getElementById('buttons-centerFalse'),
buttonsCenterTrue = document.getElementById('buttons-centerTrue'),
buttonsCenterUndefined = document.getElementById('buttons-centerUndefined'),
buttonsCenterNoArgs = document.getElementById('buttons-centerNoArgs'),
scrollIntoViewIfNeededToItemAndSelect;
scrollIntoViewIfNeededToItemAndSelect = function (itemIdx, centerIfNeeded) {
scrollArea.querySelector('.selected').className = '';
// Allow us to really have difference bewteen scrollIntoViewIfNeeded() and scrollIntoViewIfNeeded(undefined)
if (arguments.length === 1) {
scrollArea.children[itemIdx].scrollIntoViewIfNeeded();
} else {
scrollArea.children[itemIdx].scrollIntoViewIfNeeded(centerIfNeeded);
}
scrollArea.children[itemIdx].className = 'selected';
};
buttonsCenterFalse.addEventListener('click', function (e) {
if (e.target.nodeName === 'BUTTON') {
scrollIntoViewIfNeededToItemAndSelect(e.target.dataset.itemIdx, false);
}
}, false);
buttonsCenterTrue.addEventListener('click', function (e) {
if (e.target.nodeName === 'BUTTON') {
scrollIntoViewIfNeededToItemAndSelect(e.target.dataset.itemIdx, true);
}
}, false);
buttonsCenterUndefined.addEventListener('click', function (e) {
if (e.target.nodeName === 'BUTTON') {
scrollIntoViewIfNeededToItemAndSelect(e.target.dataset.itemIdx, undefined);
}
}, false);
buttonsCenterNoArgs.addEventListener('click', function (e) {
if (e.target.nodeName === 'BUTTON') {
scrollIntoViewIfNeededToItemAndSelect(e.target.dataset.itemIdx);
}
}, false);
})();
</script>
@hsablonniere
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Author

It seems that WebKit native implementation handle undefined as false but using the method without arguments like this scrollIntoViewIfNeeded() is as if you passed true like that : scrollIntoViewIfNeeded(true).

I would be interested to know why...

@paulrouget
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What about horizontal scrolling?

@paulrouget
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Ok, I just commented without reloading your code. Apparently, you take that into account now :)

@hsablonniere
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Author

Yeah since yesterday ;-) Note that it's not pixel perfect, the scrollWidth of my test isn't the same on FF, Opera and Chrome...

But like I said in the README, I don't handle cases where the scroll area isn't the direct parent node.

@espadrine
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I am unsure of why your code doesn't work all too well in common cases,
but it helped me a lot get started on a full-feature reverse-engineering of
Webkit's behavior.

I'll design more tests, but those that are there are, I believe, the most difficult ones to pass.
http://jsbin.com/3/oxaxuc/13/edit?javascript
(Preview.)

@hsablonniere
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Author

I'll look into in in details... Thx.

@espadrine
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Quick update, I have here a complete implementation of a better scrollIntoView, which I have given a proposal over at the css mailing list: http://jsbin.com/3/ilecok/8/edit?javascript.

@DavidDurman
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This is actually a better implementation of scrollIntoViewIfNeeded() then the native Webkit one. From what I'm observing in Webkit, when an element doesn't fit into parent element view, webkit doesn't start with scrolling the element parent first but instead the parent descendant in my case. This is not that useful when you have e.g. an overflow: hidden list of items and the list itself if in an overflow: hidden element and the user key-navigates items in the list, I'd expect the webkit to scroll the list first when the user reaches the last visible item in the list. But what happens instead is that Webkit scrolls the parent of the list first.

@fizker
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fizker commented Jan 9, 2013

nevermind, responded to an outdated comment.. :P

@remybach
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remybach commented Jul 9, 2013

I've forked this gist and added support for 'bubbling up' to the scrollable parent if anyone's interested.

@doxxx
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doxxx commented Feb 14, 2014

I've forked this gist to replace the use of scrollIntoView with direct scrollTop/Left manipulation when centerIfNeeded is false so that it will work for elements inside containers with overflow set to auto or scroll, without scrolling the whole page as well. It works nicely for adding arrow key support to a scrolling list dropdown.

@jlennox
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jlennox commented Mar 5, 2014

This shim does not account for items nested inside scrolling elements or horizontal scrolling.

@qdrk
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qdrk commented May 25, 2014

@jlennox that's too bad, got to write one by ourselves now

@husa
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husa commented Feb 18, 2015

instead of

parent = this.parentNode,

you can use

parent = getParent(this),
// where
function getParent(el) {
    var parent = el.parentNode;

    if (parent === document) {
        return document;
   } else if (parent.offsetHeight < parent.scrollHeight || parent.offsetWidth < parent.scrollWidth) {
        return parent;
    } else {
        return getParent(parent);
    }
}

So there won't be limitation of scrolling only direct parent.

@davidmaxwaterman
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Any licence for code in this gist?

@jocki84
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jocki84 commented Nov 30, 2015

I've also made a fork removing the restriction that the scroll area has to be a direct parent, and supporting nested scroll areas at the same time.

@addityasingh
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But this will not work in browsers which don't support Element.scrollIntoView() as mentioned over http://caniuse.com/#search=scrollIntoView

@clickear
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clickear commented Mar 7, 2017

@husa parent = getParent(this),
// where

function getParent(el) {
    var parent = el.parentNode;

    if (parent === document) {
        return document;  //it can't be work.when return document . Failed to execute 'getComputedStyle' on 'Window' .  instead of it .use return el??
   } else if (parent.offsetHeight < parent.scrollHeight || parent.offsetWidth < parent.scrollWidth) {
        return parent;
    } else {
        return getParent(parent);
    }
}

@g4rcez
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g4rcez commented May 19, 2021

For typescript coders:

declare global {
  interface Element {
    scrollIntoViewIfNeeded: (bool?: boolean) => void;
  }
}

if (!Element.prototype.scrollIntoViewIfNeeded) {
  Element.prototype.scrollIntoViewIfNeeded = function (
    this: HTMLElement,
    centerIfNeeded?: boolean
  ) {
    centerIfNeeded = arguments.length === 0 ? true : !!centerIfNeeded;

    var parent = this.parentNode! as HTMLElement,
      parentComputedStyle = window.getComputedStyle(parent, null),
      parentBorderTopWidth = parseInt(
        parentComputedStyle.getPropertyValue("border-top-width")
      ),
      parentBorderLeftWidth = parseInt(
        parentComputedStyle.getPropertyValue("border-left-width")
      ),
      overTop = this.offsetTop - parent.offsetTop < parent.scrollTop,
      overBottom =
        this.offsetTop -
          parent.offsetTop +
          this.clientHeight -
          parentBorderTopWidth >
        parent.scrollTop + parent.clientHeight,
      overLeft = this.offsetLeft - parent.offsetLeft < parent.scrollLeft,
      overRight =
        this.offsetLeft -
          parent.offsetLeft +
          this.clientWidth -
          parentBorderLeftWidth >
        parent.scrollLeft + parent.clientWidth,
      alignWithTop = overTop && !overBottom;

    if ((overTop || overBottom) && centerIfNeeded) {
      parent.scrollTop =
        this.offsetTop -
        parent.offsetTop -
        parent.clientHeight / 2 -
        parentBorderTopWidth +
        this.clientHeight / 2;
    }

    if ((overLeft || overRight) && centerIfNeeded) {
      parent.scrollLeft =
        this.offsetLeft -
        parent.offsetLeft -
        parent.clientWidth / 2 -
        parentBorderLeftWidth +
        this.clientWidth / 2;
    }

    if ((overTop || overBottom || overLeft || overRight) && !centerIfNeeded) {
      this.scrollIntoView(alignWithTop);
    }
  };
}

@nuxodin
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nuxodin commented May 18, 2022

That's how it can be "polyfilled" today:

if ( !Element.prototype.scrollIntoViewIfNeeded ) {
    Element.prototype.scrollIntoViewIfNeeded = function ( centerIfNeeded = true ) {
        const el = this;
        new IntersectionObserver( function( [entry] ) {
            const ratio = entry.intersectionRatio;
            if (ratio < 1) {
                let place = ratio <= 0 && centerIfNeeded ? 'center' : 'nearest';
                el.scrollIntoView( {
                    block: place,
                    inline: place,
                } );
            }
            this.disconnect();
        } ).observe(this);
    };
}

Source:
https://github.com/nuxodin/lazyfill/blob/main/polyfills/Element/prototype/scrollIntoViewIfNeeded.js

@volmard
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volmard commented Jan 11, 2023

@nuxodin it doesn't work the same way as original code,more like native webkit implementation.

  • The page still jumping, trying to keep element in focus
  • In case scrollIntoViewIfNeeded is used for the slider, when you click the next slide button and scroll the page at the same time, the slide will stuck and the transition won't be finished.

@ewnjtgouierg
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this solution doesn't seem to work in the latest firefox versions - 130, 131
the code is being executed and there's no any error in console, but it does not scroll

@nuxodin 's code does work

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