Relative Paths in Javascript in an external file

user_86860 0
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So I'm running this javascript, and everything works fine, except the paths to the background image. It works on my local ASP.NET Dev environment, but it does NOT work when deployed to a server in a virtual directory.

This is in an external .js file, folder structure is

Site/Content/style.css
Site/Scripts/myjsfile.js
Site/Images/filters_expand.jpg
Site/Images/filters_colapse.jpg

then this is where the js file is included from

Site/Views/ProductList/Index.aspx

$("#toggle").click(function() {
    if (left.width() > 0) {
        AnimateNav(left, right, 0);
        $(this).css("background", "url('../Images/filters_expand.jpg')");
    }
    else {
        AnimateNav(left, right, 170);
        $(this).css("background", "url('../Images/filters_collapse.jpg')");
    }
});

I've tried using '/Images/filters_collapse.jpg' and that doesn't work either; however, it seems to work on the server if I use '../../Images/filters_collapse.jpg'.

Basically, I want have the same functionallity as the ASP.NET tilda -- ~.

update

Are paths in external .js files relative to the Page they are included in, or the actual location of the .js file?

path asp.net-mvc css html javascript
10 Answers

JavaScript file paths

When in script, paths are relative to displayed page

to make things easier you can print out a simple js declaration like this and using this variable all across your scripts:

Solution, which was employed on StackOverflow around Feb 2010:

<script type="text/javascript">
   var imagePath = 'http://sstatic.net/so/img/';
</script>

If you were visiting this page around 2010 you could just have a look at StackOverflow's html source, you could find this badass one-liner [formatted to 3 lines :) ] in the <head /> section

user_1795420

get the location of your javascript file during run time using jQuery by parsing the DOM for the 'src' attribute that referred it:

var jsFileLocation = $('script[src*=example]').attr('src');  // the js file path
jsFileLocation = jsFileLocation.replace('example.js', '');   // the js folder path

(assuming your javascript file is named 'example.js')

user_4208740

A proper solution is using a css class instead of writing src in js file. For example instead of using:

$(this).css("background", "url('../Images/filters_collapse.jpg')");

use:

$(this).addClass("xxx");

and in a css file that is loaded in the page write:

.xxx {
  background-image:url('../Images/filters_collapse.jpg');
}
user_7526030

Good question.

  • When in a CSS file, URLs will be relative to the CSS file.

  • When writing properties using JavaScript, URLs should always be relative to the page (the main resource requested).

There is no tilde functionality built-in in JS that I know of. The usual way would be to define a JavaScript variable specifying the base path:

<script type="text/javascript">

  directory_root = "http://www.example.com/resources";

</script>

and to reference that root whenever you assign URLs dynamically.

user_1876060

I used pekka's pattern. I think yet another pattern.

<script src="<% = Url.Content("~/Site/Scripts/myjsfile.js") %>?root=<% = Page.ResolveUrl("~/Site/images") %>">

and parsed querystring in myjsfile.js.

Plugins | jQuery Plugins

user_511450
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