Executing a function after a period of time in Javascript

Question

I am trying to write a user script that will hide certain elements from a page. The problem is the elements do not appear until a few seconds after the page has loaded, so I am trying to do it with a few seconds of delay.

This is the code I have:

function hide_stuff()
{
    var e = document.getElementsByClassName("tab");
    if(e) 
        alert("got elements");
    else 
        alert("didn't get elements");
    for( var i = 0; i < e.length; i++){
        if (!e[i].id)
            e[i].style.display = "hidden";
    }
}

setTimeout(hide_stuff(), 5000);

The problem is it doesn't delay at all. The "got elements" alert (which I added as a debugging aid), fires immediately when the page loads. I can't see what I'm doing wrong, although I'm sure it's probably something obvious.

Any help?

The problem is the elements do not appear until a few seconds after the page has loaded, are you using the window.onload event and running your code from there? Rarely is an arbitrary delay to let things load the right thing to do. — Matt Burland
– Matt Burland, Commented Mar 28, 2013 at 15:01
It's a user script, so it's not running on my own site; what if there is already a function assigned to the window.onload event? Wouldn't that cause problems if I assigned my own? Anyway, that doesn't seem to work in this instance. The elements are seemingly loaded dynamically after the page has loaded, so having it run with the window.onload event doesn't work. — SleepingInsomniac
– SleepingInsomniac, Commented Mar 28, 2013 at 15:53

Denys Séguret · Accepted Answer · 2013-03-28 14:57:48Z

4

Change

setTimeout(hide_stuff(), 5000);

to

setTimeout(hide_stuff, 5000);

Instead of passing the function, you were calling it immediately (and passing undefined to setTimeout).

answered Mar 28, 2013 at 14:57

Denys Séguret

384k90 gold badges813 silver badges780 bronze badges

Sign up to request clarification or add additional context in comments.

Collectives™ on Stack Overflow

Executing a function after a period of time in Javascript

1 Answer 1

Comments

Your Answer

Hot Network Questions

Collectives™ on Stack Overflow

1 Answer 1

Comments

Your Answer

Sign up or log in

Post as a guest

Related