Typeerror: cannot read property ‘createevent’ of null

Do you want to know how to solve Typeerror: cannot read property ‘createevent’ of null?

Read this article for you to understand this error and know how to fix it.

Through this article, you will understand what Typeerror: cannot read property ‘createevent’ of null means, How and why this error occurs, and know the different steps to solve it.

So first, let us know what this error means.

What is Typeerror: cannot read property ‘createevent’ of null?

The “Typeerror: cannot read property ‘createevent’ of null” is an error message that occurs in JavaScript and it means that there is an attempt to access the “createevent” property of a variable that has a value of null.

Specifically, this error indicated that the code is trying to call a method or access a property on an object that does not exist.

What is createevent?

createEvent is a method in the Document Object Model (DOM) API in JavaScript that is used to create a new Event object.

The Event object represents an event that has occurred and can be used to trigger event listeners or handle events in JavaScript.

Now let’s proceed to the reasons why Typeerror: cannot read property ‘createevent’ of null occurs.

Why does Typeerror: cannot read property ‘createevent’ of null occur?

The error “Typeerror: cannot read property ‘createevent’ of null” occurs when you try to access the createevent property or method of a null object or variable.

This error commonly occurs in JavaScript when working with the Document Object Model (DOM).

Here are some reasons why this error might occur:

• The target element doesn’t exist.
• The wrong method is used to create the event.
• The element has been removed from the DOM.

Reason 1: The target element doesn’t exist:

The “cannot read property ‘createevent’ of null” error message occurs if the target element does not exist, then the variable that references that element will be null.

When you try to call the createEvent method on a null element, you will get an error, because null is not an object.

Therefore it does not have any properties or methods that you can access.

For example:

const targetElement = document.getElementById('nonexistent-element');
const event = targetElement.createEvent('Event'); // throws Typeerror: cannot read property 'createevent' of null

In this example, the targetElement variable is null because there is no element with the ID “nonexistent-element” on the page.

When the createEvent method is called on targetElement, the error is thrown because targetElement is null.

Reason 2: The wrong method is used to create the event:

The error message “cannot read property ‘createevent’ of null” occurs when you use the wrong method to create an event object.

This is because the method you’re trying to call does not exist or is not supported on the object you’re calling it on.

Here is an example error code:

const targetElement = document.createElement('div');
const event = targetElement.createEvent('Event'); // throws Typeerror: cannot read property 'createevent' of null

In this example, the targetElement variable is a newly created div element, but the createEvent method is not supported on div elements.

When the method is called on targetElement, the error is thrown because the method is not available.

Reason 3: The element has been removed from the DOM:

Another reason why you get the “Typeerror: cannot read property ‘createevent’ of null” error is either because an element has been removed from the DOM and you try to create an event on that element.

This is because the removed element no longer exists in the DOM, and therefore the variable that references it will be null.

Here’s an example:

const targetElement = document.createElement('div');
document.body.appendChild(targetElement);
document.body.removeChild(targetElement);
const event = targetElement.createEvent('Event'); // throws Typeerror: cannot read property 'createevent' of null

In this example, the targetElement is created and appended to the body element, and Then immediately removed from the body element.

When createEvent is called on targetElement after it has been removed from the DOM, the error is thrown stating:

Typeerror: cannot read property 'createevent' of null

Because the element no longer exists in the DOM.

Those are the example scenarios where the “cannot read property ‘createevent’ of null” error might occur.

Now let’s proceed on how to fix this error.

Typeerror: cannot read property ‘createevent’ of null – Solutions

Here are some steps you can take to fix the “cannot read property ‘createevent’ of null” error:

Solution 1: Check that the element exists in the DOM:

To fix the “cannot read property ‘createevent’ of null” error, make sure that the element you are trying to create an event on actually exists in the DOM.

For example:

const myElement = document.getElementById('my-element');
if (myElement !== null) {
  const event = myElement.createEvent('Event');
  // Rest of your code here
} else {
  console.log('Element not found');
}

In this example, we first check if the element with an ID of “my-element” exists in the DOM using document.getElementById.

If the element exists, we create the event object using createEvent.

If the element does not exist, we log a message to the console.

Solution 2: Use the correct method to create an event:

Different browsers use different methods to create event objects, make sure that you are using the correct method to create an event object for your browser.

Here’s an example code:

const myElement = document.getElementById('my-element');
let event;
if (typeof(Event) === 'function') {
  event = new Event('my-custom-event');
} else {
  event = document.createEvent('Event');
  event.initEvent('my-custom-event', true, true);
}
myElement.dispatchEvent(event);

In this example, we first check if the Event constructor is supported by the browser using typeof(Event).

If it is, we use the new Event() constructor to create the event object.

If it is not supported, we use the document.createEvent() method to create the event object and initialize it using event.initEvent().

Finally, we dispatch the event using myElement.dispatchEvent().

Solution 3: Make sure the event is supported:

Another way to fix the error is to make sure that the event you are trying to create is supported by the browser you are testing on.

Some events may not be supported by older browsers, and attempting to create them may result in an error.

Here’s an example of how you do it:

const myElement = document.getElementById('my-element');
const event = myElement.createEvent('TouchEvent'); // Not supported on all browsers
event.initEvent('my-custom-event', true, true);
myElement.dispatchEvent(event);

In this example, we are trying to create a TouchEvent event object.

However, this event is not supported on all browsers.

By using a different event type that is supported on all browsers, such as Event, we can avoid the error.

Solution 4: Use a try-catch block:

Another solution to fix the “cannot read property ‘createevent’ of null” error is to wrap the code that creates the event object in a try-catch block.

It helps to handle any errors that may occur.

This will prevent the error from crashing your entire application.

Here’s an example:

const myElement = document.getElementById('my-element');
try {
  const event = myElement.createEvent('Event');
  event.initEvent('my-custom-event', true, true);
  myElement.dispatchEvent(event);
} catch (e) {
  console.log('Error creating event: ', e.message);
}

In this example, we wrap the code that creates the event object in a try-catch block.

If an error occurs, we log the error message to the console.

So those are the alternative solutions you may use to fix the “Typeerror: cannot read property ‘createevent’ of null” error.

Hoping it helps you troubleshoot and resolve the error.

Here are the other fixed Python errors that you can visit, you might encounter them in the future.

• typeerror: cannot read property ‘testenvironmentoptions’ of undefined
• typeerror: loadercontext.getoptions is not a function
• typeerror sequence item 0 expected str instance int found

Conclusion

In conclusion, The “Typeerror: cannot read property ‘createevent’ of null” is an error message that occurs when you try to access the createevent property or method of a null object or variable.

This error commonly occurs in JavaScript when working with the Document Object Model (DOM).

By following the given solutions above, surely you can fix the error quickly and proceed to your coding project again.

I hope this article helps you resolve your problem regarding the Typeerror stating “cannot read property ‘createevent’ of null”.

We’re happy to help you.

Happy coding! Have a Good day and God bless.