JavaScript Filtering Causes Nested Tables to Vanish in HTML Structure

Other Questions JavaScript
1

I’m having trouble with a JavaScript function I wrote to filter a table. It works fine for the main table, but I noticed that the sub-tables inside each row vanish when I apply the filter. Here’s a sample of my HTML layout:

<table id="main-table">
  <tr>
    Main Row 1
    <table>
      <tr><td>Sub-table 1 content</td></tr>
    </table>
  </tr>
  <tr>
    Main Row 2
    <table>
      <tr><td>Sub-table 2 content</td></tr>
    </table>
  </tr>
</table>

My JavaScript function loops through each row to hide those that don’t match the search query, but it’s inadvertently hiding the nested tables as well. Does anyone have ideas on what could cause this issue and how to keep the sub-tables visible while filtering the main rows? Any help would be appreciated!

2

The issue you’re facing likely stems from how the DOM is structured. Nested tables within table rows aren’t standard practice and can lead to unexpected behavior. A more robust solution would be to restructure your HTML to use a single table with expandable rows or a grid layout using divs instead.

If you must keep the current structure, you could modify your JavaScript to specifically target only the direct text nodes of the main rows for filtering. This way, you’d preserve the nested tables. Here’s a rough idea:

function filterRows(query) {
  const rows = document.querySelectorAll('#main-table > tr');
  rows.forEach(row => {
    const text = Array.from(row.childNodes)
      .filter(node => node.nodeType === Node.TEXT_NODE)
      .map(node => node.textContent)
      .join('');
    row.style.display = text.toLowerCase().includes(query.toLowerCase()) ? '' : 'none';
  });
}

This approach focuses on the text content of the main rows without touching the nested tables. Remember to thoroughly test any solution you implement.

3

hey, i’ve had this problem before. the issue is probably with how ur selecting elements. try using querySelector with a more specific selector to target just the main row content, like .main-row-content. that way u wont accidentally hide the nested stuff. also, make sure ur not using display: none on parent elements, cuz that’ll hide everything inside too.

4

I encountered a similar issue at one point. The problem was that hiding the main row inadvertently hides all its children, including the nested tables. In my case, instead of hiding the entire row, I applied the filter to only specific cell elements, leaving the nested tables intact. One workaround was to adjust the DOM traversal so that nested tables were excluded from the selection. For instance, using something like:

row.querySelectorAll(':scope > *:not(table)').forEach(el => el.style.display = 'none');

This approach allows the primary content to be filtered without impacting the structure of the nested tables. Testing is essential to ensure the layout remains intact.