How to Capture Browser Window Close Events without Form Submission Interference?

Capturing Browser Window Close Events without Form Interference

It's common to desire an event that triggers specifically when a browser window (or tab) closes. However, the beforeunload event, which is typically utilized for this purpose, also reacts to form submissions. How can we exclude form-related actions from triggering this event?

Answer:

The beforeunload event fires whenever the user departs from the current page, regardless of the reason. This includes form submissions, link clicks, and direct navigation to another page. To exclude these actions, we can leverage the following code:

var inFormOrLink;
$('a').on('click', function() { inFormOrLink = true; });
$('form').on('submit', function() { inFormOrLink = true; });

$(window).on("beforeunload", function() { 
    return inFormOrLink ? "Do you really want to close?" : null; 
})

Alternatively, if using jQuery versions prior to 1.7, the following is recommended:

var inFormOrLink;
$('a').live('click', function() { inFormOrLink = true; });
$('form').bind('submit', function() { inFormOrLink = true; });

$(window).bind("beforeunload", function() { 
    return inFormOrLink ? "Do you really want to close?" : null; 
})

In this solution, when the user clicks on a hyperlink or submits a form, a flag inFormOrLink is set to true. During the beforeunload event, this flag is checked, and if it's false, the event is not captured.

Important Note:

It's worth noting that other event handlers may prevent form submissions or navigation from occurring. In such cases, the beforeunload event will still fire when the window is closed, leading to a lost confirmation prompt. To mitigate this, record the time in click and submit events and check if the beforeunload happens significantly later, allowing for handling such situations.

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