jQuery Traversing - Filtering

Narrow Down The Search For Elements

The three most basic filtering methods are first(), last() and eq(), which allow you to select a specific element based on its position in a group of elements.

Other filtering methods, like filter() and not() allow you to select elements that match, or do not match, a certain criteria.

jQuery first() Method

The first() method returns the first element of the selected elements.

The following example selects the first <p> element inside the first <div> element:

jQuery last() Method

The last() method returns the last element of the selected elements.

The following example selects the last <p> element inside the last <div> element:

jQuery eq() method

The eq() method returns an element with a specific index number of the selected elements.

The index numbers start at 0, so the first element will have the index number 0 and not 1. The following example selects the second <p> element (index number 1):

jQuery filter() Method

The filter() method lets you specify a criteria. Elements that do not match the criteria are removed from the selection, and those that match will be returned.

The following example returns all <p> elements with class name "intro":

jQuery not() Method

The not() method returns all elements that do not match the criteria.

Tip: The not() method is the opposite of filter().

The following example returns all <p> elements that do not have class name "intro":

Test Yourself with Exercises!

Exercise 1 »  Exercise 2 »  Exercise 3 »  Exercise 4 »  Exercise 5 »  Exercise 6 »

jQuery Traversing Reference

For a complete overview of all jQuery Traversing methods, please go to our jQuery Traversing Reference.