how to get a specific string in an href in javascript

Question

I am trying to create an onload event where a function compares the current URL to an href and displays content according to the href that is shown. I want to accomplish this by selecting a child from a parent, though I am unsure as to how to get the contents within the href specifically. Here is a bit of the code I have written:

html

<ul id="main-nav">
      <li class="nav active"><a href="#shipping">Shipping</a></li>
      <li class="nav"><a href="#returns">returns</a></li>
      <li class="nav"><a href="#custom">Custom Orders</a></li>
      <li class="nav"><a href="#replacements">Replacements/ Warranty</a></li>
      <li class="nav"><a href="#mostFAQs">Most Frequently Asked Questions</a></li>
      <li class="nav"><a href="#RAD">RAD Principles</a></li>
      <li class="nav"><a href="#environmental">Environmental Stewardship</a></li>
      <li class="nav"><a href="#USA">MADE in the USA</a></li>
</ul>

js

var href = $("#main-nav").children('a');

$("div.faq-container").hide();

if (window.location.href.includes(href)) {
    $("div.faq-container").eq("0").show();
} else (window.location.href.includes(href)) {
    $("div.faq-container").eq("1").show();
}

the main issue I have is that I want to write the line that has

var href = $("#main-nav").children('a');

so that it grabs the contents within the href alone, and nothing else outside of that, so that it would have either "#shipping", "#returns", etc. as its value.

Answer 1

You took the problem by the wrong end. What you need to know is the location.hash to target the right div to display.

This should be closer:

var hash = window.location.hash

// Hide all .faq-container
$("div.faq-container").hide()

// If there is a hash
if(hash){
  $("#"+hash).show()
}

Answer 2

Here's a vanilla JavaScript example which will make the selected section visible.

It uses the hashchange event to detect when the hash has changed.

 const sections = [...document.querySelectorAll('.section')]; function showSelected () { sections.forEach(section => section.classList.remove('show')); if(location.hash.length) { const section = document.querySelector(location.hash); if (section) { section.classList.add('show'); } } } window.addEventListener('hashchange', showSelected);

 .section { margin: 0.5rem; padding: 0.5rem; background-color: #e0e0e0; width: 10rem; display: none; }.show { display: block; }

 <ul id="main-nav"> <li class="nav active"><a href="#shipping">Shipping</a></li> <li class="nav"><a href="#returns">returns</a></li> <li class="nav"><a href="#custom">Custom Orders</a></li> <li class="nav"><a href="#replacements">Replacements/ Warranty</a></li> <li class="nav"><a href="#mostFAQs">Most Frequently Asked Questions</a></li> <li class="nav"><a href="#RAD">RAD Principles</a></li> <li class="nav"><a href="#environmental">Environmental Stewardship</a></li> <li class="nav"><a href="#USA">MADE in the USA</a></li> </ul> <div id="shipping" class="section">#shipping</div> <div id="returns" class="section">#returns</div> <div id="custom" class="section">#custom</div> <div id="replacements" class="section">#replacements</div> <div id="mostFAQs" class="section">#mostFAQs</div> <div id="RAD" class="section">#RAD</div> <div id="environmental" class="section">#environmental</div> <div id="USA" class="section">#USA</div>