Load page in javascript without opening it

Question

I'd like to load the contents of a page in javascript without actually opening it. I want to use it so I can load a page and scan some of its elements to see if it should actually be opened in a new window/tab before doing the opening itself.

How can I do that?

Answer 1

You can do this using the XMLHttpRequest object.

This is subject, however, to cross-domain scripting limitations.

Read more about it:

• https://developer.mozilla.org/en/XMLHttpRequest
• http://www.ajaxtoolbox.com/request/examples.php
• http://www.w3.org/TR/XMLHttpRequest/

Answer 2

Load it in an Ajax call.

With jQuery:

$.ajax({
  url: 'http://your_page_url',
  success: function( data ) {
    // process data (which is actually your page contents)
  }
});