Scrolling to specific position with Javascript failed

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I’m new to HTML and Javascript and want to create a link that, when clicked on, scrolls to a specific position in the page. I made some research online and came up with the following solution:

My HTML file:

...
<a href="#" onclick="scroll()">My link</a>
...

My Javascript (which I include in the <head> tag):

function scroll() {
    window.scrollTo({ top: 300, left: 0, behavior: "smooth" });
}

However this does not work well, because every time I click the link, the page just scrolls to the very top of the page, regardless to what position I set in window.scrollTo. Can somebody point out where my mistake is and how to do it right?

Thanks!

10 thoughts on “Scrolling to specific position with Javascript failed”

  1. I do not know your html structure completely
    Maybe this method will help you :

    function goToTarget(){
  var element = document.getElementById("target");

  element.scrollIntoView({behavior: "smooth", block: "end", inline: "nearest"});
}
    #target{
  margin-top:100pc;
}
    <button onclick="goToTarget()"> click me </button>

<div id="target"> i am target </div>
    Reply

  2. Going on the assumption that you want a smooth scroll to a specific position on the same page, you could setup your HTML as tacoshy recommended, using an anchor for the place you’ll click and a reference #id for your destination:

    <a href="#my-link" class="same-page-link">My link</a>

<h2 id="my-link">My Link Section</h2>

    Then, if you’re using jQuery on your page, you can add a listener to the anchor tag:

    $(".same-page-link").on("click", function(event) {
  var $target;

  event.preventDefault();

  $target = $($(this).attr("href"));

  $("html, body").animate({
    scrollTop: $target.offset().top - 50
  }, 1000, "swing").promise().done(function() {
    $target.attr('tabindex', '0'); //Adding tabindex for elements not focusable
    $target.focus(); //Setting focus
  });

  return false;
});

    the - 50 is to offset the top of the scroll position from a fixed header, if you have one.

    If you’re not using jQuery, there is a pure JavaScript solution on GitHub that you might be able to adapt for what you need.

    As for your original function window.scrollTo({ top: 300, left: 0, behavior: "smooth" }); I think that’s always going to bring you to a position 300 pixels from the top of the window, and may not work for IE or Safari (I don’t think they support the options version of scrollTo).

    Reply

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