# Namespace: ext

## Ancestry: DataTable » .models. » ext

DataTables v1.9.4 documentation

DataTables extension options and plug-ins. This namespace acts as a collection "area" for plug-ins that can be used to extend the default DataTables behaviour - indeed many of the build in methods use this method to provide their own capabilities (sorting methods for example).

Note that this namespace is aliased to jQuery.fn.dataTableExt so it can be readily accessed and modified by plug-ins.

## Summary

### Properties - static

<static> afnFiltering :array

  Plug-in filtering functions - this method of filtering is complimentary to the default type based filtering, and a lot more comprehensive as it allows you complete control over the filtering logic. Each element in this array is a function (parameters described below) that is called for every row in the table, and your logic decides if it should be included in the filtered data set or not.

  - Function input parameters:
    - {object} DataTables settings object: see DataTable.models.oSettings.
    - {array|object} Data for the row to be processed (same as the original format that was passed in as the data source, or an array from a DOM data source
    - {int} Row index in aoData (DataTable.models.oSettings.aoData), which can be useful to retrieve the TR element if you need DOM interaction.
  - Function return:
    - {boolean} Include the row in the filtered result set (true) or not (false)
    </il>
<static> afnSortData :array

  Plug-in sorting functions - this method of sorting is complimentary to the default type based sorting that DataTables does automatically, allowing much greater control over the the data that is being used to sort a column. This is useful if you want to do sorting based on live data (for example the contents of an 'input' element) rather than just the static string that DataTables knows of. The way these plug-ins work is that you create an array of the values you wish to be sorted for the column in question and then return that array. Which pre-sorting function is run here depends on the sSortDataType parameter that is used for the column (if any). This is the corollary of ofnSearch for sort data.

  - Function input parameters:
    - {object} DataTables settings object: see DataTable.models.oSettings.
    - {int} Target column index
  - Function return:
    - {array} Data for the column to be sorted upon
    </il>
  [...]
<static> aoFeatures :array

  Feature plug-ins - This is an array of objects which describe the feature plug-ins that are available to DataTables. These feature plug-ins are accessible through the sDom initialisation option. As such, each feature plug-in must describe a function that is used to initialise itself (fnInit), a character so the feature can be enabled by sDom (cFeature) and the name of the feature (sFeature). Thus the objects attached to this method must provide:

  - {function} fnInit Initialisation of the plug-in
    - Function input parameters:
      - {object} DataTables settings object: see DataTable.models.oSettings.
    - Function return:
      - {node|null} The element which contains your feature. Note that the return may also be void if your plug-in does not require to inject any DOM elements into DataTables control (sDom) - for example this might be useful when developing a plug-in which allows table control via keyboard entry.
      </il>
  - {character} cFeature Character that will be matched in sDom - case sensitive
  - {string} sFeature Feature name
<static> aTypes :array

  Type detection plug-in functions - DataTables utilises types to define how sorting and filtering behave, and types can be either be defined by the developer (sType for the column) or they can be automatically detected by the methods in this array. The functions defined in the array are quite simple, taking a single parameter (the data to analyse) and returning the type if it is a known type, or null otherwise.

  - Function input parameters:
    - {*} Data from the column cell to be analysed
  - Function return:
    - {string|null} Data type detected, or null if unknown (and thus pass it on to the other type detection functions.
    </il>
<static> fnVersionCheck :function

  Provide a common method for plug-ins to check the version of DataTables being used, in order to ensure compatibility.

<static> iApiIndex :int

  Index for what 'this' index API functions should use

<static> oApi :object

  Container for all private functions in DataTables so they can be exposed externally

<static> ofnSearch :object

  Pre-processing of filtering data plug-ins - When you assign the sType for a column (or have it automatically detected for you by DataTables or a type detection plug-in), you will typically be using this for custom sorting, but it can also be used to provide custom filtering by allowing you to pre-processing the data and returning the data in the format that should be filtered upon. This is done by adding functions this object with a parameter name which matches the sType for that target column. This is the corollary of afnSortData for filtering data.

  - Function input parameters:
    - {*} Data from the column cell to be prepared for filtering
  - Function return:
    - {string|null} Formatted string that will be used for the filtering.
    </il>
  [...]
<static> oJUIClasses :object

  Storage for the various classes that DataTables uses - jQuery UI suitable

<static> oPagination :object

  Pagination plug-in methods - The style and controls of the pagination can significantly impact on how the end user interacts with the data in your table, and DataTables allows the addition of pagination controls by extending this object, which can then be enabled through the sPaginationType initialisation parameter. Each pagination type that is added is an object (the property name of which is what sPaginationType refers to) that has two properties, both methods that are used by DataTables to update the control's state.

  - fnInit - Initialisation of the paging controls. Called only during initialisation of the table. It is expected that this function will add the required DOM elements to the page for the paging controls to work. The element pointer 'oSettings.aanFeatures.p' array is provided by DataTables to contain the paging controls (note that this is a 2D array to allow for multiple instances of each DataTables DOM element). It is suggested that you add the controls to this element as children
    - Function input parameters:
      - {object} DataTables settings object: see DataTable.models.oSettings.
      - {node} Container into which the pagination controls must be inserted
      - {function} Draw callback function - whenever the controls cause a page change, this method must be called to redraw the table.
    - Function return:
      - No return required
      </il>
    </il>
  - fnInit - This function is called whenever the paging status of the table changes and is typically used to update classes and/or text of the paging controls to reflex the new status.
    - Function input parameters:
      - {object} DataTables settings object: see DataTable.models.oSettings.
      - {function} Draw callback function - in case you need to redraw the table again or attach new event listeners
    - Function return:
      - No return required
      </il>
    </il>
<static> oSort :object

  Sorting plug-in methods - Sorting in DataTables is based on the detected type of the data column (you can add your own type detection functions, or override automatic detection using sType). With this specific type given to the column, DataTables will apply the required sort from the functions in the object. Each sort type must provide two mandatory methods, one each for ascending and descending sorting, and can optionally provide a pre-formatting method that will help speed up sorting by allowing DataTables to pre-format the sort data only once (rather than every time the actual sort functions are run). The two sorting functions are typical Javascript sort methods:

  - Function input parameters:
    - {} Data to compare to the second parameter
    - {} Data to compare to the first parameter
  - Function return:
    - {int} Sorting match: <0 if first parameter should be sorted lower than the second parameter, ===0 if the two parameters are equal and >0 if the first parameter should be sorted height than the second parameter.
    </il>
<static> oStdClasses :object

  Storage for the various classes that DataTables uses

<static> sErrMode :string

  How should DataTables report an error. Can take the value 'alert' or 'throw'

<static> sVersion :string

  Version string for plug-ins to check compatibility. Allowed format is a.b.c.d.e where: a:int, b:int, c:int, d:string(dev|beta), e:int. d and e are optional

## Details

### Properties - static

<static> afnFiltering :array

  Plug-in filtering functions - this method of filtering is complimentary to the default type based filtering, and a lot more comprehensive as it allows you complete control over the filtering logic. Each element in this array is a function (parameters described below) that is called for every row in the table, and your logic decides if it should be included in the filtered data set or not.

  - Function input parameters:
    - {object} DataTables settings object: see DataTable.models.oSettings.
    - {array|object} Data for the row to be processed (same as the original format that was passed in as the data source, or an array from a DOM data source
    - {int} Row index in aoData (DataTable.models.oSettings.aoData), which can be useful to retrieve the TR element if you need DOM interaction.
  - Function return:
    - {boolean} Include the row in the filtered result set (true) or not (false)
    </il>

  ##### Example

         // The following example shows custom filtering being applied to the fourth column (i.e.
         // the aData[3] index) based on two input values from the end-user, matching the data in
         // a certain range.
         $.fn.dataTableExt.afnFiltering.push(
           function( oSettings, aData, iDataIndex ) {
             var iMin = document.getElementById('min').value * 1;
             var iMax = document.getElementById('max').value * 1;
             var iVersion = aData[3] == "-" ? 0 : aData[3]*1;
             if ( iMin == "" && iMax == "" ) {
               return true;
             }
             else if ( iMin == "" && iVersion < iMax ) {
               return true;
             }
             else if ( iMin < iVersion && "" == iMax ) {
               return true;
             }
             else if ( iMin < iVersion && iVersion < iMax ) {
               return true;
             }
             return false;
           }
         );

<static> afnSortData :array

  Plug-in sorting functions - this method of sorting is complimentary to the default type based sorting that DataTables does automatically, allowing much greater control over the the data that is being used to sort a column. This is useful if you want to do sorting based on live data (for example the contents of an 'input' element) rather than just the static string that DataTables knows of. The way these plug-ins work is that you create an array of the values you wish to be sorted for the column in question and then return that array. Which pre-sorting function is run here depends on the sSortDataType parameter that is used for the column (if any). This is the corollary of ofnSearch for sort data.

  - Function input parameters:
    - {object} DataTables settings object: see DataTable.models.oSettings.
    - {int} Target column index
  - Function return:
    - {array} Data for the column to be sorted upon
    </il>

  Note that as of v1.9, it is typically preferable to use mData to prepare data for the different uses that DataTables can put the data to. Specifically mData when used as a function will give you a 'type' (sorting, filtering etc) that you can use to prepare the data as required for the different types. As such, this method is deprecated.

  Deprecated
    Yes

  ##### Example

         // Updating the cached sorting information with user entered values in HTML input elements
         jQuery.fn.dataTableExt.afnSortData['dom-text'] = function ( oSettings, iColumn )
         {
           var aData = [];
           $( 'td:eq('+iColumn+') input', oSettings.oApi._fnGetTrNodes(oSettings) ).each( function () {
             aData.push( this.value );
           } );
           return aData;
         }

<static> aoFeatures :array

  Feature plug-ins - This is an array of objects which describe the feature plug-ins that are available to DataTables. These feature plug-ins are accessible through the sDom initialisation option. As such, each feature plug-in must describe a function that is used to initialise itself (fnInit), a character so the feature can be enabled by sDom (cFeature) and the name of the feature (sFeature). Thus the objects attached to this method must provide:

  - {function} fnInit Initialisation of the plug-in
    - Function input parameters:
      - {object} DataTables settings object: see DataTable.models.oSettings.
    - Function return:
      - {node|null} The element which contains your feature. Note that the return may also be void if your plug-in does not require to inject any DOM elements into DataTables control (sDom) - for example this might be useful when developing a plug-in which allows table control via keyboard entry.
      </il>
  - {character} cFeature Character that will be matched in sDom - case sensitive
  - {string} sFeature Feature name

  ##### Example

         // How TableTools initialises itself.
         $.fn.dataTableExt.aoFeatures.push( {
           "fnInit": function( oSettings ) {
             return new TableTools( { "oDTSettings": oSettings } );
           },
           "cFeature": "T",
           "sFeature": "TableTools"
         } );

<static> aTypes :array

  Type detection plug-in functions - DataTables utilises types to define how sorting and filtering behave, and types can be either be defined by the developer (sType for the column) or they can be automatically detected by the methods in this array. The functions defined in the array are quite simple, taking a single parameter (the data to analyse) and returning the type if it is a known type, or null otherwise.

  - Function input parameters:
    - {*} Data from the column cell to be analysed
  - Function return:
    - {string|null} Data type detected, or null if unknown (and thus pass it on to the other type detection functions.
    </il>

  ##### Example

         // Currency type detection plug-in:
         jQuery.fn.dataTableExt.aTypes.push(
           function ( sData ) {
             var sValidChars = "0123456789.-";
             var Char;

             // Check the numeric part
             for ( i=1 ; i

<static> fnVersionCheck :function

  Provide a common method for plug-ins to check the version of DataTables being used, in order to ensure compatibility.

  ##### Parameters:

  | Name | Type | Attributes | Default | Description
  --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | ---
  1 | sVersion | string |  |  | Version string to check for, in the format "X.Y.Z". Note that the formats "X" and "X.Y" are also acceptable.

  ##### Returns:

  true if this version of DataTables is greater or equal to the required version, or false if this version of DataTales is not suitable

  ##### Example:

         $(document).ready(function() {
           var oTable = $('#example').dataTable();
           alert( oTable.fnVersionCheck( '1.9.0' ) );
         } );

<static> iApiIndex :int

  Index for what 'this' index API functions should use

<static> oApi :object

  Container for all private functions in DataTables so they can be exposed externally

<static> ofnSearch :object

  Pre-processing of filtering data plug-ins - When you assign the sType for a column (or have it automatically detected for you by DataTables or a type detection plug-in), you will typically be using this for custom sorting, but it can also be used to provide custom filtering by allowing you to pre-processing the data and returning the data in the format that should be filtered upon. This is done by adding functions this object with a parameter name which matches the sType for that target column. This is the corollary of afnSortData for filtering data.

  - Function input parameters:
    - {*} Data from the column cell to be prepared for filtering
  - Function return:
    - {string|null} Formatted string that will be used for the filtering.
    </il>

  Note that as of v1.9, it is typically preferable to use mData to prepare data for the different uses that DataTables can put the data to. Specifically mData when used as a function will give you a 'type' (sorting, filtering etc) that you can use to prepare the data as required for the different types. As such, this method is deprecated.

  Deprecated
    Yes

  ##### Example

         $.fn.dataTableExt.ofnSearch['title-numeric'] = function ( sData ) {
           return sData.replace(/\n/g," ").replace( /<.*?>/g, "" );
         }

<static> oJUIClasses :object

  Storage for the various classes that DataTables uses - jQuery UI suitable

<static> oPagination :object

  Pagination plug-in methods - The style and controls of the pagination can significantly impact on how the end user interacts with the data in your table, and DataTables allows the addition of pagination controls by extending this object, which can then be enabled through the sPaginationType initialisation parameter. Each pagination type that is added is an object (the property name of which is what sPaginationType refers to) that has two properties, both methods that are used by DataTables to update the control's state.

  - fnInit - Initialisation of the paging controls. Called only during initialisation of the table. It is expected that this function will add the required DOM elements to the page for the paging controls to work. The element pointer 'oSettings.aanFeatures.p' array is provided by DataTables to contain the paging controls (note that this is a 2D array to allow for multiple instances of each DataTables DOM element). It is suggested that you add the controls to this element as children
    - Function input parameters:
      - {object} DataTables settings object: see DataTable.models.oSettings.
      - {node} Container into which the pagination controls must be inserted
      - {function} Draw callback function - whenever the controls cause a page change, this method must be called to redraw the table.
    - Function return:
      - No return required
      </il>
    </il>
  - fnInit - This function is called whenever the paging status of the table changes and is typically used to update classes and/or text of the paging controls to reflex the new status.
    - Function input parameters:
      - {object} DataTables settings object: see DataTable.models.oSettings.
      - {function} Draw callback function - in case you need to redraw the table again or attach new event listeners
    - Function return:
      - No return required
      </il>
    </il>

  ##### Example

         $.fn.dataTableExt.oPagination.four_button = {
           "fnInit": function ( oSettings, nPaging, fnCallbackDraw ) {
             nFirst = document.createElement( 'span' );
             nPrevious = document.createElement( 'span' );
             nNext = document.createElement( 'span' );
             nLast = document.createElement( 'span' );

             nFirst.appendChild( document.createTextNode( oSettings.oLanguage.oPaginate.sFirst ) );
             nPrevious.appendChild( document.createTextNode( oSettings.oLanguage.oPaginate.sPrevious ) );
             nNext.appendChild( document.createTextNode( oSettings.oLanguage.oPaginate.sNext ) );
             nLast.appendChild( document.createTextNode( oSettings.oLanguage.oPaginate.sLast ) );

             nFirst.className = "paginate_button first";
             nPrevious.className = "paginate_button previous";
             nNext.className="paginate_button next";
             nLast.className = "paginate_button last";

             nPaging.appendChild( nFirst );
             nPaging.appendChild( nPrevious );
             nPaging.appendChild( nNext );
             nPaging.appendChild( nLast );

             $(nFirst).click( function () {
               oSettings.oApi._fnPageChange( oSettings, "first" );
               fnCallbackDraw( oSettings );
             } );

             $(nPrevious).click( function() {
               oSettings.oApi._fnPageChange( oSettings, "previous" );
               fnCallbackDraw( oSettings );
             } );

             $(nNext).click( function() {
               oSettings.oApi._fnPageChange( oSettings, "next" );
               fnCallbackDraw( oSettings );
             } );

             $(nLast).click( function() {
               oSettings.oApi._fnPageChange( oSettings, "last" );
               fnCallbackDraw( oSettings );
             } );

             $(nFirst).bind( 'selectstart', function () { return false; } );
             $(nPrevious).bind( 'selectstart', function () { return false; } );
             $(nNext).bind( 'selectstart', function () { return false; } );
             $(nLast).bind( 'selectstart', function () { return false; } );
           },

           "fnUpdate": function ( oSettings, fnCallbackDraw ) {
             if ( !oSettings.aanFeatures.p ) {
               return;
             }

             // Loop over each instance of the pager
             var an = oSettings.aanFeatures.p;
             for ( var i=0, iLen=an.length ; i

<static> oSort :object

  Sorting plug-in methods - Sorting in DataTables is based on the detected type of the data column (you can add your own type detection functions, or override automatic detection using sType). With this specific type given to the column, DataTables will apply the required sort from the functions in the object. Each sort type must provide two mandatory methods, one each for ascending and descending sorting, and can optionally provide a pre-formatting method that will help speed up sorting by allowing DataTables to pre-format the sort data only once (rather than every time the actual sort functions are run). The two sorting functions are typical Javascript sort methods:

  - Function input parameters:
    - {} Data to compare to the second parameter
    - {} Data to compare to the first parameter
  - Function return:
    - {int} Sorting match: <0 if first parameter should be sorted lower than the second parameter, ===0 if the two parameters are equal and >0 if the first parameter should be sorted height than the second parameter.
    </il>

  ##### Examples

         // Case-sensitive string sorting, with no pre-formatting method
         $.extend( $.fn.dataTableExt.oSort, {
           "string-case-asc": function(x,y) {
             return ((x < y) ? -1 : ((x > y) ? 1 : 0));
           },
           "string-case-desc": function(x,y) {
             return ((x < y) ? 1 : ((x > y) ? -1 : 0));
           }
         } );

         // Case-insensitive string sorting, with pre-formatting
         $.extend( $.fn.dataTableExt.oSort, {
           "string-pre": function(x) {
             return x.toLowerCase();
           },
           "string-asc": function(x,y) {
             return ((x < y) ? -1 : ((x > y) ? 1 : 0));
           },
           "string-desc": function(x,y) {
             return ((x < y) ? 1 : ((x > y) ? -1 : 0));
           }
         } );

<static> oStdClasses :object

  Storage for the various classes that DataTables uses

<static> sErrMode :string

  How should DataTables report an error. Can take the value 'alert' or 'throw'

<static> sVersion :string

  Version string for plug-ins to check compatibility. Allowed format is a.b.c.d.e where: a:int, b:int, c:int, d:string(dev|beta), e:int. d and e are optional