How Can I Reliably Detect Browser Back Button Presses Across Different Browsers?

Browser Back Button Event Detection Across Browsers

Detecting the browser back button's behavior presents challenges due to its asynchronous nature. While some methods exist, such as utilizing window.onhashchange, they fail to differentiate between in-page elements triggering hash changes and the actual back button press.

Enforcing In-Page Back Button Usage

In single-page applications relying on hash navigation, it's crucial to regulate the back button's functionality. By employing an in-page back button that modifies the hash, you can maintain control over navigation.

Discovering Browser Back Button Presses

To accurately detect browser back button events, consider a cross-platform approach using mouse hover and leave events on the document.

document.onmouseover = function() {
    // User's cursor is within the document area
    window.innerDocClick = true;
}

document.onmouseleave = function() {
    // User's cursor has exited the document area
    window.innerDocClick = false;
}

window.onhashchange = function() {
    if (window.innerDocClick) {
        // Navigation triggered by in-page action
    } else {
        // Browser back button was pressed
    }
}

This method sets a Boolean flag (window.innerDocClick) to indicate whether the cursor is within the document area. If the hash changes while the flag is false, it suggests a browser back button press.

Prevent Backspace from Triggering Back Event

To prevent the backspace key from activating the back button, use the following jQuery code:

$(function(){
    var rx = /INPUT|SELECT|TEXTAREA/i;
    $(document).bind("keydown keypress", function(e){
        if( e.which == 8 ){ // 8 == backspace
            if(!rx.test(e.target.tagName) || e.target.disabled || e.target.readOnly ){
                e.preventDefault();
            }
        }
    });
});

This code intercepts backspace presses and prevents them from triggering the back button event if the focus is not on an input field.

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