Posted in: Using jQuery Core > Frequently Asked Questions

How do I test whether an element has a particular class?

.hasClass() (added in version 1.2) handles this common use case:

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$( "div" ).click(function() {
 
    if ( $( this ).hasClass( "protected" ) ) {
 
        $( this )
            .animate({ left: -10 })
            .animate({ left: 10 })
            .animate({ left: -10 })
            .animate({ left: 10 })
            .animate({ left: 0 });
 
    }
 
});

You can also use the .is() method along with an appropriate selector for more advanced matching:

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if ( $( "#myDiv" ).is( ".pretty.awesome" ) ) {
 
    $( "#myDiv" ).show();
 
}

Note that this method allows you to test for other things as well. For example, you can test whether an element is hidden (by using the custom :hidden selector):

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if ( $( "#myDiv" ).is( ":hidden" ) ) {
 
    $( "#myDiv" ).show();
 
}