"Access is denied" JavaScript error when trying to access the document object of a programmatically-created <iframe> (IE-only)
if the document.domain property is set in the parent page, Internet Explorer gives me an "Access is denied"
Sigh. Yeah, it's an IE issue (bug? difficult to say as there is no documented standard for this kind of unpleasantness). When you create a srcless iframe it receives a document.domain from the parent document's location.host instead of its document.domain. At that point you've pretty much lost as you can't change it.
A horrendous workaround is to set src to a javascript: URL (urgh!):
iframe.src= "javascript:'<html><body><p>Hello<\/p><script>do things;<\/script>'";But for some reason, such a document is unable to set its own document.domain from script in IE (good old “unspecified error”), so you can't use that to regain a bridge between the parent(*). You could use it to write the whole document HTML, assuming the widget doesn't need to talk to its parent document once it's instantiated.
However iframe JavaScript URLs don't work in Safari, so you'd still need some kind of browser-sniffing to choose which method to use.
*: For some other reason, you can, in IE, set document.domain from a second document, document.written by the first document. So this works:
if (isIE) iframe.src= "javascript:'<script>window.onload=function(){document.write(\\'<script>document.domain=\\\""+document.domain+"\\\";<\\\\/script>\\');document.close();};<\/script>'";At this point the hideousness level is too high for me, I'm out. I'd do the external HTML like David said.
Well yes, the access exception is due to the fact that document.domain must match in your parent and your iframe, and before they do, you won't be able to programmatically set the document.domain property of your iframe.
I think your best option here is to point the page to a template of your own:
iframe.src = '/myiframe.htm#' + document.domain;And in myiframe.htm:
document.domain = location.hash.substring(1);
well i actually have a very similar problem, but with a twist...say the top level site is a.foo.com - now i set document domain to a.foo.com
then in the iframe that i create / own,i also set it too a.foo.com
note that i cant set them too foo.com b/c there is another iframe in the page pointed to b.a.foo.com (which again uses a.foo.com but i cant change the script code there)
youll note that im essentially setting document.domain to what it already would be anyway...but i have to do that to access the other iframe i mentioned from b.a.foo.com
inside my frame, after i set the domain, eventhough all iframes have the same setting, i still get an error when reaching up into the parent in IE 6/7
there are other things that r really bizaree
in the outside / top level, if i wait for its onload event, and set a timer, eventually i can reach down into the frame i need to access....but i can never reach from bottom up...and i really need to be able to
also if i set everything to be foo.com (which as i said i cannot do) IT WORKS!but for some reason, when using the same value as location.host....it doesnt and its freaking killing me.....