Use of JavaScript to work with macros

There are two methods of using JavaScript to work with ISAM macros. We can use macros as JavaScript strings or we can use JavaScript to work with the HTML Document Object Model (DOM). To use a macro as a JavaScript string, simply insert the macro name between double or single quotes. For example:

var username = "%USERNAME%";

When using a macro as a JavaScript string, be aware the macro value may contain URI encoding or HTML entity encoding. We can use the JavaScript unescape() function to remove URI encoding from macro values. The recommended method for removing HTML entity encoding is to use JavaScript to work with the HTML DOM. For example, the following HTML code can be used to remove entity encoding from the %USERNAME% macro:

<span id='user' style='visibility: hidden'>%USERNAME%</span>
<script>
	var user = document.getElementById('user');
	if (user && user.firstChild) 
		{
		var name = user.firstChild.nodeValue;
		}</script>

The name variable contains the contents of the %USERNAME% macro; we can then use the variable as needed. However, use caution to avoid introducing DOM-based cross-site scripting vulnerabilities to the HTML template pages when using macro values.

Parent topic: Macros embedded in a template