Let's change history (yes we can)

Click me: Hash2History

source:
/** * load is the document load handler */ function load(){ hashnr = 0; if (document.all){ /** * create an (empty) iframe if IE is detected * the strange src should resolve the 'mixed * content' annoyance using https */ var fr = document.createElement('iframe'); document.appendChild(fr); fr.style.display = 'none'; fr.src = 'javascript:"<html></html>"'; frm = fr.contentWindow; frContentTemplate = '<html><head><script>top.location.hash = '+ '\'_hashvalue_\';</scr'+'ipt></head><body>'+ '_hashvalue_</body></html>'; } hashNow = ''; /** * monitor hashchanges (from iframe or current location) */ setInterval( function(){ var lh = document.all ? frm.document.body.innerHTML : location.hash; if (lh !== hashNow) { hashNow = lh; top.location.hash = hashNow; // [ do things with the hashvalue ] // return true; } return false; }, 50); } function changeHistory(){ var a = hashNow = String(++hashnr); if (document.all) { /** * if IE is detected, rewrite the iframe contents. The * iframe body contains the hash (in this case a simple number) * and the iframe-scripting changes the documents location.hash * opening/writing the iframe document adds it to IE's history * If the user clicks back, the browser goes back to the * previous iframe, user stays on the containing page and * the hashmonitoring function handles the hashchange. */ frm.document.open(); frm.document.write(frContentTemplate.replace(/_hashvalue_/gi,a)); frm.document.close(); } else { /** * otherwise location.hash is just rewritten * (and handled by the monitoring function) */ location.hash = a } return true; }

The code is not very clean (global variables and all), but its just to demonstrate the mechanics of using location.hash and enabling it in IE also. This code is checked in IE, FF3, Chrome. May be I'll check Opera and Safari later