# XML DOM replaceChild() Method

Node Object

## Definition and Usage

The replaceChild() method replaces a child node with a new node.

The new node could be an existing node in the document, or you can create a new node.

Tip: The replaced child node can be inserted later into any element in the same document. Use the insertBefore() or appendChild() method to insert it later into the same document, or use the adoptNode() or importNode() method to insert the replaced node into another document.

## Browser Support

The replaceChild() method is supported in all major browsers.

## Syntax

nodeObject.replaceChild(newchild,oldchild)

## Parameters

Parameter | Type | Description
--- | --- | ---
newchild | Node object | Required. The new node to put in the child list
oldchild | Node object | Required. The node that will be replaced in the child list

## Return Value

Type | Description
--- | ---
Node object | The replaced node (oldchild)

## Technical Details

DOM Version | Core Level 1 Node Object. Modified in DOM Level 3

## Example

The following code fragment loads "books.xml" into xmlDoc using loadXMLDoc() and replaces the first <book> node with a new book node:

## Example

xmlDoc = loadXMLDoc("books.xml");
x = xmlDoc.documentElement;
// Create a book element, title element and a text node
newNode = xmlDoc.createElement("book");
newTitle = xmlDoc.createElement("title");
newText = xmlDoc.createTextNode("A Notebook");
// Add a text node to the title node
newTitle.appendChild(newText);
// Add the title node to the book node
newNode.appendChild(newTitle);
y = xmlDoc.getElementsByTagName("book")[0]
// Replace the first book node with the new book node
x.replaceChild(newNode,y);
Try it yourself »

Node Object

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