Javascript FileReader detection in Safari

Question

I'm aware of the fact that the FileReader Object is not available in Safari 5.0.5. I have a script that uses it and thought that i'd just be able to detect whether the object exists to run some alternate code, as is suggested here,

http://www.quirksmode.org/js/support.html

So my code is,

if( FileReader )
{
    //do this

}else{

    //the browser doesn't support the FileReader Object, so do this
}

The problem is, i've tested it in Safari and once it hits the if statement i get this error and the script stops running.

ReferenceError: Can't find variable: FileReader

So obviously that's not the best way to deal with it then? Any idea why this doesn't work?

is FileReader supported in Safari 5.1.5? I'm getting error in 5.1.5 also. — Chirag Mehta, Apr 06 '12 at 15:47

score 29 · Answer 1 · answered Jul 19 '11 at 15:12

29

I believe in your case you can get away with a simpler check:

if(window.FileReader) {
   //do this
} else {
   //the browser doesn't support the FileReader Object, so do this
}

check for the type if you really wanna be granular and picky.

answered Jul 19 '11 at 15:12

Assaf Moldavsky

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Agreed. You must ask for window.FileReader otherwise an Uncaught ReferenceError will occur (observed on Android 2.3) – John Clarke Mills Dec 13 '12 at 01:20

score 7 · Answer 2 · answered Jun 19 '11 at 16:57

7

You can write if (typeof FileReader !== "undefined")

You can also use the Modernizr library to check for you.

answered Jun 19 '11 at 16:57

SLaks

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score 1 · Answer 3 · answered Oct 17 '11 at 12:24

1

Or you can do something like this.

if('FileReader' in window) {
    // FileReader support is available
} else {
    // No support available
}

answered Oct 17 '11 at 12:24

Daniel

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Javascript FileReader detection in Safari

3 Answers3