Does appending a list item to a new ul remove it from the one it was in previously?

Question

In this video we grab a list item that already exists by checking a checkbox and we append that li to a different unordered list. So if I have an li in "incomplete tasks" and I click the checkbox to mark that it is complete, it is moved into my "completed tasks" ul. 
To achieve this, we use the element.appendChild method. However, we never actually removed it from the original unordered list. So does taking an existing element (like a list item) and appending it to a new element automatically remove it from the original element? A metaphor would be.. appending an element is like cut & paste as opposed to copy & paste (where the original list item would still exist).
Thanks!

Steven Parker · Accepted Answer

:whitecheckmark: You are correct.  The DOM manipulations move an element's position.
If you want to leave an element as is and place a copy of it somewhere, you would first cloneNode to make the copy and then attach the copy where you want it in the DOM.
:information_source: A cloned node can optionally include all the element's descendants as well, if desired.

Welcome to the Treehouse Community

Looking to learn something new?

Raquel Smith

Raquel Smith

Does appending a list item to a new ul remove it from the one it was in previously?

1 Answer

Steven Parker

Steven Parker

You are correct. The DOM manipulations move an element's position.

Raquel Smith

Raquel Smith