elementscrollTox

elementscrollTox is a JavaScript utility that provides programmatic smooth scrolling to a target element or a specific coordinate within the document. It abstracts browser differences in scrolling APIs and offers an optional animation that can be tuned via duration, easing and offset parameters. The library is designed to improve user navigation, accessibility, and developers' control over viewport movement in single-page applications and dynamic UIs.

Usage and API: The core function accepts a target that can be a DOM element, a CSS selector, or a coordinate pair, and an options object with properties such as duration (default 300 ms), easing (e.g., linear, easeInOutQuad), offset (to adjust final scroll position), and behavior (whether to align to top or bottom). The function returns a promise that resolves when scrolling completes, allowing chaining with other UI actions. If the browser supports native smooth scrolling, elementscrollTox can delegate to window.scrollTo or element.scrollIntoView while preserving compatibility with older environments.

Implementation notes: It typically uses requestAnimationFrame to perform frame-by-frame updates and honors the reduced-motion preference for accessibility. It may also offer features like cancelation, focus management, and the ability to scroll the window or a specific scrollable element. Some implementations include a polyfill fallback when smooth scrolling is not natively supported.

See also: scrollIntoView, window.scrollTo, smooth scrolling polyfill, focus management.