Property ‘click’ does not exist on type ‘element’

Explanation:

The error message “Property ‘click’ does not exist on type ‘element'” typically occurs when you are trying to access the “click” property on a generic element object in TypeScript. The error is raised because the TypeScript compiler cannot guarantee that the element indeed has a “click” property defined.

In TypeScript, the generic “Element” type is used to represent all HTML elements as a base class. While many elements support the “click” event, TypeScript cannot be aware of this at compile-time since it assumes the most generic behavior. Therefore, directly accessing the “click” property on a generic element object will give rise to the error.

Example:

Here’s an example to illustrate the error:

    const element = document.getElementById("myButton");
    element.click(); // Error: Property 'click' does not exist on type 'Element'.
  

In the above example, we obtain an element by its ID using the “getElementById” method. As the type of “element” is inferred as “Element,” TypeScript throws an error when we try to call the “click” method on it.

Solution:

To resolve the error, you can utilize type assertions to inform TypeScript about the specific type of the element. Here’s an updated version of the example with type assertion:

    const element = document.getElementById("myButton") as HTMLButtonElement;
    element.click(); // No error now, as 'element' is explicitly typed as 'HTMLButtonElement'.
  

By using the “as” keyword along with the desired type, in this case, “HTMLButtonElement,” you inform TypeScript about the actual type of the element. Now, TypeScript understands that “element” has a “click” method and the error is resolved.