Can I tell what version of SharePoint is being used from JavaScript?

Question

I have some static JavaScript being rendered to a page and would like it to behave differently if the version of SharePoint it is being displayed by is 2013. Can I tell what version of SharePoint is being used?

The reason behind this request is related to the introduction of the 15 subfolder under /_layouts.

I cannot modify the output JS from the server side as the it is included in a Custom Field Type's fldtypes*.xml.

Answer 1

There is a native DOM element called _spPageContextInfo.webUIVersion that you could use. In SP 2010, it will return 4. Derek confirmed this is in 2013 and returns 15. 2007 might not return anything or throw undefined. This should allow you to determine where you need to refer to in your script.

Answer 2

You can use the Client Object Model for this:

var clientContext;
// Make sure the SharePoint script file 'sp.js' is loaded before your code runs.
SP.SOD.executeFunc('sp.js', 'SP.ClientContext', sharePointReady);

// Create an instance of the current context.
function sharePointReady() {
    clientContext = SP.ClientContext.get_current();
    clientContext.executeQueryAsync(onRequestSucceeded, onRequestFailed);
}
function onRequestSucceeded() {
    //here you get the version
    var serverVersion = clientContext.get_serverVersion();
}

Here the reference from Microsoft

Answer 3

Two great answers above... I recently (like a few days ago) put the following together:

getSPVersion = function(returnExternal) {

    var versionMap = {
                        12: '2007',
                        14: '2010',
                        15: '2013'
                },
        version     = (typeof SP !== 'undefined')
                    ?   parseInt(SP.ClientSchemaVersions.currentVersion) 
                    :   12;

    if (returnExternal) {

        version = versionMap[version] || version;

    }

    return version

}

Figure I would share.

Answer 4

Yet another approach how to determine SharePoint version from JavaScript:

function getVersion(webUrl,complete)
{
    $.ajax({
       url: webUrl + "/_vti_pvt/service.cnf",
       type: 'GET',
       success: function(result) {
          var lines = result.trim().split('\n');
          if(lines.length == 2) {
              var versionProperty = lines[1].split('|');
              complete(versionProperty.length == 2 ? versionProperty[1] : null);
          }
          else {
              complete(null);   
          }        
       }
    });
}

Usage

getVersion(_spPageContextInfo.webAbsoluteUrl,
   function(version){
       console.log(version); 
   });

Answer 5

This seems to work rather well, although it can be a little slow to return the value on O365. I get the right versions on both 2010 and O365. But the credit goes here, and they have several other options that also work.

var xmlHttp = null;
if (window.XMLHttpRequest) {   // If IE7, Mozilla, Safari, and so on: Use native object.    
  xmlHttp = new XMLHttpRequest();
}else{
  if (window.ActiveXObject) {
    xmlHttp = new ActiveXObject('MSXML2.XMLHTTP.3.0'); // ...otherwise, use the ActiveX control for IE5.x and IE6.
  }
}

xmlHttp.open('HEAD', location.href, false);
xmlHttp.send();
var headers =  xmlHttp.getAllResponseHeaders();
var SPVersion = xmlHttp.getResponseHeader("MicrosoftSharePointTeamServices");

console.log("Full Sharepoint Version ="+SPVersion);
switch(SPVersion.substring(0,2) ){
  case "12": console.log("2007"); break;
  case "14": console.log("2010"); break;
  case "16": console.log("2013"); break;  
  default: console.log(SPVersion); break;
}

I like this way Again, the credit goes here:

//return 0 if not Sharepoint, otherwise, return major version
function getSharePointMajorVersion(){
 // The following copied from: http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ms537505(v=vs.85).aspx
  var xmlHttp = null;
  if (window.XMLHttpRequest) {
    // If IE7, Mozilla, Safari, and so on: Use native object.
    xmlHttp = new XMLHttpRequest();
  }else{
    if (window.ActiveXObject) {
       // ...otherwise, use the ActiveX control for IE5.x and IE6.
       xmlHttp = new ActiveXObject('MSXML2.XMLHTTP.3.0');
    }
  }
  xmlHttp.open('HEAD', location.href, false);
  xmlHttp.send();
  var SPVersion = xmlHttp.getResponseHeader("MicrosoftSharePointTeamServices");
  if(SPVersion == null){
    return 0;
  }else{
    return  SPVersion.substring(0,2);
  }
}

alert( getSharePointMajorVersion() );