If a div is not dialog then make it dialog otherwise don't

Question

I have a div:

<div id="dialog">Dialog content here</div>

I have a function:

function process() {
    $("#dialog").dialog({autoOpen:false});
}

I make the dialog only if it is not already created. How can I do that?

Answer 1

Just put $("#dialog").dialog({autoOpen:false}); into your document.ready() event. Finally, in your process() function, add

$( "#dialog" ).dialog( "open" );

Answer 2

Check the data. If the dialog is created on the element, then it has 'dialog' as a property of the data:

function process()
{
    if( !$('#dialog').data('dialog') ){
        $("#dialog").dialog({autoOpen:false});
    }
}