Why React event handler is not called on dispatchEvent?

React uses its own events system with SyntheticEvents (prevents browser incompatabilities and gives react more control of events).

Using TestUtils correctly creates such a event which will trigger your onChange listener.

The dispatchEvent function on the other hand will create a "native" browser event. But the event handler you have is managed by react and therefore only reacts (badumts) to reacts SyntheticEvents.

You can read up on react events here: https://facebook.github.io/react/docs/events.html

I created a small version of the https://github.com/vitalyq/react-trigger-change only for the input element.

No external dependencies, copypaste and it will work.

Works for React 16.9, checked with Safari (14), Chrome (87), and Firefox (72).

const triggerInputChange = (node: HTMLInputElement, inputValue: string) => {
      const descriptor = Object.getOwnPropertyDescriptor(node, 'value');

      node.value = `${inputValue}#`;
      if (descriptor && descriptor.configurable) {
        delete node.value;
      }
      node.value = inputValue;

      const e = document.createEvent('HTMLEvents');
      e.initEvent('change', true, false);
      node.dispatchEvent(e);

      if (descriptor) {
        Object.defineProperty(node, 'value', descriptor);
      }
};

One way to do it without ReactTestUtils.Simulate:

var script = document.createElement('script');
script.type = 'text/javascript';
script.src = 'https://unpkg.com/react-trigger-change/dist/react-trigger-change.js';
document.head.appendChild(script);
input.value = value;
reactTriggerChange(input);

Look at the source of react-trigger-change to just cherry-pick what's needed. Example snippet:

if (nodeName === 'select' ||
    (nodeName === 'input' && type === 'file')) {
    // IE9-IE11, non-IE
    // Dispatch change.
    event = document.createEvent('HTMLEvents');
    event.initEvent('change', true, false);
    node.dispatchEvent(event);
  }

• https://github.com/vitalyq/react-trigger-change
• https://github.com/facebook/react/issues/3249#issuecomment-292919084