Question: **HTML**

```
<a href="#1" class="current">1</a>    
<div id="xyz"></div>

```

**JavaScript**

```
function updateHash() {
  var number = document.querySelectorAll('.current')[0].innerHTML;
  document.querySelector('#xyz').innerHTML = '<a>'+ number + '</a>';
}
updateHash(); 

```

Obviously, this works. 

However, I need the `<a>` to be `<a href="#>`

So when I do that:

```
document.querySelector('#xyz').innerHTML = '<a href="#'+ number + '"</a>';

```

It fails.

I don't know if this can be resolved with escaping the character; when I tried to escape " & #, it didn't work.

Maybe there isn't a way to escape the character for this scenario.

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

**[Update]**

I solved it this way.

```
function updateHash() {
  var number = document.querySelectorAll('.current')[0].innerHTML;
  var tag = '<a href=#'    
  document.querySelector('#xyz').innerHTML = tag + number + '>next</a>';
}
updateHash();    

```

Actually, I was doing the same thing as before. But as pointed out, I wasn't seeing any output because my href was empty. LOL

Answer: 
1. you are not closing the `a` tag `<a></a>`
2. And also the `innerHTML` of the `a` tag is empty .so is not visible but its there in your `body`

**your mistake** .kindly check the `outerHTML`

```js
function updateHash(){
var number = document.querySelectorAll('.current')[0].innerHTML;
document.querySelector('#xyz').innerHTML = '<a href="#'+ number + '"</a>';
console.log(document.querySelector('#xyz').outerHTML)
}
updateHash();
```

```html
<a href="#1" class="current">1</a>    
    <div id="xyz"></div>
```

**solved**

```js
function updateHash(){
var number = document.querySelectorAll('.current')[0].innerHTML;
document.querySelector('#xyz').innerHTML = '<a href="#'+ number + '">innerhtml is empty</a>';
console.log(document.querySelector('#xyz').outerHTML)
}
updateHash();
```

```html
<a href="#1" class="current">1</a>    
<div id="xyz"></div>
```
Going the jQuery route you could always call on `parent()` to get the HTML (assuming theres no other siblings within the parent:

```
$('#xyz').html( $('.current').parent().html() )

```