$location

$location parses the browser URL into path, search, hash, and state pieces. Changes made through $location update the browser address bar, and browser navigation updates the service.

Exact signatures live in TypeDoc:

• Location
• Html5Mode

Read The Current URL

$location.getPath();
$location.getSearch();
$location.getHash();
$location.getUrl();
$location.absUrl();

Update The URL

$location
  .setPath("/settings")
  .setSearch({ tab: "profile" })
  .setHash("details");

Setter methods return $location, so updates can be chained.

Use setSearchParam() when only one query parameter should change. Passing null or undefined removes that parameter.

$location.setSearchParam("page", 2);
$location.setSearchParam("filter", null);

Navigation Events

$locationChangeStart is broadcast on $rootScope before the URL changes. Call event.preventDefault() from a listener to cancel the navigation.

$locationChangeSuccess is broadcast after the URL changes. In HTML5 mode, listeners may also receive the new and old history state values when the browser supports the History API.

$rootScope.on("$locationChangeStart", (event, newUrl, oldUrl) => {
  if (shouldBlock(newUrl, oldUrl)) {
    event.preventDefault();
  }
});

$rootScope.on("$locationChangeSuccess", (_event, newUrl) => {
  analytics.track("page_view", { url: newUrl });
});

Configure

Use module.config({ $location: ... }) for application-wide URL policy.

angular.createModule("app", []).config({
  $location: {
    html5Mode: {
      enabled: true,
      requireBase: false,
      rewriteLinks: true,
    },
    hashPrefix: "!",
  },
});

html5Mode may also be a boolean when only the enabled flag should change:

angular.createModule("app", []).config({
  $location: {
    html5Mode: false,
  },
});

Executable sample: location.html