I have a file input element that needs to be cloned after the user has browsed and selected a file to upload. I started by using obj.cloneNode() and everything worked fine, that is until I tried using it in IE.
I've since tried using jQuery's clone method as follows:
var tmp = jQuery('#categoryImageFileInput_'+id).clone();
var clone = tmp[0];
Works as expected in FireFox, but again not in IE.
Guessing that you need this functionality so you can clone the input element and put it into a hidden form which then gets POSTed to a hidden iframe...
IE's element.clone() implementation doesn't carry over the value for input type="file", so you have to go the other way around:
// Clone the "real" input element
var real = $("#categoryImageFileInput_" + id);
var cloned = real.clone(true);
// Put the cloned element directly after the real element
// (the cloned element will take the real input element's place in your UI
// after you move the real element in the next step)
real.hide();
cloned.insertAfter(real);
// Move the real element to the hidden form - you can then submit it
real.appendTo("#some-hidden-form");