javascript changing the get parameter without redirecting [duplicate]

Question

How can I just change the get parameter without redirecting?

parent.location.search = "?after=20"; 
// ok that changes, but also redirect to the new page

Any solution? Or answer is no, if its no, please write big no.

Answer 1

Update

Since this is the accepted answer, and no longer true, refer to this duplicate question for up to date information.

Original answer follows:

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NO

You can come close with the anchor portion of the URL which is accessible by the hash property of the location object

parent.location.hash = "whatever value you want";

Answer 2

If your aim is to use the query string to store some state that can later be restored from a bookmark, you should use anchors instead.

However, if you must change the query string for some reason, actually there is a way. However, I don't endorse this. I'm just mentioning it for completeness.

When a server returns a 204 No Content response, most browsers won't do anything -- i.e. won't even attempt to transition to another page or even wipe the current page. What you can do is to make the backend just emit a 204 response when a request is made to the same page that was just served, with a change in the query parameters.