I need to be able to locate a previous node and its attributes from my current location. More specifically, I need to locate the most current node from my current position.

For example, I need to find the most current node named "THISNODE"
I tried (ancestor::THISNODE)[last()].

This seems not to give me what I want.
I need your help please.

I thank you in advance.
Clayton

It's hard to give you the correct code, since I don't know what you mean by "a previous node" or "the most current node". Perhaps you could give an example.

Michael Kay
http://www.saxonica.com/
Author, XSLT Programmer's Reference and XPath 2.0 Programmer's Reference

Let try this...
SAMPLE CODE:

<subparagraph>

<subparagraph>
... (some more random node that are unimportant in this situation

<continuation style="subparagraph">

OK. When I reach the continuation node, I read the style attribute. In this case, it is subparagraph. When I see that I have to be able to read the first preceding "subparagraph" to specific style information. I put a comment right next to the <subparagraph> that I need.

Sorry about the verbage in the initial note, I believe that is clearer.
I thought that (ancestor::subparagraph)[last()] would do the trick but to no avail it seems.
Thanks for your help

The "random" nodes are not unimportant, they significantly affect the answer.

Trouble is, you're using terminology imprecisely. When you say "preceding", I suspect you are not using the word in the sense of the XPath preceding axis. You are also using "node" when referring to source XML rather than to the tree model.

The expression

(ancestor::subparagraph)[last()]

finds the innermost enclosing subparagraph element of the context node. This looks like the right thing from what I can see, but the information you've given is very incomplete.

There could be other things wrong: you might be at the wrong context node, there might be namespaces in force, ...

Michael Kay
http://www.saxonica.com/
Author, XSLT Programmer's Reference and XPath 2.0 Programmer's Reference

Explain to me context node. How does it differ from the current node?
Maybe this is where I am running into trouble. I just want to be able to reverse parse the tree from my current position and find the first tag(<subparagraph>)

Shouldn't this do it: "(ancestor::subparagraph)[last()]"
I think you understand what I am trying to accomplish. Forgive me for being so incoherent. I have been working on this and I am at my wits end:)
Thanks for you help.

XSLT 1.0 uses the term current node, XPath 1.0 has a context node. You're in XPath, so it's the context node that matters. Usually they are the same, however.

I think it would be useful if you showed a complete cut-down source document and a complete cut-down stylesheet that demonstrate what you are trying to do and what result you are actually getting. This will help me to identify your error - which is quite likely to be in part of the code that you left out because you didn't realize it was relevant.

Michael Kay
http://www.saxonica.com/
Author, XSLT Programmer's Reference and XPath 2.0 Programmer's Reference