how to trigger .change() event when chg is NOT triggered by user...

how to trigger .change() event when chg is NOT triggered by user...


hi,

I'm finding that a .change() event on a typical dropdown does not get triggered if the change() occurs as a result of programming, instead of user input..   what is the solution?

I have a situation that is fairly typical, I assume...

#countries has list of countries...  if I change to a country that doesn't have any states then the #states dropdown becomes empty.. (this is already working fine, and I can't tinker with this...) 

what I need:  if the #states dropdown becomes empty as a result of a country w/o states having been chosen in #countries dropdown,  I need to remove the '*' from label "State"...  

how can I do this, please...












triggering this with a change() event grab for #states dropdown does not do it...  this event does not triggered because, I think, the change on this #states dropdown is not done by a user, but by the program..


thank you..