Hi all, I finally got what I wanted to happen, here''s the source for everyones reference should anyone else need to do something similar... #list.rhtml <h1>Listing all positions</h1> <%= javascript_include_tag :defaults %> <table cellpadding="5" cellspacing="0"> <tr> <th align="left">Job Title</th> <th align="left">Salary</th> <th align="left">Location</th> <th align="left">Action</th> </tr> <%= render(:partial => ''position'', :collection => @positions) %> </table> <%= link_to ''Previous page'', { :page => @position_pages.current.previous } if @position_pages.current.previous %> <%= link_to ''Next page'', { :page => @position_pages.current.next } if @position_pages.current.next %> <br /> <%= link_to ''New position'', :action => ''new'' %> #_position.rhtml (partial) <tr> <tr> <td align="left" valign="top"> <span id=''<%= position.id %>''> <%= link_to position.job_title, :action => ''show'', :id => position %> </span> </td> <td align="left" valign="top"><%= position.salary %></td> <td align="left" valign="top"><%= position.location %></td> </tr> <tr> <td align="left" rowspan="5" colspan="3"><%= position.description %></td> <tr><td><%= link_to ''Edit'', :action => ''edit'', :id => position %></td></tr> <tr><td><%= link_to ''Destroy'', { :action => ''destroy'', :id => position }, :confirm => ''Are you sure?'' %></td></tr> <tr><td><%= link_to_remote(''close'', :update => ''info'', :url => { :action => :close, :id => position }, :confirm => ''Are you sure you wish to close this position?'', :complete => "$(''#{position.id}'').style.textDecoration = ''line-through''" ) %></td></tr> <tr><td><%= link_to ''apply'', { :action => ''apply'', :id => position }, :confirm => ''Are you sure you wish to apply for this position?'' %></td></tr> </tr> <tr> <td id="info">Currently <strong><%= position.applicants %></strong> applicants for this position.</td> </tr> </tr> #_close.rhtml partial <em>The position [ <%= @position.job_title %> ] is now closed.</em> #close method of positions_controller def close @position = Position.find(params[:id]) @position.close if @position.save render :partial => ''close'' end end This should give you an updated info div *and* a change of text-style for the id specified in the :complete param. If you wanted to highlight (Yellow fade) instead of line-through, simply replace :complete => "$(''#{position.id}'').style.textDecoration = ''line-through''" with :complete => visual_effect(:highlight, position.id) Hope this helps other people stuck with ajax and rails... Thanks to Thomas Fuchs for pointing me in teh right direction (and scriptacuolus) Kev