Baseline Widely available *
The HTMLTextAreaElement
interface provides properties and methods for manipulating the layout and presentation of <textarea>
elements.
Also inherits properties from its parent interface, HTMLElement
.
autocomplete
A string that represents the element's autocomplete
attribute.
cols
A number that represents the element's cols
attribute, indicating the visible width of the text area.
defaultValue
A string that represents the control's default value, which behaves like the Node.textContent
property.
dirName
A string that represents the directionality of the element.
disabled
A boolean that represents the element's disabled
attribute, indicating that the control is not available for interaction.
form
Read only
Returns a reference to the parent form element. If this element is not contained in a form element, it can be the id
attribute of any <form>
element in the same document or the value null
.
labels
Read only
Returns a NodeList
of the <label>
elements associated with this element.
maxLength
A number that represents the element's maxlength
attribute, indicating the maximum number of characters the user can enter. This constraint is evaluated only when the value changes.
minLength
A number that represents the element's minlength
attribute, indicating the minimum number of characters the user can enter. This constraint is evaluated only when the value changes.
name
A string that represents the element's name
attribute, containing the name of the control.
placeholder
A string that represents the element's placeholder
attribute, containing a hint to the user about what to enter in the control.
readOnly
A boolean that represents the element's readonly
attribute, indicating that the user cannot modify the value of the control.
required
A boolean that represents the element's required
attribute, indicating that the user must specify a value before submitting the form.
rows
A number that represents the element's rows
attribute, indicating the number of visible text lines for the control.
selectionDirection
A string that represents the direction in which selection occurred. This is forward
if selection was performed in the start-to-end direction of the current locale, or backward
for the opposite direction. This can also be none
if the direction is unknown.
selectionEnd
A number that represents the index of the end of selected text. If no text is selected, it contains the index of the character that follows the input cursor. On being set, the control behaves as if setSelectionRange()
had been called with this as the second argument, and selectionStart
as the first argument.
selectionStart
A number that represents the index of the beginning of selected text. If no text is selected, it contains the index of the character that follows the input cursor. On being set, the control behaves as if setSelectionRange()
had been called with this as the first argument and selectionEnd
as the second argument.
textLength
Read only
Returns the code point length of the control's value
. Same as reading value.length
.
type
Read only
Returns the string textarea
.
validationMessage
Read only
Returns a localized message that describes the validation constraints that the control does not satisfy (if any). This is the empty string if the control is not a candidate for constraint validation (willValidate
is false
), or it satisfies its constraints.
validity
Read only
Returns the validity state that this element is in.
value
A string that represents the raw value contained in the control.
willValidate
Read only
Returns whether the element is a candidate for constraint validation. false
if any conditions bar it from constraint validation, including its readOnly
or disabled
property is true
.
wrap
A string that represents the element's wrap
attribute, indicating how the control wraps text.
Also inherits methods from its parent interface, HTMLElement
.
checkValidity()
Returns false
if the element is a candidate for constraint validation, and it does not satisfy its constraints. In this case, it also fires a cancelable invalid
event at the control. It returns true
if the control is not a candidate for constraint validation, or if it satisfies its constraints.
reportValidity()
This method reports the problems with the constraints on the element, if any, to the user. If there are problems, it fires a cancelable invalid
event at the element, and returns false
; if there are no problems, it returns true
.
select()
Selects the contents of the control.
setCustomValidity()
Sets a custom validity message for the element. If this message is not the empty string, then the element is suffering from a custom validity error, and does not validate.
setRangeText()
Replaces a range of text in the element with new text.
setSelectionRange()
Selects a range of text in the element (but does not focus it).
Also inherits events from its parent interface, HTMLElement
.
Listen to these events using addEventListener()
or by assigning an event listener to the oneventname
property of this interface:
select
event
Fires when some text has been selected.
selectionchange
event
Fires when the text selection in a <textarea>
element has been changed.
Make a textarea autogrow while typing:
JavaScriptfunction autoGrow(field) {
if (field.scrollHeight > field.clientHeight) {
field.style.height = `${field.scrollHeight}px`;
}
}
CSS
textarea.no-scrollbars {
overflow: hidden;
width: 300px;
height: 100px;
}
HTML
<form>
<fieldset>
<legend>Your comments</legend>
<p><textarea class="no-scrollbars" onkeyup="autoGrow(this);"></textarea></p>
<p><input type="submit" value="Send" /></p>
</fieldset>
</form>
Insert HTML tags example
Insert some HTML tags in a textarea:
function insert(startTag, endTag) {
const textArea = document.myForm.myTextArea;
const start = textArea.selectionStart;
const end = textArea.selectionEnd;
const oldText = textArea.value;
const prefix = oldText.substring(0, start);
const inserted = startTag + oldText.substring(start, end) + endTag;
const suffix = oldText.substring(end);
textArea.value = `${prefix}${inserted}${suffix}`;
const newStart = start + startTag.length;
const newEnd = end + startTag.length;
textArea.setSelectionRange(newStart, newEnd);
textArea.focus();
}
function insertURL() {
const newURL = prompt("Enter the full URL for the link");
if (newURL) {
insert(`<a href="${newURL}">`, "</a>");
} else {
document.myForm.myTextArea.focus();
}
}
const strong = document.querySelector("#format-strong");
const em = document.querySelector("#format-em");
const link = document.querySelector("#format-link");
const code = document.querySelector("#format-code");
strong.addEventListener("click", (e) => insert("<strong>", "</strong>"));
em.addEventListener("click", (e) => insert("<em>", "</em>"));
link.addEventListener("click", (e) => insertURL());
code.addEventListener("click", (e) => insert("<code>", "</code>"));
Decorate the span to behave like a link:
.intLink {
cursor: pointer;
text-decoration: underline;
color: #0000ff;
}
<form name="myForm">
<p>
[
<span class="intLink" id="format-strong"><strong>Bold</strong></span> |
<span class="intLink" id="format-em"><em>Italic</em></span> |
<span class="intLink" id="format-link">URL</span> |
<span class="intLink" id="format-code">code</span> ]
</p>
<p>
<textarea name="myTextArea" rows="10" cols="50">
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Ut facilisis, arcu vitae adipiscing placerat, nisl lectus accumsan nisi, vitae iaculis sem neque vel lectus. Praesent tristique commodo lorem quis fringilla. Sed ac tellus eros.
</textarea>
</p>
</form>
Specifications Browser compatibility
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HTML:
3.2
| Encoding:
UTF-8
| Version:
0.7.3