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web api instance method

HTMLInputElement: select() method

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The HTMLInputElement.select() method selects all the text in a <textarea> element or in an <input> element that includes a text field.

Syntax

select()

Parameters

None.

Return value

None (undefined).

Examples

Click the button in this example to select all the text in the <input> element.

HTML

<input type="text" id="text-box" size="20" value="Hello world!" />
<button>Select text</button>

JavaScript

function selectText() {
  const input = document.getElementById("text-box");
  input.focus();
  input.select();
}

document.querySelector("button").addEventListener("click", selectText);

Result

Interactive exampleOpen the canonical MDN source to run this embedded demo.

Notes

Calling element.select() will not necessarily focus the input, so it is often used with focus.

Specifications

SpecificationsStandards references are available on the canonical MDN page.

Browser compatibility

Browser compatibilityCompatibility data is available on the canonical MDN page.

See also