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web api event

HTMLInputElement: selectionchange event

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The selectionchange event of the Selection API is fired when the text selection within an <input> element is changed. This includes both changes in the selected range of characters, or if the caret moves.

This event is not cancelable.

The event is usually processed by adding an event listener on the <input>, and in the handler function read by the HTMLInputElement selectionStart, selectionEnd and selectionDirection properties.

It is also possible to add a listener on the onselectionchange event handler, and within the handler function use getSelection() to get the Selection. However this is not very useful for getting changes to text selections.

Syntax

Use the event name in methods like addEventListener(), or set an event handler property.

addEventListener("selectionchange", (event) => { })

onselectionchange = (event) => { }

Event type

A generic Event.

Examples

The example below shows how to get the text selected in an <input> element.

HTML

<div>
  Enter and select text here:<br /><input id="my-text" rows="2" cols="20" />
</div>
<div>selectionStart: <span id="start"></span></div>
<div>selectionEnd: <span id="end"></span></div>
<div>selectionDirection: <span id="direction"></span></div>

JavaScript

const myInput = document.getElementById("my-text");

myInput.addEventListener("selectionchange", () => {
  document.getElementById("start").textContent = myInput.selectionStart;
  document.getElementById("end").textContent = myInput.selectionEnd;
  document.getElementById("direction").textContent = myInput.selectionDirection;
});

Result

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

Specifications

SpecificationsStandards references are available on the canonical MDN page.

Browser compatibility

Browser compatibilityCompatibility data is available on the canonical MDN page.