HTMLInputElement.select()

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

Syntax

element.select();

Example

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 onclick="selectText()">Select text</button>

JavaScript

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

Result

Notes

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

In browsers where it is not supported, it is possible to replace it with a call to HTMLInputElement.setSelectionRange() with parameters 0 and the input's value length:

<input onClick="this.select();" value="Sample Text" />
<!-- equivalent to -->
<input onClick="this.setSelectionRange(0, this.value.length);" value="Sample Text" />

Specifications

Browser compatibility

See also

• <input>
• <textarea>
• HTMLInputElement
• HTMLInputElement.setSelectionRange