select
16 March, 2023
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About
The select event is triggered when the user selects some text in an input field or textarea element. This event is useful for detecting when the user highlights or selects text within an input field, and can be used to perform various actions based on the selected text.
The select event is commonly used in applications that allow users to enter and manipulate text, such as text editors, word processors, and search bars. By listening for the select event, developers can detect when the user has selected some text and perform actions such as highlighting the selected text, copying it to the clipboard, or displaying additional information related to the selected text.
Event listener
Here's an example of how you can use an event listener to detect when the user selects text within an input field or textarea element:
HTML
<input type="text" id="myInput" placeholder="Type some text...">
<textarea id="myTextarea" placeholder="Type some text..."></textarea>JavaScript
const input = document.getElementById("myInput");
const textarea = document.getElementById("myTextarea");
input.addEventListener("select", handleSelect);
textarea.addEventListener("select", handleSelect);
function handleSelect(event) {
const selectedText = event.target.value.substring(event.target.selectionStart, event.target.selectionEnd);
console.log("Selected text:", selectedText);
}Here, we have an input element and a textarea element, both with placeholder text. We add event listeners to both elements for the select event, and specify a handleSelect function as the event handler.
Inside the handleSelect function, we get the selected text using the substring() method and the selectionStart and selectionEnd properties of the event target (i.e., the input field or textarea that triggered the event). We then log the selected text to the console.
When the user selects text within either the input field or textarea, the handleSelect function is called with an event object that contains information about the selected text. The function extracts the selected text and logs it to the console, allowing you to perform further actions based on the selected text.
Property
Here's an example of how you can use the onselect property to add a select event listener to an input field or textarea element:
const input = document.getElementById("myInput");
const textarea = document.getElementById("myTextarea");
input.onselect = handleSelect;
textarea.onselect = handleSelect;
function handleSelect(event) {
const selectedText = event.target.value.substring(event.target.selectionStart, event.target.selectionEnd);
console.log("Selected text:", selectedText);
}It runs identical to the previous example, except here we are assigning the onselect property of each element to the handleSelect function.
Inline
Here's an example of how you can use an inline onselect event handler to detect when the user selects text within an input field:
HTML
<input type="text" id="myInput" placeholder="Type some text..." onselect="handleSelect(event)">JavaScript
function handleSelect(event) {
const selectedText = event.target.value.substring(event.target.selectionStart, event.target.selectionEnd);
console.log("Selected text:", selectedText);
}Here, we add an inline onselect event handler to the input element, and specify the handleSelect function as the event handler.
The handleSelect function is defined in the same way as in the previous examples, and extracts the selected text from the event target using the substring() method and the selectionStart and selectionEnd properties of the event target.
When the user selects text within the input field, the handleSelect function is called with an event object that contains information about the selected text. The function extracts the selected text and logs it to the console, allowing you to perform further actions based on the selected text.
Note that while inline event handlers can be useful for quick and simple tasks, they can become difficult to manage and maintain as your codebase grows in complexity. It's generally considered better practice to use addEventListener() to add event listeners to elements, as it separates the event handling logic from the HTML markup and allows for more flexibility and control over your event handling code.
Programmatic trigger
You can use the select() method to programmatically select the contents of an input field or textarea element:
HTML
<input type="text" id="myInput" value="Select me!" placeholder="Type some text...">
<button onclick="selectInput()">Select Input</button>JavaScript
const input = document.getElementById("myInput");
function selectInput() {
input.select();
}Here, we have an input element with a default value and a button that triggers the selectInput function when clicked.
The selectInput function selects the contents of the input field using the select() method of the input element. When this method is called, the contents of the input field are highlighted and ready to be copied or cut by the user.
You can use the select() method in a similar way for textarea elements as well. Note that this method only works on input fields and textarea elements that are visible on the page and not disabled or readonly.
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