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HTML <textarea> tag


Example

A simple text area:

<textarea rows="2" cols="20">
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</textarea>

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Definition and Usage

The <textarea> tag defines a multi-line text input control.

A text area can hold an unlimited number of characters, and the text renders in a fixed-width font (usually Courier).

The size of a textarea can be specified by the cols and rows attributes, or even better; through CSS' height and width properties.


Browser Support

Internet Explorer Firefox Opera Google Chrome Safari

The <textarea> tag is supported in all major browsers.


Differences Between HTML and XHTML

NONE


Required Attributes

DTD indicates in which DTD the attribute is allowed. S=Strict, T=Transitional, and F=Frameset.

Attribute Value Description DTD
cols number Specifies the visible width of a text-area STF
rows number Specifies the visible number of rows in a text-area STF

Optional Attributes

Attribute Value Description DTD
disabled disabled Specifies that a text-area should be disabled STF
name name_of_textarea Specifies the name for a text-area STF
readonly readonly Specifies that a text-area should be read-only STF

Standard Attributes

id, class, title, style, dir, lang, xml:lang, tabindex, accesskey

For a full description, go to Standard Attributes.

Event Attributes

onfocus, onblur, onselect, onchange, onclick, ondblclick, onmousedown, onmouseup, onmouseover, onmousemove, onmouseout, onkeypress, onkeydown, onkeyup

For a full description, go to Event Attributes.


From http://www.w3schools.com (Copyright Refsnes Data)