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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

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.