Introduction

Selection is the class of the object returned by window.getSelection() and other methods. A selection object represents the ranges that the user has selected. Typically, it holds only one range, accessed as follows:

range = sel.getRangeAt(0);

Calling the toString() method returns the text contained in the selection, e.g

selObj = window.getSelection();
window.alert(selObj);

Glossary

Other key terms used in this section.

anchor

The anchor of a selection is the beginning point of the selection. When making a selection with a mouse, the anchor is where in the document the mouse button is initially pressed. As the user changes the selection using the mouse or the keyboard, the anchor does not move.

focus

The focus of a selection is the end point of the selection. When making a selection with a mouse, the focus is where in the document the mouse button is released. As the user changes the selection using the mouse or the keyboard, the focus is the end of the selection that moves.

range

A range is a contiguous part of a document. A range can contain entire nodes as well as portions of nodes, such as a portion of a text node. A user will normally only select a single range at a time, but it's possible for a user to select multiple ranges (e.g. by using the Control key). A range can be retrieved from a selection as a range object. Range objects can also be created via the DOM and programmatically added or removed from a selection.

Properties

anchorNode

Returns the node in which the selection begins.

anchorOffset

Returns the number of characters that the selection's anchor is offset within the anchorNode.

focusNode

Returns the node in which the selection ends.

focusOffset

Returns the number of characters that the selection's focus is offset within the focusNode.

isCollapsed

Returns a boolean indicating whether the selection's start and end points are at the same position.

rangeCount

Returns the number of ranges in the selection.

Methods

getRangeAt

Returns a range object representing one of the ranges currently selected.

collapse

Collapses the current selection to a single point.

extend

Moves the focus of the selection to a specified point.

collapseToStart

Moves the focus of the selection to the same point at the anchor.

collapseToEnd

Moves the anchor of the selection to the same point as the focus. The focus does not move.

selectAllChildren

Adds all the children of the specified node to the selection.

addRange

A range object that will be added to the selection.

removeRange

Removes a range from the selection.

removeAllRanges

Removes all ranges from the selection.

deleteFromDocument

Deletes the selection's content from the document.

selectionLanguageChange

toString

Returns a string currently being represented by the selection object, i.e. the currently selected text.

containsNode

Indicates if a certain node is part of the selection.

See also

window.getSelection, Range

External links

• IDL definition in Mozilla cross-reference