Document: getSelection() method
The getSelection() method of
the Document interface returns a Selection
object representing the range of text selected by the user, or the current position of
the caret.
Syntax
js
getSelection()
Parameters
None.
Return value
A Selection object.
Examples
Getting a Selection object
js
let selection = document.getSelection();
let selRange = selection.getRangeAt(0);
// do stuff with the range
console.log(selection); // Selection object
String representation of the Selection object
Some functions (like Window.alert()) call toString()
automatically and the returned value is passed to the function. As a consequence, this will return the selected text
and not the Selection object:
js
alert(selection);
However, not all functions call toString() automatically.
To use a Selection object as a string, call its toString() method directly:
js
let selectedText = selection.toString();
Related objects
You can call Window.getSelection(), which works identically to
Document.getSelection().
It is worth noting that currently getSelection() doesn't work on the
content of <input> elements in Firefox.
HTMLInputElement.setSelectionRange()) could be used to work around this.
Notice also the difference between selection and focus.
Document.activeElement returns the focused element.
Specifications
| Specification |
|---|
| Selection API # dom-document-getselection |
Browser compatibility
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