HTML < textarea > Tag

Example

A simple text area:

<textarea rows="2" cols="20"> At W3Schools you will find all the Web-building tutorials you need, from basic HTML to advanced XML, SQL, ASP, and PHP. </textarea>

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 HTML 4.01/XHTML 1.0 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

The <textarea> tag supports the following standard attributes:

Attribute	Value	Description	DTD
accesskey	character	Specifies a keyboard shortcut to access an element	STF
class	classname	Specifies a classname for an element	STF
dir	rtl ltr	Specifies the text direction for the content in an element	STF
id	id	Specifies a unique id for an element	STF
lang	language_code	Specifies a language code for the content in an element	STF
style	style_definition	Specifies an inline style for an element	STF
tabindex	number	Specifies the tab order of an element	STF
title	text	Specifies extra information about an element	STF
xml:lang	language_code	Specifies a language code for the content in an element, in XHTML documents	STF

---

Event Attributes

The <textarea> tag supports the following event attributes:

Attribute	Value	Description	DTD
onblur	script	Script to be run when an element loses focus	STF
onchange	script	Script to be run when an element change	STF
onclick	script	Script to be run on a mouse click	STF
ondblclick	script	Script to be run on a mouse double-click	STF
onfocus	script	Script to be run when an element gets focus	STF
onmousedown	script	Script to be run when mouse button is pressed	STF
onmousemove	script	Script to be run when mouse pointer moves	STF
onmouseout	script	Script to be run when mouse pointer moves out of an element	STF
onmouseover	script	Script to be run when mouse pointer moves over an element	STF
onmouseup	script	Script to be run when mouse button is released	STF
onkeydown	script	Script to be run when a key is pressed	STF
onkeypress	script	Script to be run when a key is pressed and released	STF
onkeyup	script	Script to be run when a key is released	STF
onselect	script	Script to be run when an element is selected	STF