Web/API/DocumentOrShadowRoot/getSelection

This is an experimental technologyCheck the Browser compatibility table carefully before using this in production.

The getSelection() property of the DocumentOrShadowRoot interface returns a Selection object representing the range of text selected by the user, or the current position of the caret.

Syntax

var selection = documentOrShadowRootInstance.getSelection()

Parameters

None.

Returns

A Selection object.

Example

function foo() {
    var selObj = document.getSelection(); 
    alert(selObj);
    var selRange = selObj.getRangeAt(0);
    // do stuff with the range
}

Notes

String representation of the Selection object

In JavaScript, when an object is passed to a function expecting a string (like Window.alert()), the object's toString() method is called and the returned value is passed to the function. This can make the object appear to be a string when used with other functions when it is really an object with properties and methods.

In the above example, selObj.toString() is automatically called when it is passed to Window.alert(). However, attempting to use a JavaScript String property or method such as length or substr directly on a Selection object results in an error if it does not have that property or method and may return unexpected results if it does. To use a Selection object as a string, call its toString() method directly:

var selectedText = selObj.toString();

• selObj is a Selection object.
• selectedText is a string (Selected text).

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	Status	Comment
Shadow DOMThe definition of 'DocumentOrShadowRoot' in that specification.	Obsolete	Initial definition.

Browser Compatibility

The compatibility table on this page is generated from structured data. If you'd like to contribute to the data, please check out https://github.com/mdn/browser-compat-data and send us a pull request.

Update compatibility data on GitHub

	Desktop						Mobile
	Chrome	Edge	Firefox	Internet Explorer	Opera	Safari	Android webview	Chrome for Android	Firefox for Android	Opera for Android	Safari on iOS	Samsung Internet
getSelection Experimental'	Chrome Full support 53	Edge Full support 12	Firefox Full support 63	IE Full support Yes	Opera Full support 40	Safari Full support Yes	WebView Android Full support 53	Chrome Android Full support 53	Firefox Android Full support 63	Opera Android Full support 41	Safari iOS Full support Yes	Samsung Internet Android Full support 6.0

Legend

Full support  

Full support

Experimental. Expect behavior to change in the future.'

Experimental. Expect behavior to change in the future.

DocumentOrShadowRoot.getSelection() by Mozilla Contributors is licensed under CC-BY-SA 2.5.