Select Text By Index

**Kenneth520** · 08-04-2009 05:27 PM

Hi,
I am having a div. I wanna use javascript to select text inside.

For IE, is it possible to use createTextRange? If yes, I have a problem on doing that.

For firefox , I have never had any clue how to do it. No example online work for me.

<div id=test>
something is working please </div>

I wanna do something like function selectText(DivId, startPosition, NumOfCharacters);

Thanks a million

**Nedals** · 08-04-2009 08:15 PM

Code:

function selectText(obj,pos,num) {
	var text = document.getElementById(obj).innerHTML;
	alert(text.substr(pos,num));
}

**Kenneth520** · 08-05-2009 12:46 AM

Originally Posted by Nedals

Code:

function selectText(obj,pos,num) {
	var text = document.getElementById(obj).innerHTML;
	alert(text.substr(pos,num));
}

Thanks for your reply. However, can you please read the question.
I am asking how to SELECT text. Not to extract a substring.

**huckepick** · 08-05-2009 01:10 AM

with crateRange in IE and getSelection in Firefox you cannot create a selection itself but fetch the content of a selection that had been made by a user

You will not be able to make Javascript select a text on its own.

If your goal is to get the content that is described by the params you gave (obj,pos,num) then Nedals version is the way to do it.

what you could do to fake a selection is replace the content you want to highlight with "<span>content</span>" and set the css for the span in a way hat looks like a selection.

Code:

function selectText(obj,pos,num) {
	var text = document.getElementById(obj).innerHTML;
	beforeSelection = text.substr(0,pos);
	selection = text.substr(pos,num);
	afterSelection = text.substr(pos+num);
	
	document.getElementById(obj).innerHTML = beforeSelection + "<span>" + selection + "</span>" + afterSelection;
}

if you do that you should ensure that the spans get deleted when the user clicks somewhere in the doc to avoid confusion

cu
huckepick

PS: the replacement thing only works fine if there is only plaintext in the div
If there is html to render in it it just fails.

**Kenneth520** · 08-05-2009 11:55 AM

Thanks for your reply.

Can someone with more experience help me on that ? Especially on firefox ? I have the code for IE , but I can't find the way to do it in firefox.

Please... someone with more experience... please give me a hand

Here is the code how to do it in IE

<html>
<script>
function selectText(ID, start, length)
{

//Code for IE and few other

var textRange = document.body.createTextRange();
textRange.moveToElementText(document.getElementById(ID));
textRange.move("character");
textRange.moveStart("character", start);

textRange.moveEnd("character", length);
textRange.select();

}

</script>
<body >
<div id=tester >This is not a happy task. Please leave me</div>

<input value="Click Me" onclick="selectText('tester',2,3)" type="button">

</body>
</html>

**Nedals** · 08-05-2009 12:08 PM

The code I provided acomplishes the task as specified. It does NOT need to use 'textRange'

Perhaps if you were to more clearly specifiy your problem instead of providing proposed YOUR solution, you might get a little better help.

**Kenneth520** · 08-05-2009 12:09 PM

Nope. I want the selection action. not a substring. Please read the question carefully

**Kenneth520** · 08-05-2009 12:10 PM

PLEASE someone with more experience on FireFox .... give me a hand

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