JavaScript: The Definitive Guide

25.284. Textarea.select( ): select the text in this element

DOM Level 2 HTML

25.284.1. Synopsis

void select( );

25.284.2. Description

This method selects all the text displayed by this <textarea> element. In most browsers, this means that the text is highlighted and that new text entered by the user replaces the highlighted text instead of being appended to it.