HTML <textarea> Tag

Description

The <textarea> HTML element is a form element for creating an area into which multiple lines of text can be entered. In contrast to the <input> element, it is permissible to do line breaks in the text field; they are preserved when sending data to the server.
Between the <textarea> and </textarea> tags you can put any text that will be displayed inside the field.

Properties

Permitted Parents
Any element that accepts phrasing content
Content
Text
Start/End Tags
Start tag: required, End tag: required

Example

<textarea cols="40">
You can write whatever text you want in the textarea.
</textarea>

Attributes

Attribute Definition
autofocus Specifies that a text area should automatically get focus when the page loads
cols Specifies the width of the textarea based on the number of visible character widths.
dirname Specifies that the text direction of the textarea will be submitted
disabled Disables the input control. The button won't accept changes from the user. It also cannot receive focus and will be skipped when tabbing.
form Specifies one or more forms the text area belongs to
maxlength Specifies the maximum number of characters allowed in the text area
name Assigns a name to the input control.
placeholder Specifies a short hint that describes the expected value of a text area
readonly Sets the textarea to read-only - it won't allow the user to change the value. The textarea however, can receive focus and is included when tabbing through the form controls.
required Specifies that a text area is required/must be filled out
rows Specifies the height of the textarea based on the number of visible lines of text. If there's more text than this allows, users can scroll using the textarea's scrollbars.
wrap Specifies how the text in a text area is to be wrapped when submitted in a form

Global Attributes

The <textarea> tag also supports the Global Attributes in HTML5

Event Attributes

The <textarea> tag also supports the Event Attributes in HTML5

Browser Support

The following table will show you the current browser support for the HTML <textarea> tag.

Desktop
Edge Chrome Firefox Opera Safari
121112.14
Tablets / Mobile
Chrome Firefox Opera Safari Samsung Webview
18412.1314.4

Last updated by CSSPortal on: 30th March 2024