Range: selectNodeContents() method

Baseline Widely available

This feature is well established and works across many devices and browser versions. It’s been available across browsers since March 2017.

The Range.selectNodeContents() method sets the Range to contain the contents of a Node.

The parent Node of the start and end of the Range will be the reference node. The startOffset is 0, and the endOffset is the number of child Nodes or number of characters contained in the reference node.

Syntax

js
selectNodeContents(referenceNode)

Parameters

referenceNode

The Node whose contents will be selected within a Range.

Return value

None (undefined).

Examples

js
const range = document.createRange();
const referenceNode = document.querySelector("div");
range.selectNodeContents(referenceNode);

Live sample

This example lets the user select and deselect a paragraph with buttons. Document.createRange(), Range.selectNodeContents(), and Selection.addRange() are used to select the content. Window.getSelection() and Selection.removeAllRanges() are used to deselect it.

HTML

html
<p id="p">
  <strong>Use the buttons below</strong> to select or deselect the contents of
  this paragraph.
</p>
<button id="select-button">Select paragraph</button>
<button id="deselect-button">Deselect paragraph</button>

JavaScript

js
const p = document.getElementById("p");
const selectButton = document.getElementById("select-button");
const deselectButton = document.getElementById("deselect-button");

selectButton.addEventListener("click", (e) => {
  // Clear any current selection
  const selection = window.getSelection();
  selection.removeAllRanges();

  // Select paragraph
  const range = document.createRange();
  range.selectNodeContents(p);
  selection.addRange(range);
});

deselectButton.addEventListener("click", (e) => {
  const selection = window.getSelection();
  selection.removeAllRanges();
});

Result

Specifications

Specification
DOM
# dom-range-selectnodecontents

Browser compatibility

Report problems with this compatibility data on GitHub
desktopmobile
Chrome
Edge
Firefox
Opera
Safari
Chrome Android
Firefox for Android
Opera Android
Safari on iOS
Samsung Internet
WebView Android
WebView on iOS
selectNodeContents

Legend

Tip: you can click/tap on a cell for more information.

Full support
Full support

See also