dom.objects.Selection

	Property	Defined By
		DOM 0 anchorNode : Node [read-only] Returns the node in which the selection begins.	Selection
		DOM 0 anchorOffset : Number [read-only] Returns the number of characters that the selection's anchor is offset within the anchorNode.	Selection
		DOM 0 focusNode : Node [read-only] Returns the node in which the selection ends.	Selection
		DOM 0 focusOffset : Number [read-only] Returns the number of characters that the selection's focus is offset within the focusNode.	Selection
		DOM 0 isCollapsed : Boolean [read-only] Returns a boolean indicating whether the selection's start and end points are at the same position.	Selection
		DOM 0 rangeCount : Number [read-only] Returns the number of ranges in the selection.	Selection

	Method	Defined By
		DOM 0 addRange(range:Range):void Adds a range to the selection.	Selection
		DOM 0 collapse(parentNode:Node, offset:Number):void Collapses the current selection to a single point.	Selection
		DOM 0 collapseToEnd():void Moves the anchor of the selection to the same point as the focus.	Selection
		DOM 0 collapseToStart():void Moves the focus of the selection to the same point at the anchor.	Selection
		DOM 0 containsNode(node:Node, partlyContained:Boolean):Boolean Indicates if the node is part of the selection.	Selection
		DOM 0 deleteFromDocument():void Deletes the actual text being represented by a selection object from the document's DOM.	Selection
		DOM 0 extend(parentNode:Node, offset:Number):void Moves the focus of the selection to a specified point.	Selection
		DOM 0 getRangeAt(index:Number):Range Returns a range object representing one of the ranges currently selected.	Selection
		DOM 0 removeAllRanges():void Removes all ranges from the selection, leaving the anchorNode and focusNode properties equal to null and leaving nothing selected.	Selection
		DOM 0 removeRange(range:Range):void Removes a range from the selection.	Selection
		DOM 0 selectAllChildren(parentNode:Node):void Adds all the children of the specified node to the selection.	Selection
		DOM 0 selectionLanguageChange():void Undocumented	Selection
		DOM 0 toString():DOMString Returns a string currently being represented by the selection object, i.e.	Selection

Property Detail

DOM 0 anchorNode

property

anchorNode:Node [read-only]

Introduced in:

DOM 0

Returns the node in which the selection begins.

Note: A user may make a selection from left to right (in document order) or right to left (reverse of document order). The anchor is where the user began the selection. This can be visualized by holding the Shift key and pressing the arrow keys on your keyboard. The selection's anchor does not move, but the selection's focus, the other end of the selection, does move.

Implementation
public function get anchorNode():Node

See also

MDC - Selection.anchorNode

DOM 0 anchorOffset

property

anchorOffset:Number [read-only]

Introduced in:

DOM 0

Returns the number of characters that the selection's anchor is offset within the anchorNode.

Note: This number is zero-based. If the selection begins with the first character in the anchorNode, 0 is returned.

Implementation
public function get anchorOffset():Number

See also

MDC - Selection.anchorOffset

DOM 0 focusNode

property

focusNode:Node [read-only]

Introduced in:

DOM 0

Returns the node in which the selection ends.

Note: A user may make a selection from left to right (in document order) or right to left (reverse of document order). The focus is where the user ended the selection. This can be visualized by holding the Shift key and pressing the arrow keys on your keyboard to modify the current selection. The selection's focus moves, but the selection's anchor, the other end of the selection, does not move.

Implementation
public function get focusNode():Node

See also

MDC - Selection.focusNode

DOM 0 focusOffset

property

focusOffset:Number [read-only]

Introduced in:

DOM 0

Returns the number of characters that the selection's focus is offset within the focusNode.

Note: This number is zero-based. If the selection ends with the first character in the focusNode, 0 is returned.

Implementation
public function get focusOffset():Number

See also

MDC - Selection.focusOffset

DOM 0 isCollapsed

property

isCollapsed:Boolean [read-only]

Introduced in:

DOM 0

Returns a boolean indicating whether the selection's start and end points are at the same position.

Note: Even a collapsed selection may have a rangeCount greater than 0. sel.getRangeAt(0) may return a range that is also collapsed.

Implementation
public function get isCollapsed():Boolean

See also

MDC - Selection.isCollapsed

DOM 0 rangeCount

property

rangeCount:Number [read-only]

Introduced in:

DOM 0

Returns the number of ranges in the selection.

Note: Before the user has clicked a freshly loaded page, the rangeCount is 0. A user can normally only select one range at a time, so the rangeCount will usually be 1. Scripting can be use to make the selection contain more than 1 range.

Implementation
public function get rangeCount():Number

See also

MDC - Selection.rangeCount

Method Detail

DOM 0 addRange

()

method

public function addRange(range:Range):void

Introduced in:

DOM 0

Adds a range to the selection.

Parameters

range:Range — A range object that will be added to the selection.

See also

MDC - Selection.addRange()

Example

         // Select all STRONG elements in an HTML document
         var strongs = document.getElementsByTagName("strong");
         var s = window.getSelection();
         if(s.rangeCount > 0) s.removeAllRanges();
         for(var i = 0; i < strongs.length; i++) {
           var range = document.createRange();
           range.selectNode(strongs[i]);
           s.addRange(range);
         }

DOM 0 collapse

()

method

public function collapse(parentNode:Node, offset:Number):void

Introduced in:

DOM 0

Collapses the current selection to a single point. The document is not modified. If the content is focused and editable, the caret will blink there.

Parameters

	`parentNode:Node` — The caret location will be within this node.

	`offset:Number` — 0 - Collapses the selection from the anchor to the beginning of parentNode's text. 1 - Collapses the selection from the anchor to the end of parentNode's text.

See also

MDC - Selection.collapse()

DOM 0 collapseToEnd

()

method

public function collapseToEnd():void

Introduced in:

DOM 0

Moves the anchor of the selection to the same point as the focus.

The focus does not move. If the content is focused and editable, the caret will blink there.

See also

MDC - Selection.collapseToEnd()

DOM 0 collapseToStart

()

method

public function collapseToStart():void

Introduced in:

DOM 0

Moves the focus of the selection to the same point at the anchor.

The anchor does not move. If the content is focused and editable, the caret will blink there.

See also

MDC - Selection.collapseToStart()

DOM 0 containsNode

()

method

public function containsNode(node:Node, partlyContained:Boolean):Boolean

Introduced in:

DOM 0

Indicates if the node is part of the selection.

Parameters

	`node:Node` — The node that is being looked for whether it is part of the selection

	`partlyContained:Boolean` — When true, containsNode returns true when a part of the node is part of the selection. When false, containsNode only returns true when the entire node is part of the selection.

Returns

Boolean — If the node is part of the selection.

See also

MDC - Selection.containsNode()

DOM 0 deleteFromDocument

()

method

public function deleteFromDocument():void

Introduced in:

DOM 0

Deletes the actual text being represented by a selection object from the document's DOM.

See also

MDC - Selection.deleteFromDocument()

DOM 0 extend

()

method

public function extend(parentNode:Node, offset:Number):void

Introduced in:

DOM 0

Moves the focus of the selection to a specified point.

The anchor of the selection does not move. The selection will be from the anchor to the new focus regardless of direction.

Parameters

	`parentNode:Node` — The node within which the focus will be moved.

	`offset:Number` — The offset position within parentNode where the focus will be moved to.

See also

MDC - Selection.extend()

DOM 0 getRangeAt

()

method

public function getRangeAt(index:Number):Range

Introduced in:

DOM 0

Returns a range object representing one of the ranges currently selected.

Parameters

index:Number — The zero-based index of the range to return. A negative number or a number greater than or equal to rangeCount will result in an error.

Returns

Range — The range object that will be returned.

See also

MDC - Selection.getRangeAt()

Example

         ranges = [];
         sel = window.getSelection();
         for(var i = 0; i < sel.rangeCount; i++) {
             ranges[i] = sel.getRangeAt(i);
         }
         // Each item in the ranges array is now 
         // a range object representing one of the 
         // ranges in the current selection

DOM 0 removeAllRanges

()

method

public function removeAllRanges():void

Introduced in:

DOM 0

Removes all ranges from the selection, leaving the anchorNode and focusNode properties equal to null and leaving nothing selected.

See also

MDC - Selection.removeAllRanges()

DOM 0 removeRange

()

method

public function removeRange(range:Range):void

Introduced in:

DOM 0

Removes a range from the selection.

Parameters

range:Range — A range object that will be removed to the selection.

See also

MDC - Selection.removeRange()

Example

         // Programmaticaly, more than one range can be selected.  
         // This will remove all ranges except the first.
         s = window.getSelection();
         if(s.rangeCount > 1) {
           for(var i = 1; i < s.rangeCount; i++) {
             s.removeRange(s.getRangeAt(i));
           }
         }

DOM 0 selectAllChildren

()

method

public function selectAllChildren(parentNode:Node):void

Introduced in:

DOM 0

Adds all the children of the specified node to the selection. Previous selection is lost.

Parameters

parentNode:Node — All children of parentNode will be selected. parentNode itself is not part of the selection.

See also

MDC - Selection.selectAllChildren()

DOM 0 selectionLanguageChange

()

method

public function selectionLanguageChange():void

Introduced in:

DOM 0

Undocumented

DOM 0 toString

()

method

public function toString():DOMString

Introduced in:

DOM 0

Returns a string currently being represented by the selection object, i.e. the currently selected text.

Note: In JavaScript, this method is called automatically when a function the selection object is passed to requires a string: alert(window.getSelection()) // What is called alert(window.getSelection().toString()) // What is actually being effectively called.

Returns

DOMString — The string representation of selection.

See also

MDC - Selection.toString()

Examples

Note the order of the branches: the Mozilla Selection should come first! The reason is that Opera supports both objects; if you use window.getSelection() to read out the user selection, Opera creates a Selection object, while if you use document.selection it creates a Text Range object.

     var userSelection;
     if (window.getSelection) {
         userSelection = window.getSelection();
     } else if (document.selection) { // should come last; Opera!
         userSelection = document.selection.createRange();
     }

Mon Aug 17 2009, 10:08 AM -04:00

DOM Reference Manual		All Packages \| All Classes \| Index \| Frames No Frames
Selection	Properties \| Methods \| Examples

Package	dom.objects
Class	public class Selection
Inheritance	Selection Object