HTML Tag: textarea
A multi-line text form field, allowing input from a user.
Any content of the textarea element will be the field’s initial value.
Optional Attributes
| Attribute | Description | Possible values |
|---|---|---|
name |
Name of the form control, to be paired with its value. | Text (no spaces). |
maxlength |
The maximum number of permissible characters. | Number. |
minlength |
The minimum number of permissible characters. | Number. |
disabled |
Disables the form control. | None. |
readonly |
Makes the form control unalterable by the user. | None. |
autocomplete |
If a browser should implement autocomplete on the control or not. |
|
autofocus |
Indicates that the form control should have focus on page load. Should only be used on one form control in a page. | None. |
dirname |
Adds an additional field to be sent containing the directionality of the form control’s value. | Text (no spaces). dirname="this.dir" will append this.dir=ltr (left-to-right) or this.dir=rtl (right-to-left) to submitted data, for example. |
form |
Explicitly associates the control to a form element, which it may or may not be nested within. If absent, the control will be associated to its form ancestor. |
Text matching the value of a form element’s id attribute. |
placeholder |
A visible hint as to what kind of data the user should input. | Text. |
required |
Indicates that the form field must be completed. | None. |
rows |
The expected number of required lines. | Number. Default is 2. |
cols |
The expected number of required characters in a line. | Number. Default is 20. |
wrap |
If text should be wrapped when submitted. |
|
| Global attributes | ||
Example
<label for="why">Why do you consider yourself hilarious?</label>
<textarea name="why" id="why" required>I am hilarious because...</textarea>
<label for="how">How hilarious are you? (in 100 characters or less)</label>
<textarea placeholder="As hilrious as a clown? As hilarious as Donald Trump's hair?" maxlength="100" name="how" id="how"></textarea>