HTML5: textarea – text input area

HTML 5: The Markup Language (ARIA Edition)

textarea – text input area # T

The textarea element represents a multi-line plain-text edit control for the element’s raw value.

Content model #

textarea = replaceable-character-data & textarea.attrs

Attribute model #

textarea.attrs = (common.attrs & name ? & disabled ? & form ? & readonly ?) & (maxlength ? & autofocus ? & required ? & placeholder ? & rows ? & ((wrap.hard & cols) | (wrap.soft ? & cols ?)))

Element-specific attributes #

rows = integer.positive: The number of lines of text for the UA to show.
wrap.hard = "hard": Instructs the UA to insert line breaks into the submitted value of the textarea, such that each line has no more characters than the value specified by the cols attribute.
cols = integer.positive: The expected maximum number of characters per line of text for the UA to show.
wrap.soft = "soft": Instructs the UA to add no line breaks to the submitted value of the textarea.

Assertions #

The interactive element “textarea” must not appear as a descendant of the “a” element.
The interactive element “textarea” must not appear as a descendant of the “button” element.
Any “textarea” descendant of a “label” element with a “for” attribute must have an ID value that matches that “for” attribute.

Tag omission #

A textarea element must have both a start tag and an end tag.

Permitted contexts #

common.elem.phrasing

Details #

The contents of the textarea element represent the control’s default value.