Selection.selectAllChildren()

This is an experimental technology
Check the Browser compatibility table carefully before using this in production.

The Selection.selectAllChildren() method adds all the children of the specified node to the selection. Previous selection is lost.

Syntax

sel.selectAllChildren(parentNode)

Parameters

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

Example

HTML

<main>
  <button>Select Footer</button>
  <p>Welcome to my website.</p>
  <p>I hope you enjoy your visit.</p>
</main>
<footer>
  <address>webmaster@example.com</address>
  <p>© 2019</p>
</footer>

JavaScript

const button = document.querySelector('button');
const footer = document.querySelector('footer');

button.addEventListener('click', (e) => {
  window.getSelection().selectAllChildren(footer);
});

Result

Specifications

Specification	Status	Comment
Selection API The definition of 'Selection.selectAllChildren()' in that specification.	Working Draft	Current definition

Browser compatibility

	Desktop						Mobile
	Chrome	Edge	Firefox	Internet Explorer	Opera	Safari	Android webview	Chrome for Android	Firefox for Android	Opera for Android	Safari on iOS	Samsung Internet
`selectAllChildren` Experimental	Chrome Full support Yes	Edge Full support 12	Firefox Full support Yes	IE Full support Yes	Opera Full support Yes	Safari Full support Yes	WebView Android Full support Yes	Chrome Android Full support Yes	Firefox Android Full support Yes	Opera Android Full support Yes	Safari iOS Full support Yes	Samsung Internet Android Full support Yes

Legend

Full support: Full support
Experimental. Expect behavior to change in the future.: Experimental. Expect behavior to change in the future.