Make an HTML Element Editable
By Stephen Bucaro
HTML5 provides the contenteditable attribute which makes most
HTML elements editable. Shown below is code to make a div element editable.
<div id="editbox" style="border-style:solid; border-width:1px; height:200px; width:300px" contenteditable="true"></div>
Possible values for the contenteditable attribute are true, false, or inherit. inherit
sets an element's editability to the same as its parent element. The default value is false,
which makes an element NOT editable.
The contenteditable attribute is compatible with most current browsers,
including Internet Explorer 6 and higher, Firefox 3.5 and higher, and Chrome 4.0 and higher.
Once you make an HTML element editable, it's assumed that you would want to get the
text out of it. Shown below is example code that creates a JavaScript function to access an element's
contents, and creates a form button to call that function. Of course you might want to submit
that contents to the server. How to that is not explained here because it depends upon the
language and method you want to use.
<script>
function showText()
{
alert(document.getElementById("editbox").innerHTML);
}
</script>
<form>
<input type="button" value="Save" onclick="showText()">
</form>
More HTML Code: • Easy Form Design • Webpage DOCTYPE Declarations Explained • When to Use the nofollow Attribute value • Use fieldset to Organize Form Elements • HTML center Tag • HTML Definition List • HTML Select List Basics • Use Datalist Tag to Specify Pre-defined Text for Input Element • Adding Space Around an Image • HTML Horizontal Rule
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