Use jQuery select() to select contents of a div

Question

Is it possible to use or adapt jQuery\'s .select() to set a selection range on the entire contents of a div?

I have a div which has a series of labels, inputs, selec

Answer 1

Check this fiddle: http://jsfiddle.net/JAq2e/

Basically the trick is to introduce a hidden text node whose content will be included in the selection when copied.

jQuery.fn.selectText = function(){
    this.find('input').each(function() {
        if($(this).prev().length == 0 || !$(this).prev().hasClass('p_copy')) { 
            $('
').insertBefore($(this));
        }
        $(this).prev().html($(this).val());
    });
    var doc = document;
    var element = this[0];
    console.log(this, element);
    if (doc.body.createTextRange) {
        var range = document.body.createTextRange();
        range.moveToElementText(element);
        range.select();
    } else if (window.getSelection) {
        var selection = window.getSelection();        
        var range = document.createRange();
        range.selectNodeContents(element);
        selection.removeAllRanges();
        selection.addRange(range);
    }
};

And use it like:

$('#selectme').selectText();

---

You can couple the above plugin with an event handler if you want to create selection links :

Code :

$('.select-text').on('click', function(e) {
    var selector = $(this).data('selector');
    $(selector).selectText();
    e.preventDefault();
});

Usage :

Select all
some text

Demo : see js fiddle