Multiline Text Areas
The conventional and
hidden-text types for forms restrict user input to a single line of
characters. The <textarea>
form tag sets
users free.
The <textarea> Tag
As part of a form, the <textarea>
tag
creates a multiline text-entry area in the user’s
browser display. In it, the user may type a nearly unlimited number
of lines of text. Upon submission of the form, the browser collects
all the lines of text, each separated by %0D%0A
(carriage return/line feed), and sends them to the server as the
value of this form element, using the name specified by the required
name
attribute.
You may include plain text inside the
<textarea>
tag and its end tag
(</textarea>
). That default text must be
plain text, with no tags or other special elements. The contents may
be modified by the user, and the browser uses that text as the
default value if the user presses a reset button for the form. Hence,
the text content is most often included for instructions and
examples:
Tell us about yourself: <textarea name=address cols=40 rows=4> Your Name Here 1234 My Street Anytown, State Zipcode </textarea> ...
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