CSS - user-select

Controls the actual Selection operation. This doesn't have any effect on content loaded as chrome, except in textboxes. A similar property user-focus was proposed in early drafts of a predecessor of css3-ui but was rejected by the working group.

Example

 

CSS
.unselectable {
  -moz-user-select: none;
  -webkit-user-select: none;
  -ms-user-select: none;
}
HTML
<body>
  <p class="unselectable">The user is not able to select this text in Firefox, Chrome, Safari and IE.</p>
</body>

Syntax  

CSS
user-select: none;
user-select: auto;
user-select: text;
user-select: contain;
user-select: all;

-moz-user-select: none;
-moz-user-select: text;
-moz-user-select: all;

-webkit-user-select: none;
-webkit-user-select: text;
-webkit-user-select: all; /* does not work in Safari, use only "none" or "text", or else it will allow to type in the html container*/

-ms-user-select: none;
-ms-user-select: text;
-ms-user-select: element;
none
The text of the element and sub-elements will not be able to be selected. Selection can contain these elements. Starting with Firefox 21 none behaves like -moz-none, so selection can be re-enabled on sub-elements using -moz-user-select:text.
auto
The text will be selected according to the browser's default properties.
text
The text can be selected by the user.
-moz-none
The text of the element and sub-elements will appear as if they cannot be selected. Selection can contain these elements. Selection can be re-enabled on sub-elements using -moz-user-select:text. Starting with Firefox 21 none behaves like -moz-none.
all
In an HTML editor, if a double-click or context-click occurred in sub-elements, the highest ancestor with this value will be selected.
contain
element (IE-specific alias)
Enables selection to start within the element; however, the selection will be contained by the bounds of that element. Supported only in Internet Explorer.

Note: One of the differences between browser implementations is inheritance. In Firefox, -moz-user-select is not inherited by absolutely positioned elements, but in Safari and Chrome, -webkit-user-select is inherited by those elements.

Note: CSS UI 4 rename user-select: element to contain.

CSS
auto | text | none | contain | all

Description  

This is an experimental technology
Because this technology's specification has not stabilized, check the compatibility table for usage in various browsers. Also note that the syntax and behavior of an experimental technology is subject to change in future versions of browsers as the specification changes.

Controls the actual Selection operation. This doesn't have any effect on content loaded as chrome, except in textboxes. A similar property user-focus was proposed in early drafts of a predecessor of css3-ui but was rejected by the working group.

Note: Check the compatibility table for the proper prefixes to use in various browsers.

Initial valuenone
Applies toall elements
Inheritedno
Mediavisual
Computed valueas specified
Animatableno
Canonical orderthe unique non-ambiguous order defined by the formal grammar

Browser Compatibility  

Feature Chrome Edge Firefox (Gecko) Internet Explorer Opera Safari (WebKit)
Basic support 6.0-webkit- (Yes)-ms-webkit (Yes)-moz[1] 10-ms 15.0-webkit 3.1-webkit
element No support (Yes) No support (Yes) ? No support
Feature Android Firefox Mobile (Gecko) IE Phone Opera Mobile Safari Mobile
Basic support 2.1 ? 10-ms
11-webkit[2]		 No support 3.2(Yes)
element ? ? ? ? ?

[1] In addition to the -moz prefixed support, Gecko 44.0 (Firefox 44.0 / Thunderbird 44.0 / SeaMonkey 2.41) added support for a -webkit prefixed version of the property for web compatibility reasons behind the preference layout.css.prefixes.webkit, defaulting to false. Since Gecko 49.0 (Firefox 49.0 / Thunderbird 49.0 / SeaMonkey 2.46) the preference defaults to true.

[2] See documentation on MSDN.

See Also  

Specifications  

Specification Status Comment
CSS Basic User Interface Module Level 4
The definition of 'user-select' in that specification.		 Working Draft Initial definition. Also defined -webkit-user-select as a deprecated alias of user-select.

License

© 2016 Mozilla Contributors
Licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License v2.5 or later.
https://developer.mozilla.org/en-us/docs/web/css/user-select

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