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.
The selectstart event of the Selection API is fired when a user starts a new selection. The event is fire at the HTML element at the beginning of the new selection Range.
If the event is canceled, the selection is not changed.
| Bubbles | Yes |
| Cancelable | Yes |
| Target objects | HTMLElement |
| Interface | Event |
Example
document.addEventListener("selectstart", function(e) {
console.log(e);
}, false);
// "selectstart" event is logged when a selection start on the page.
Inheritance
The selectstart event implements the Event interface. You can use the properties and methods defined on this interface.
<div id="interfaceDiagram" style="display: inline-block; position: relative; width: 100%; padding-bottom: 11.666666666666666%; vertical-align: middle; overflow: hidden;"><svg style="display: inline-block; position: absolute; top: 0; left: 0;" viewbox="-50 0 600 70" preserveAspectRatio="xMinYMin meet"><a xlink:href="https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/API/Event" target="_top"><rect x="1" y="1" width="75" height="50" fill="#F4F7F8" stroke="#D4DDE4" stroke-width="2px" /><text x="38.5" y="30" font-size="12px" font-family="Consolas,Monaco,Andale Mono,monospace" fill="#4D4E53" text-anchor="middle" alignment-baseline="middle">Event</text></a></svg></div>
a:hover text { fill: #0095DD; pointer-events: all;}
Specifications
| Specification | Status | Comment |
|---|---|---|
| Selection API The definition of 'selectstart' in that specification. |
Working Draft | Initial definition. |
Browser compatibility
| Feature | Chrome | Firefox (Gecko) | Internet Explorer | Opera | Safari |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Basic support | ? | 43 (43) [1] | ? | ? | ? |
| Feature | Android | Chrome for Android | Firefox Mobile (Gecko) | IE Mobile | Opera Mobile | Safari Mobile |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Basic support | ? | ? | 43.0 (43) [1] | ? | ? | ? |
[1] This is implemented behind the dom.select_events.enabled preference, that default to false, except on Nightly. See bug 571294 for details.