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Multiple-line text fields

Multiple-line text fields are specified using the TEXTAREA element (not an attribute of the INPUT element):

  <TEXTAREA NAME="textarea" 
            ROWS=5 COLS=30>Initial data</TEXTAREA>

The on-screen size of the field is defined by the ROWS and COLS attributes. If more data is input the field will automatically scroll. If there is any text between the <TEXTAREA> and </TEXTAREA> tags it is displayed as the initial value of the field. Line breaks and spaces are interpreted literally in this text, so you should enter it starting on the same line as the <TEXTAREA> tag, otherwise you will have a blank line as the first line of text. You can have line breaks within an HTML tag, so you might want have the > character that marks the end of the <TEXTAREA> tag as the first character of a new line, with the initial text immediately following it.

Spinning the Web by Andrew Ford
© 1995 International Thomson Publishing
© 2002 Andrew Ford and Ford & Mason Ltd
Note: this HTML document was generated in December 1994 directly from the LaTeX source files using LaTeX2HTML. It was formatted into our standard page layout using the Template Toolkit. The document is mainly of historical interest as obviously many of the sites mentioned have long since disappeared.