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emptying the textarea in IE

Answer 1

+5 A:

(Source: #955630)

You may need to use .html() instead of .val()

jnpcl 2010-10-21 18:02:53

That's what I was going to suggest! Or possibly `.text('')`?

Adam 2010-10-21 18:05:26

No, you should use `.val()` on a `<textarea>`. See [this answer](http://stackoverflow.com/questions/3964646/textarea-elem-val-vs-elem-text/3966874#3966874).

patrick dw 2010-10-21 18:12:29

There's no ambiguity about this. Using the textarea's `value` property (which is what jQuery's `val()` method does) is the only way to achieve this reliably.

Tim Down 2010-10-21 22:19:59

Seriously, this answer is wrong.

Tim Down 2010-10-22 10:13:25

Perhaps it's "right" for the OP's particular scenario?

jnpcl 2010-10-22 20:37:03

The scenario is that the OP wants to change the value of a textarea. The only reliable way to do that is to change the textarea's `value` property, which is what jQuery's `val()` method does. `html()` instead changes the textarea's `innerHTML` property, which does not always work. So no, it isn't right.

Tim Down 2010-10-23 01:32:19

What would prevent `.val()` from working with his original code?

jnpcl 2010-10-23 02:15:16

The `change` event listener not being called would be my guess. Another potential cause would be having multiple elements with the same `id`.

Tim Down 2010-10-23 10:05:54

Suggesting the method that the OP said doesn't work for him is not an answer to his question.

Allen Gingrich 2010-10-25 14:22:33

@Allen: if that's aimed at me, then I'll point out that my comments are more useful than a wrong answer. If the OP is using `value` property (which is what jQuery's `val()` method uses) and is having a problem then something else is wrong with their code. `value` is the correct way to do it and is rock solid in all browsers. `innerHTML` (as used by jQuery's `html()` method) does not work in many circumstances (e.g. in Firefox and WebKit it will always return the initial value of the textarea, even after the user has entered some text). Try it if you don't believe me.

Tim Down 2010-10-26 23:48:56

@Tim Down: I'm not insinuating that you are wrong, only that it doesn't seem right to answer the OP's question with the same code he already presented us. Your logic is correct, however.

Allen Gingrich 2010-10-27 13:40:17

Answer 2

+2 A:

I would change

 $('input[type=file]').change(function(){
   $("textarea#txt_id").val('');
});

<textarea name="txt" id="txt_id" rows="8" cols="64"></textarea>

<input type="file" name="file" id="file_id" />

to

 $('input[type=file]').change(function(){
   $("textarea#txt_id").html("");
});

<textarea name="txt" id="txt_id" rows="8" cols="64"></textarea>

<input type="file" name="file" id="file_id" />

You aren't actually modifying the 'value' attribute like in an input, only the HTML text between the textarea element.

Allen Gingrich 2010-10-21 18:06:15

No. Modifying the `value` property of a textarea is the only reliable way. Modifying the `innerHTML` property does not always work.

Tim Down 2010-10-23 01:33:25

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