Syntax

splitText(offset)

Parameters

offset: The index immediately before which to break the text node.

Return value

Returns the newly created Text node that contains the text after the specified offset point.

Exceptions

IndexSizeError DOMException: Thrown if the specified offset is negative or is greater than the number of 16-bit units in the node's text.
NoModificationAllowedError DOMException: Thrown if the node is read-only.

Example

In this example, the text of a <p> is split into two text nodes, and a <u> is inserted between them.

html

<p>foobar</p>

const p = document.querySelector("p");
// Get contents of <p> as a text node
const foobar = p.firstChild;
// Split 'foobar' into two text nodes, 'foo' and 'bar',
// and save 'bar' as a const
const bar = foobar.splitText(3);
// Create a <u> element containing ' new content '
const u = document.createElement("u");
u.appendChild(document.createTextNode(" new content "));
// Add <u> before 'bar'
p.insertBefore(u, bar);
// The result is: <p>foo<u> new content </u>bar</p>

Specifications

Specification
DOM # ref-for-dom-text-splittext①

Browser compatibility

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This page was last modified on Feb 2, 2025 by MDN contributors.