How can I stop text from being selected?

Question

In my web app the user can sometimes click the same button a number of times, skipping through messages and things, causing the </a> to be selected.

So how can I prevent this using Javascript (jQuery)

Kex

Will it prevent them from continuing to cruise messages? If not, then I would recommend against it as it will probably also prevent when they WANT to select text. – Epergne

Doesn't sound to me like it'll affect their ability to navigate--just accidentally select. The link that Marek's included in his answer below allows disabling text selection only on certain elements. Presumably Ben will only disable selection on the one <a/> tag that's killing his users. – Sumerian

Answer 1

This solution worked for me: http://chris-barr.com/entry/disable_text_selection_with_jquery/

$(function(){
    $.extend($.fn.disableTextSelect = function() {
        return this.each(function(){
            if($.browser.mozilla){//Firefox
                $(this).css('MozUserSelect','none');
            }else if($.browser.msie){//IE
                $(this).bind('selectstart',function(){return false;});
            }else{//Opera, etc.
                $(this).mousedown(function(){return false;});
            }
        });
    });
    $('.noSelect').disableTextSelect();//No text selection on elements with a class of 'noSelect'
});

Biblical

That url seems to have moved to: chris-barr.com/index.php/entry/… – Nocturnal

The example in the link does not work with the latest version of Jquery. $.browser no longer exists. – Animate

For those who came across this answer, the CSS method described by Blowsie is a much better solution (and does the same thing as the linked jQuery answer). – Facultative

Answer 2

You dont need script for this, here is the css:

-webkit-touch-callout: none;
-webkit-user-select: none;
-khtml-user-select: none;
-moz-user-select: none;
-ms-user-select: none;
user-select: none;

Gatto

The person asking probably pre-decided that they want to use JS for this, but your answer is far better than any script. +1 – Arabesque

Works in Chrome 25, but does not work for me in IE10. Ctrl+A selects all text on the page. It stops text from being selected if I double click on the text, but if I drag from an area that is not using this CSS into the area that is using this CSS, it still highlights the text. – Animate