function getSelectionText(divID) { var selectedText = ""; if (window.getSelection) { var sel = window.getSelection(); var div = document.getElementById(divID); if (sel.rangeCount) { // Get the selected range var range = sel.getRangeAt(0); // Check that the selection is wholly contained within the div text // if (range.commonAncestorContainer == div.firstChild) { var selectedText = range.toString(); // } } } return selectedText; } $(document).ready(function() { $("#fix-caption-code").mousedown(function() { $("#edit-caption").val(""); }); $("#fix-caption-code").mouseup(function() { quotedText = getSelectionText("#fix-caption-code"); $("#edit-caption").val(quotedText); }); });