Document: queryCommandState() method

Deprecated: This feature is no longer recommended. Though some browsers might still support it, it may have already been removed from the relevant web standards, may be in the process of being dropped, or may only be kept for compatibility purposes. Avoid using it, and update existing code if possible; see the compatibility table at the bottom of this page to guide your decision. Be aware that this feature may cease to work at any time.

Non-standard: This feature is non-standard and is not on a standards track. Do not use it on production sites facing the Web: it will not work for every user. There may also be large incompatibilities between implementations and the behavior may change in the future.

The queryCommandState() method will tell you if the current selection has a certain Document.execCommand() command applied.

Syntax

js
queryCommandState(command)

Parameters

command

A command from Document.execCommand()

Return value

queryCommandState() can return a boolean value or null if the state is unknown.

Example

HTML

html
<div contenteditable="true">Select a part of this text!</div>
<button onclick="makeBold();">Test the state of the 'bold' command</button>

<hr />

<div id="output"></div>

JavaScript

js
function makeBold() {
  const state = document.queryCommandState("bold");
  let message;
  switch (state) {
    case true:
      message = "The bold formatting will be removed from the selected text.";
      break;
    case false:
      message = "The selected text will be displayed in bold.";
      break;
    default:
      message = "The state of the 'bold' command is indeterminable.";
      break;
  }
  document.querySelector("#output").textContent = `Output: ${message}`;
  document.execCommand("bold");
}

Result

Specifications

This feature is not part of any current specification. It is no longer on track to become a standard.

Browser compatibility

BCD tables only load in the browser

See also