function has_scrollbar(elem_id) { const elem = document.getElementById(elem_id); if (elem.clientHeight < elem.scrollHeight) alert(“The element has a vertical scrollbar!”); else alert(“The element doesn’t have a vertical scrollbar.”); } See this jsFiddle http://jsfiddle.net/qKNXH/
Well if you’re doing this through pure HTML, then you can do it one of two ways. Just add lines by pressing enter or using the ASCII characters 
 
 jsFiddle
Add this to your CSS: textarea { resize:none; } or this for fixed width (and keep vertical resizing): textarea { resize:vertical; } Note that this is not supported by opera and internet explorer.
You can create a separate (invisible) element and fill it with textarea content from start to the cursor position. Textarea and the “clone” should have matching CSS (font properties, padding/margin/border and width). Then stack these elements on top of each other. Let me start with a working example, then walk through the code: http://jsfiddle.net/g7rBk/ Updated … Read more
How about http://www.jacklmoore.com/autosize/ Drop Autosize into any web page and it should Just Work. The source is short and well commented if you are curious to how it works. // Example: $(document).ready(function(){ $(‘textarea’).autosize(); }); Source: https://github.com/jackmoore/autosize Demo: http://www.jacklmoore.com/autosize/
xgMz’s answer was best for me. You don’t need to worry about the browser: var html = $(“#MyTextArea”).val(); $(“#MyTextArea”).focus().val(“”).val(html); And here’s a quick jQuery extension I wrote to do this for me next time: ; (function($) { $.fn.focusToEnd = function() { return this.each(function() { var v = $(this).val(); $(this).focus().val(“”).val(v); }); }; })(jQuery); Use like this: … Read more
You could do something like this: <body> <textarea id=”txtArea” onkeypress=”onTestChange();”></textarea> <script> function onTestChange() { var key = window.event.keyCode; // If the user has pressed enter if (key === 13) { document.getElementById(“txtArea”).value = document.getElementById(“txtArea”).value + “\n*”; return false; } else { return true; } } </script> </body> Although the new line character feed from pressing enter … Read more
What you need is overflow-y: scroll; Demo textarea { overflow-y: scroll; height: 100px; resize: none; /* Remove this if you want the user to resize the textarea */ } <textarea></textarea>
Use: textarea { /* will prevent resizing horizontally */ resize:vertical; }