# HTML DOM dir Property

Element Object

## Example

Change the text direction of a <p> element to "right-to-left":

document.getElementById("myP").dir = "rtl";
Try it yourself »

More "Try it Yourself" examples below.

## Definition and Usage

The dir property sets or returns the value of the dir attribute of an element.

The dir attribute specifies the text-direction (reading order) of the element's content.

Tip: You can also use the style.direction property to set or return the text direction of an element.

## Browser Support

Property |  |  |  |  |
--- | --- | --- | --- | --- | ---
dir | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes

## Syntax

Return the dir property:

HTMLElementObject.dir

Set the dir property:

HTMLElementObject.dir="ltr|rtl|auto"

## Property Values

Value | Description
--- | ---
ltr | Default. Left-to-right text direction
rtl | Right-to-left text direction
auto | Let the browser figure out the text direction, based on the content (only recommended if the text direction is unknown)

## Technical Details

Return Value: | A String, representing the text writing direction of the element

## More Examples

## Example

Get the text direction of a <p> element:

var x = document.getElementById("myP").dir;

The result of x will be:

rtl
Try it yourself »

## Related Pages

HTML reference: HTML dir Attribute

HTML DOM reference: Style direction Property

CSS reference: direction property

Element Object

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