The TEXTAREA WRAP Attribute
forms and protocols 1996 partlyThree wrap modes, none of them standard by those names, and one of which changed what got sent.
In 2026: Browsers still accept them and HTML5 standardised soft and hard. VIRTUAL wrapped on screen but sent one long line, PHYSICAL inserted real line breaks into the submitted data, and OFF did not wrap at all. Getting this wrong mangled every guestbook entry.
Where it came from: Netscape Navigator 2.0 forms extensions, 1996. Standardised in HTML5. MDN ↗
<!-- Netscape's three modes -->
<textarea name="c" rows="4" cols="30" wrap="virtual">Wraps on screen, sends one line.</textarea>
<textarea name="c" rows="4" cols="30" wrap="physical">Wraps on screen, sends the breaks.</textarea>
<textarea name="c" rows="4" cols="30" wrap="off">No wrapping. Scrolls sideways forever.</textarea>
<!-- The two that HTML5 kept -->
<textarea name="c" rows="4" cols="30" wrap="soft">Sends one line. Same as virtual.</textarea>
<textarea name="c" rows="4" cols="30" wrap="hard">Sends the breaks. Needs cols set.</textarea>