<!DOCTYPE html> <html> <body> <textarea id="testBox" onfocus="reframe(this);">blahblahblah</textarea> <script type="text/javascript"> function reframe(textbox) { textbox.style.display = "none"; textbox.style.display = ""; textbox.clientWidth; } //Adding focus to the textbox should trigger a spellcheck document.getElementById("testBox").focus(); document.getElementById("testBox").blur(); </script> </body> </html>