<!DOCTYPE html> <html> <body onload="setup()"> <textarea id="ta" dir="rtl"> אaב </textarea> <textarea id="tb"> abc </textarea> <div id="coords1"></div> <div id="coords2"></div> <script> function setup() { document.getElementById("ta").selectionStart = 3; document.getElementById("ta").selectionEnd = 3; document.getElementById("coords1").innerHTML = document.getElementById("ta").selectionStart; document.getElementById("tb").selectionStart = 3; document.getElementById("tb").selectionEnd = 3; document.getElementById("coords2").innerHTML = document.getElementById("tb").selectionStart; } </script> </body> </html>