<html> <head> <title>OuterText Example</title> <script type="text/javascript"> function useOuterText() { var oDiv = document.getElementById("div1"); alert(oDiv.outerText); oDiv.outerText = "new value"; alert(document.getElementById("div1")); } </script> </head> <body> <div id="div1" >This is my original text</div> <input type="button" value="Use OuterText" onclick="useOuterText()" /> </body> </html>