HTML Form Attributes

This chapter describes the different attributes for the HTML <form> element.

The action attribute defines the action to be performed when the form is submitted. Usually, the form data is sent to a file on the server when the user clicks on the submit button. In the example below, the form data is sent to a file called "action_page.php".

On submit, send form data to "action_page.php": <form action="/action_page.php"> <label for="fname">First name:</label><br> <input type="text" id="fname" name="fname" value="John"><br> <label for="lname">Last name:</label><br> <input type="text" id="lname" name="lname" value="Doe"><br><br> <input type="submit" value="Submit"> </form>

If the action attribute is omitted, the action is set to the current page.

The target attribute specifies where to display the response that is received after submitting the form. The target attribute can have one of the following values:

_blank The response is displayed in a new window or tab _self The response is displayed in the current window _parent The response is displayed in the parent frame _top The response is displayed in the full body of the window framename The response is displayed in a named iframe

_self which means that the response will open in the current window.

Here, the submitted result will open in a new browser tab: <form action="/action_page.php" target="_blank">

method to be used when submitting the form data.

) or as HTTP post transaction (with method="post" ). The default HTTP method when submitting form data is GET.

This example uses the GET method when submitting the form data: <form action="/action_page.php" method="get">

This example uses the POST method when submitting the form data: <form action="/action_page.php" method="post">

NEVER use GET to send sensitive data! (the submitted form data is visible in the URL!) The length of a URL is limited (2048 characters) Useful for form submissions where a user wants to bookmark the result

Appends the form data inside the body of the HTTP request (the submitted form data is not shown in the URL) POST has no size limitations, and can be used to send large amounts of data.

Always use POST if the form data contains sensitive or personal information!

The autocomplete attribute specifies whether a form should have autocomplete on or off. When autocomplete is on, the browser automatically complete values based on values that the user has entered before.

<form action="/action_page.php" autocomplete="on">

The novalidate attribute is a boolean attribute.

A form with a novalidate attribute: <form action="/action_page.php" novalidate>

Specifies the character encodings used for form submission action

Specifies whether a form should have autocomplete on or off enctype

method