This chapter describes the different input types for the <input> element.
Input Type Text
<input type="text"> defines a one-line text input field:
Example
<form>
First name:<br>
<input type="text" name="firstname"><br>
Last name:<br>
<input type="text" name="lastname">
</form>
This is how the HTML code above will be displayed in a browser:
First name:
Last name:
Input Type Password
<input type="password"> defines a password field:
Example
<form>
User name:<br>
<input type="text" name="username"><br>
User password:<br>
<input type="password" name="psw">
</form>
This is how the HTML code above will be displayed in a browser:
User name:
User password:
The characters in a password field are masked (shown as asterisks or circles).
Input Type Submit
<input type="submit"> defines a button for submitting form data to a form-handler.
The form-handler is typically a server page with a script for processing input data.
The form-handler is specified in the form's action attribute:
Example
<form action="/action_page.php">
First name:<br>
<input type="text" name="firstname" value="Mickey"><br>
Last name:<br>
<input type="text" name="lastname" value="Mouse"><br><br>
<input type="submit" value="Submit">
</form>
This is how the HTML code above will be displayed in a browser:
First name:
Last name:
If you omit the submit button's value attribute, the button will get a default text:
Example
<form action="/action_page.php">
First name:<br>
<input type="text" name="firstname" value="Mickey"><br>
Last name:<br>
<input type="text" name="lastname" value="Mouse"><br><br>
<input type="submit">
</form>
Input Type Reset
<input type="reset"> defines a reset button that will reset all form values to their default values:
Example
<form action="/action_page.php">
First name:<br>
<input type="text" name="firstname" value="Mickey"><br>
Last name:<br>
<input type="text" name="lastname" value="Mouse"><br><br>
<input type="submit" value="Submit">
<input type="reset">
</form>
This is how the HTML code above will be displayed in a browser:
First name:
Last name:
If you change the input values and then click the "Reset" button, the form-data will be reset to the default values.
Input Type Radio
<input type="radio"> defines a radio button.
Radio buttons let a user select ONLY ONE of a limited number of choices:
Example
<form>
<input type="radio" name="gender" value="male" checked> Male<br>
<input type="radio" name="gender" value="female"> Female<br>
<input type="radio" name="gender" value="other"> Other
</form>
This is how the HTML code above will be displayed in a browser:
Male
Female
Other
Input Type Checkbox
<input type="checkbox"> defines a checkbox.
Checkboxes let a user select ZERO or MORE options of a limited number of choices.
Example
<form>
<input type="checkbox" name="vehicle1" value="Bike"> I have a bike<br>
<input type="checkbox" name="vehicle2" value="Car"> I have a car
</form>
This is how the HTML code above will be displayed in a browser:
I have a bike
I have a car
Input Type Button
<input type="button"> defines a button:
Example
<input type="button" onclick="alert('Hello World!')" value="Click Me!">
This is how the HTML code above will be displayed in a browser:
HTML5 Input Types
HTML5 added several new input types:
- color
- date
- datetime-local
- month
- number
- range
- search
- tel
- time
- url
- week
New input types that are not supported by older web browsers, will behave as <input type="text">.
Input Type Color
The <input type="color"> is used for input fields that should contain a color.
Depending on browser support, a color picker can show up in the input field.
Example
<form>
Select your favorite color:
<input type="color" name="favcolor">
</form>
Input Type Date
The <input type="date"> is used for input fields that should contain a date.
Depending on browser support, a date picker can show up in the input field.
Example
<form>
Birthday:
<input type="date" name="bday">
</form>
You can also add restrictions to dates:
Example
<form>
Enter a date before 1980-01-01:
<input type="date" name="bday" max="1979-12-31"><br>
Enter a date after 2000-01-01:
<input type="date" name="bday" min="2000-01-02"><br>
</form>
Input Type Datetime-local
The <input type="datetime-local"> specifies a date and time input field, with no time zone.
Depending on browser support, a date picker can show up in the input field.
Example
<form>
Birthday (date and time):
<input type="datetime-local" name="bdaytime">
</form>
Input Type Email
The <input type="email"> is used for input fields that should contain an e-mail address.
Depending on browser support, the e-mail address can be automatically validated when submitted.
Some smartphones recognize the email type, and adds ".com" to the keyboard to match email input.
Example
<form>
E-mail:
<input type="email" name="email"
