HTML Form Elements

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Fri Oct 27, 2023 8:06 am

HTML Form Elements

This chapter describes all the different HTML form elements.

The HTML <form> Elements
The HTML <form> element can contain one or more of the following form elements:

<input>
<label>
<select>
<textarea>
<button>
<fieldset>
<legend>
<datalist>
<output>
<option>
<optgroup>

The <input> Element
One of the most used form elements is the <input> element.
The <input> element can be displayed in several ways, depending on the type
attribute.

Example

<label for="fname">First name:</label><input type="text" id="fname" name="fname">
Try it Yourself »

All the different values of the type
attribute are covered in the next chapter:
HTML Input Types.

The <label> Element
The <label> element defines a label for
several
form elements.
The <label> element is useful for
screen-reader users, because the screen-reader will read out loud the label when
the user focus on the input element.
The <label> element also help users who have
difficulty clicking on very small regions (such as radio buttons or checkboxes)
- because when the user clicks the text within the <label> element, it toggles
the radio button/checkbox.
The for attribute of the <label> tag should
be equal to the id attribute of the <input>
element to bind them together.

The <select> Element
The <select> element defines a drop-down list:

Example

<label for="cars">Choose a car:</label><select id="cars" name="cars"> <option value="volvo">Volvo</option>

<option value="saab">Saab</option> <option value="fiat">Fiat</option>

<option value="audi">Audi</option></select>
Try it Yourself »

The <option> element defines an option that can be
selected.
By default, the first item in the drop-down list is selected.
To define a pre-selected option, add the selected attribute
to the option:

Example

<option value="fiat" selected>Fiat</option>
Try it Yourself »

Visible Values:
Use the size attribute to specify the number of visible values:

Example

<label for="cars">Choose a car:</label><select id="cars" name="cars" size="3"> <option value="volvo">Volvo</option>

<option value="saab">Saab</option> <option value="fiat">Fiat</option>

<option value="audi">Audi</option></select>
Try it Yourself »

Allow Multiple Selections:
Use the multiple attribute to allow the user to select more than one value:

Example

<label for="cars">Choose a car:</label><select id="cars" name="cars" size="4" multiple> <option value="volvo">Volvo</option>

<option value="saab">Saab</option> <option value="fiat">Fiat</option>

<option value="audi">Audi</option></select>
Try it Yourself »

The <textarea> Element
The <textarea> element defines a multi-line input field (a text area):

Example

<textarea name="message" rows="10" cols="30">The cat was playing in the garden.</textarea>
Try it Yourself »

The rows attribute specifies the visible number of lines in
a text area.
The cols attribute specifies the visible width of a text
area.
This is how the HTML code above will be displayed in a browser:

The cat was playing in the garden.

You can also define the size of the text area by using CSS:

Example

<textarea name="message"
style="width:200px; height:600px;">The cat was playing in the garden.</textarea>
Try it Yourself »

The <button> Element
The <button> element defines a clickable
button:

Example

<button type="button"
onclick="alert('Hello World!')">Click Me!</button>
Try it Yourself »

This is how the HTML code above will be displayed in a browser:
Click Me!

Note: Always specify the type attribute for the button element. Different browsers may use different default types for the button element.

The <fieldset> and <legend> Elements
The <fieldset> element is used to group related data in a form.
The <legend> element defines a caption for the
<fieldset>
element.

Example

<form action="/action_page.php"> <fieldset>
<legend>Personalia:</legend>    <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"> </fieldset></form>
Try it Yourself »

This is how the HTML code above will be displayed in a browser:

Personalia:
First name:

Last name:

The <datalist> Element
The <datalist> element specifies a list of pre-defined options for an <input> element.
Users will see a drop-down list of the pre-defined options as they input data.
The list attribute of the <input> element, must refer to the
id attribute of the <datalist> element.

Example

<form action="/action_page.php"> <input list="browsers">

<datalist id="browsers">
    <option value="Edge">

<option value="Firefox">
    <option value="Chrome">

<option value="Opera">
    <option value="Safari">

</datalist> </form>
Try it Yourself »

The <output> Element
The <output> element represents the result of a calculation (like one
performed by a script).

Example
Perform a calculation and show the result in an <output> element:

<form action="/action_page.php" oninput="x.value=parseInt(a.value)+parseInt(b.value)"> 0

<input type="range" id="a" name="a" value="50"> 100 +

<input type="number" id="b" name="b" value="50"> =

<output name="x" for="a b"></output> <br><br> <input type="submit">
</form>
Try it Yourself »

HTML Exercises

Test Yourself With Exercises

Exercise:
In the form below, add an empty drop down list with the name "cars".

<form action="/action_page.php">

<>

</>

</form>

Submit Answer »
Start the Exercise

HTML Form Elements

Tag
Description

<form>
Defines an HTML form for user input

<input>
Defines an input control

<textarea>
Defines a multiline input control (text area)

<label>
Defines a label for an <input> element

<fieldset>
Groups related elements in a form

<legend>
Defines a caption for a <fieldset> element

<select>
Defines a drop-down list

<optgroup>
Defines a group of related options in a drop-down list

<option>
Defines an option in a drop-down list

<button>
Defines a clickable button

<datalist>
Specifies a list of pre-defined options for input controls

<output>
Defines the result of a calculation

For a complete list of all available HTML tags, visit our HTML Tag Reference.

★
+1

Reference: https://www.w3schools.com/html/html_form_elements.asp