Availability

DOM Level 1 HTML

Inherits from/Overrides

Node Element HTMLElement HTMLInputElement

Properties

String accept

A comma-separated list of MIME types that specify the types of files that may be uploaded when this is a FileUpload element. Mirrors the accept attribute.

String accessKey

The keyboard shortcut (which must be a single character) that a browser may use to transfer keyboard focus to this input element. Mirrors the accesskey attribute.

deprecated String align

The vertical alignment of this element with respect to the surrounding text, or the left or right float for the element. Mirrors the align attribute.

String alt

Alternate text to be displayed by browsers that cannot render this input element. Particularly useful when type is image. Mirrors the alt attribute.

boolean checked

For Radio and Checkbox input elements, specifies whether the element is "checked" or not. Setting this property changes the visual appearance of the input element. Mirrors the checked attribute.

boolean defaultChecked

For Radio and Checkbox elements, holds the initial value of the checked attribute as it appears in the document source. When the form is reset, the checked property is restored to the value of this property. Changing the value of this property changes the value of the checked property and the current checked state of the element.

String defaultValue

For Text, Password, and FileUpload elements, holds the initial value displayed by the element. When the form is reset, the element is restored to this value. Changing the value of this property also changes the value property and the currently displayed value.

boolean disabled

If true, the input element is disabled and is unavailable for user input. Mirrors the disabled attribute.

readonly HTMLFormElement form

The HTMLFormElement object representing the <form> element that contains this input element, or null if the input element is not within a form.

long maxLength

For Text or Password elements, specifies the maximum number of characters that the user will be allowed to enter. Note that this is not the same as the size property. Mirrors the maxlength attribute.

String name

The name of the input element, as specified by the name attribute.

boolean readOnly

If true, and this is a Text or Password element, the user is not allowed to enter text into the element. Mirrors the readonly attribute.

String size

For Text and Password elements, specifies the width of the element in characters. Mirrors the size attribute. See also maxLength.

String src

For input elements with a type of image, specifies the URL of the image to be displayed. Mirrors the src attribute.

long tabIndex

The position of this input element in the tabbing order. Mirrors the tabindex attribute.

String type

The type of the input element. The various types and their meanings are listed in the table in the "Description" section. Mirrors the type attribute.

String useMap

For elements with a type of image, specifies the name of a <map> element that provides a client-side image map for the element.

String value

The value that is passed to the server-side script when the form is submitted. For Text, Password, and FileUpload elements, this property is the text contained by the input element. For Button, Submit, and Reset elements, this is the text that appears in the button. For security reasons, the value property of FileUpload elements may be read-only. Similarly, the value returned by this property for Password elements may not contain the user's actual input.

Methods

blur( )

Takes keyboard focus away from the element.

click( )

If this input element is a Button, a Checkbox, or a Radio, Submit, or Reset button, this method simulates a mouse-click on the element.

focus( )

Transfers keyboard focus to this input element.

select( )

If this input element is a Text, Password, or FileUpload element, this method selects the text displayed by the element. In many browsers, this means that when the user next enters a character, the selected text will be deleted and replaced with the newly typed character.

Description

This interface represents an <input> element that defines an HTML input element (typically in an HTML form). An HTMLInputElement can represent various types of input elements, depending on the value of its type property. The allowed values for this property and their meanings are shown in the following table.

Type	Input element type
button	Push button
checkbox	Checkbox element
file	FileUpload element
hidden	Hidden element
image	Graphical Submit button
password	Masked-text entry field for passwords
radio	Mutually exclusive Radio button
reset	Reset button
text (default value)	Single-line text entry field
submit	Submit button

See Chapter 15 for more information about HTML forms and form elements. Note also that each distinct type of form input element has its own reference page in the client-side reference section of this book.

See Also

HTMLFormElement, HTMLOptionElement, HTMLSelectElement, HTMLTextAreaElement; Chapter 15; the Input object in the client-side reference section, and also its subclasses (Button, Checkbox, FileUpload, Hidden, Password, Radio, Reset, Submit, and Text)