Skip to main content

HTML Form Attributes

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

List of All <form> Attributes​

AttributeDescription
accept-charsetSpecifies the character encodings used for form submission
actionSpecifies where to send the form-data when a form is submitted
autocompleteSpecifies whether a form should have autocomplete on or off
enctypeSpecifies how the form-data should be encoded when submitting it to the server (only for method="post")
methodSpecifies the HTTP method to use when sending form-data
nameSpecifies the name of the form
novalidateSpecifies that the form should not be validated when submitted
relSpecifies the relationship between a linked resource and the current document
targetSpecifies where to display the response that is received after submitting the form

The Action Attribute​

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". This file contains a server-side script that handles the form data:

Example: 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>
note

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

The Target Attribute​

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:

ValueDescription
_blankThe response is displayed in a new window or tab
_selfThe response is displayed in the current window
_parentThe response is displayed in the parent frame
_topThe response is displayed in the full body of the window
framenameThe response is displayed in a named iframe

Example: the submitted result will open in a new browser tab.


<form action="/action_page.php" target="_blank">

The Method Attribute​

The method attribute specifies the HTTP method to be used when submitting the form data.

The form-data can be sent as URL variables (with method="get") or as HTTP post transaction (with method="post").

The default HTTP method when submitting form data is GET.

Example: this example uses the GET method when submitting the form data.


<form action="/action_page.php" method="get">

Example: this example uses the POST method when submitting the form data.


<form action="/action_page.php" method="post">

Notes on GET:

  • Appends the form data to the URL, in name/value pairs
  • 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
  • GET is good for non-secure data, like query strings in Google

Notes on POST:

  • 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.
  • Form submissions with POST cannot be bookmarked
note

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

The Autocomplete Attribute​

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.

Example of a form with autocomplete on:


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

The Novalidate Attribute​

The novalidate attribute is a boolean attribute.

When present, it specifies that the form-data (input) should not be validated when submitted.

Example of a form with a novalidate attribute:


<form action="/action_page.php" novalidate>

Table of Contents