HTML Forms

HTML Forms are used to select different kinds of user input.

HTML Forms

HTML forms are used to pass data to a server.

A form can contain input elements like text fields, checkboxes, radio-buttons, submit buttons and more. A form can also contain select lists, textarea, fieldset, legend, and label elements.

The <form> tag is used to create an HTML form:

<form>
.
input elements
.
</form>

HTML Forms - The Input Element

The most important form element is the input element.

The input element is used to select user information.

An input element can vary in many ways, depending on the type attribute. An input element can be of type text field, checkbox, password, radio button, submit button, and more.

The most used input types are described below.

Text Fields

<input type="text" /> defines a one-line input field that a user can enter text into:

<form>
First name: <input type="text" name="firstname" /><br />
Last name: <input type="text" name="lastname" />
</form>

How the HTML code above looks in a browser:

Note: The form itself is not visible. Also note that the default width of a text field is 20 characters.

Password Field

<input type="password" /> defines a password field:

<form>
Password: <input type="password" name="pwd" />
</form>

How the HTML code above looks in a browser:

Note: The characters in a password field are masked (shown as asterisks or circles).

Radio Buttons

<input type="radio" /> defines a radio button. Radio buttons let a user select ONLY ONE one of a limited number of choices:

<form>
<input type="radio" name="sex" value="male" /> Male<br />
<input type="radio" name="sex" value="female" /> Female
</form>

How the HTML code above looks in a browser:

Checkboxes

<input type="checkbox" /> defines a checkbox. Checkboxes let a user select ONE or MORE options of a limited number of choices.

<form>
<input type="checkbox" name="vehicle" value="Bike" /> I have a bike<br />
<input type="checkbox" name="vehicle" value="Car" /> I have a car
</form>

How the HTML code above looks in a browser:

Submit Button

<input type="submit" /> defines a submit button.

A submit button is used to send form data to a server. The data is sent to the page specified in the form's action attribute. The file defined in the action attribute usually does something with the received input:

<form name="input" action="html_form_action.asp" method="get">
Username: <input type="text" name="user" />
<input type="submit" value="Submit" />
</form>

How the HTML code above looks in a browser:

If you type some characters in the text field above, and click the "Submit" button, the browser will send your input to a page called "html_form_action.asp". The page will show you the received input.

HTML Form Tags

Tag	Description
<form>	Defines an HTML form for user input
<input />	Defines an input control
<textarea>	Defines a multi-line text input control
<label>	Defines a label for an input element
<fieldset>	Defines a border around elements in a form
<legend>	Defines a caption for a fieldset element
<select>	Defines a select list (drop-down list)
<optgroup>	Defines a group of related options in a select list
<option>	Defines an option in a select list
<button>	Defines a push button