HTML Elements

FORM

Description: The FORM element creates a fill-out form. The browser permits the user to enter information in the fields of the form and sends this information to a cgi-bin script on a server identified as a URL by the ACTION attribute. METHOD=GET (the default) appends the input information to the ACTION URL which on most receiving systems becomes the value of the environment variable QUERY_STRING. METHOD=POST (the preferred) sends the input information in a data body which is available on stdin with the data length set in the environment variable CONTENT_LENGTH. Form data is a stream of name=value pairs separated by the & character. Each name=value pair is URL encoded, i.e. spaces are changed into the plus character and some characters are encoded into hexadecimal. At least one of the following is expected inside the FORM contents: INPUT, SELECT, TEXTAREA.
Minimum Attributes: <FORM></FORM>
All Possible Attributes: Elements Allowed Within... members of group body.content and elements </a> </code> but not element <code> <a href="#FORM"><FORM></a> </code> <dt><strong>Allowed In Content Of...</strong> <dd>Any element that permits members of group <code><a href="#block.forms">block.forms</a> </code> <dt><strong>Variations</strong> <dd>The original definition of FORM only defined the default value of <code>application/x-www-form-urlencoded</code> for the ENCTYPE attribute. RFC 1867 adds the value of <code>multipart/form-data</code> for this attribute to permit a FORM to upload one or more files in addition to the FORM data. METHOD=POST is required with this value of ENCTYPE. This file upload extension is implemented in Netscape 2.0. Most current browsers only handle ACTION for the <code>http:</code> access type, but proposals for handling the <code>mailto:</code> access type are being discussed. The LANG, DIR, and ACCEPT-CHARSET attributes are introduced with the internationalization proposal. The ACCEPT-CHARSET attribute is to provide a hint as to the character set or sets that the receiving URL is prepared to handle. Version 3 proposes the SCRIPT attribute to specify a URL which contains a limited syntax script to be downloaded to the browser for execution to preprocess the FORM output before sending it to the ACTION destination. This SCRIPT proposal may change as part of the new proposals concerning APPLET and EMBED. All elements concerning FORM are Level 2. </dl> <hr> <H2><A NAME="INPUT">INPUT</A></H2> <dl> <dt><strong>Description</strong> <dd>The INPUT element is used to specify a simple input field as part of the contents in a FORM element. <code>TYPE=text</code> is default. <code>NAME</code> defines the symbolic name of the field returned to the server on submission and must be present for all but <code>TYPE=submit|reset</code>. For <code>TYPE=checkbox|radio</code>, multiple INPUT elements may have the same NAME value. <code>TYPE=radio</code> insures that exactly one choice amongst INPUT elements with the same NAME value is selected at all times. <code>VALUE</code> is used to specify a default. For <code>TYPE=text|password</code> VALUE defines default text to be returned, which normally is null. For <code>TYPE=password</code> the value should be obscured as it is entered. For <code>TYPE=checkbox|radio</code> VALUE defines the value returned when the checkbox or radio is selected, which defaults to "on" For <code>TYPE=submit|reset</code> VALUE defines the label for the pushbutton. Multiple <code>TYPE=submit</code> should have different NAME values to identify which submission button was selected. <code>CHECKED</code> defaults the specific checkbox or radio INPUT to selected. For <code>TYPE=radio</code> the default element checked is the first among those with the same NAME value. <code>TYPE=image</code> defines an image, whose <a href="#URL">URL</a>is identified by the SRC attribute, which, when clicked, performs the form submission and sends the X,Y coordinates of the click, similar to ISMAP in the IMG element. <code>SIZE</code> and <code>MAXLENGTH</code> are only used with <code>TYPE=text|password</code>. <code>SIZE</code> is the physical size of the displayed input field expressed in characters or characters,rows. <code>MAXLENGTH</code> is the maximum number of characters that are accepted as input. <dt><strong>Minimum Attributes</strong> <dd><code><INPUT></code> <dt><strong>All Possible Attributes</strong> <dd><code><INPUT TYPE="text | password | checkbox | radio | submit | reset | hidden | image | file | range | scribble | jot" LANG="..." DIR=ltr|rtl ID="..." CLASS="..." NAME="..." VALUE="..." SRC="..." CHECKED SIZE="..." MAXLENGTH=number ALIGN=top|middle|bottom|left|right ACCEPT="..." DISABLED ERROR="..." MIN=number MAX=number MD="..."></code> <dt><strong>Elements Allowed Within...</strong> <dd>The INPUT element is defined as having no content. <dt><strong>Allowed In Content Of...</strong> <dd><code><a href="#FORM"><FORM></a> </code> <dt><strong>Variations</strong> <dd>RFC 1866 defines the TYPE attribute values of <code>text|password|checkbox|radio|submit|reset|hidden|image</code> The <a href="#TEXTAREA"><TEXTAREA></a> element should be used instead of this INPUT element for multiline input areas. <code>TYPE=hidden VALUE="..."</code> is recognized by some browsers, and is used to submit fixed information not entered by the user. Note that RFC 1866 sets a max limit of 1024 characters on VALUE. RFC 1866 only defines <code>ALIGN=top|middle|bottom</code> <p> RFC 1867 defines a mechanism for FORM-based file upload. It defines the value <code>file</code> for the TYPE attribute and defines a new ACCEPT attribute. Specifying <code>TYPE=file</code> permits attaching one or more local files to the submitted output. The browser may permit the user to specify multiple file names in response to a single INPUT element with <code>TYPE=file</code> ACCEPT is a list of media types or type patterns allowed for input. The valid ACCEPT values and meaning of those values is platform dependent. The value for the VALUE attribute specifies a default file name. The browser must ask for confirmation before sending any file based on the default file name. A value for the SIZE attribute of "<code>width,height</code>" would specify a default filename width for the input display and height sufficient to show some number of files. A value for the MAXLENGTH attribute specifies a maximum Content-Length (in bytes) which the responding server is likely to accept for transferred files. Including an INPUT element with <code>TYPE=file</code> requires also specifying <code>ENCTYPE="multipart/form-data" METHOD=post</code> on the enclosing FORM element. If the FORM does not specify this ENCTYPE, the behavior is unspecified and the file transfer is likely to be rejected by the responding server. Netscape 2.0 implements FORM-based file upload. <p> The LANG and DIR attributes are introduced with the internationalization proposal. Version 3 proposes the additional TYPE attribute values of <code>range|scribble</code>. A beta version of Netscape includes a TYPE attribute value of <code>jot</code> which is similar to <code>scribble</code>. Version 3 proposes the additional DISABLED, ERROR, MIN, MAX, and MD attributes. The Version 3 proposed <code>TYPE=range</code> uses the proposed MIN and MAX attributes to specify limits to numeric (real or integer) input. The proposed default value is halfway between MIN and MAX. The Version 3 proposed <code>TYPE=scribble</code> is to allow the user to scribble with a pointing device on top of the image specified with the SRC attribute. The Version 3 proposed DISABLED attribute would display this INPUT, but prohibit user entry/modification. The Version 3 proposed ERROR attribute defines text to be displayed in the event that the entered value for this INPUT is invalid. All elements concerning FORM are Level 2. </dl> <hr> <H2><A NAME="OPTION">OPTION</A></H2> <dl> <dt><strong>Description</strong> <dd>The OPTION element identifies a choice in a SELECT element, which in turn is part of the contents of a FORM element. SELECTED specifies that this option is selected by default. If SELECT allows MULTIPLE, then multiple options may be SELECTED. If the VALUE attribute it not present and the OPTION is selected, the OPTION contents is returned upon submission of the FORM. If the VALUE attribute is present and the OPTION is selected, the value of the VALUE attribute is returned instead of the contents. <dt><strong>Minimum Attributes</strong> <dd><code><OPTION>characters... </code> <dt><strong>All Possible Attributes</strong> <dd><code> <OPTION SELECTED VALUE="..." LANG="..." DIR=ltr|rtl ID="..." CLASS="..." DISABLED ERROR="..." SHAPE="..." >characters... </OPTION> </code> <dt><strong>Elements Allowed Within...</strong> <dd>The OPTION element may only contain parsed character data. <dt><strong>Allowed In Content Of...</strong> <dd><code><a href="#SELECT"><SELECT></a> </code> <dt><strong>Variations</strong> <dd>The DISABLED attribute was part of an early Version 2 proposal, but is not defined in RFC 1866. It is defined in Version 3, and would display this OPTION, but prohibit user selection/deselection. RFC 1866 sets a max limit of 1024 characters on VALUE. Version 3 proposes the ERROR and SHAPE attributes. The Version 3 proposed ERROR attribute defines text to be displayed in the event that selectiing this OPTION is invalid. The Version 3 proposed SHAPE attribute defines the shape of the "hotspot" on the imgage defined by the SRC attribute of the surrounding SELECT element. The proposed values of SHAPE are: <code>"default"</code>, <code>"circle x,y,r"</code>, <code>"rect x,y,w,h"</code>, and <code>"polygon x1,y1,x2,y2,..."</code>. All elements concerning FORM are Level 2. </dl> <hr> <H2><A NAME="SELECT">SELECT</A></H2> <dl> <dt><strong>Description</strong> <dd>The SELECT element defines a menu of a series of selectable input in a FORM, each identified with the OPTION element. At least one OPTION element is expected within the SELECT contents. NAME is the symbolic name of the field returned to the server on submission. SIZE determines the number of OPTIONS physically visible when the browser displays the FORM. The default selection will be the first OPTION in the SELECT contents. The MULTIPLE attribute, if present, allows multiple selections, and causes no OPTION to be the default. <dt><strong>Minimum Attributes</strong> <dd><code><SELECT NAME="...">characters... </SELECT></code> <dt><strong>All Possible Attributes</strong> <dd><code><SELECT NAME="..." SIZE=value MULTIPLE LANG="..." DIR=ltr|rtl ID="..." CLASS="..." ALIGN=top|middle|bottom|left|right DISABLED ERROR="..." SRC="..." MD="..." WIDTH=value HEIGHT=value UNITS=pixels|em>characters... </SELECT></code> <dt><strong>Elements Allowed Within...</strong> <dd>element <code> <a href="#OPTION"><OPTION></a> </code> Note that the elements <code> <a href="#INPUT"><INPUT></a> <a href="#SELECT"><SELECT></a> <a href="#TEXTAREA"><TEXTAREA></a> </code> are expressly prohibited by RFC 1866 from being nested within the SELECT element content <dt><strong>Allowed In Content Of...</strong> <dd><code><a href="#FORM"><FORM></a> </code> <dt><strong>Variations</strong> <dd>The ERROR attribute without a value was first introduced in an early Version 2 proposal but is not in RFC 1866. The LANG and DIR attributes are introduced with the internationalization proposal. Version 3 proposes the ALIGN, DISABLED, ERROR (with a value), SRC, MD, WIDTH, HEIGHT, and UNITS attributes. The Version 3 proposed DISABLED attribute would display this menu, but prohibit user entry/modification. The Version 3 proposed ERROR attribute defines text to be displayed in the event that the current selections for this menu are invalid. Version 3 proposes a SRC attribute to identify a URL for an image to be displayed instead of the OPTION texts for this menu, with each OPTION element identifying its "hotspot" on this image. If SRC is present, the texts would only be used for non-graphical browsers. All elements concerning FORM are Level 2. </dl> <hr> <address> <A HREF="http://www.webtechs.com/html-val-svc/"><IMG src="//www.webtechs.com/html-val-svc/images/valid_html.gif" ALT="HTML 2.0 Checked!"></A> Last Modified: 7 December 1995 <p> Michael J. Hannah<br> Sandia National Laboratories<br> <A HREF="mailto:mjhanna@sandia.gov">mjhanna@sandia.gov</A> </address> <hr>  <a href="http://www.sandia.gov/">Welcome to Sandia National Labs</a> || <a href="http://www.doe.gov">DOE Home Page</a> || <a href="http://www.sandia.gov/doing_bus.html">Doing Business with Sandia</a> || <a href="http://www.sandia.gov/search.html">Search Sandia Information</a> || <a href="mailto:webmaster@www.sandia.gov">Send questions about Sandia</a> ||<a href="http://www.sandia.gov/disclaimer.html">Sandia disclaimer of liability</a>  <hr> </BODY> </HTML>
Elements Allowed Within...: members of group body.content and elements </a> </code> but not element <code> <a href="#FORM"><FORM></a> </code> <dt><strong>Allowed In Content Of...</strong> <dd>Any element that permits members of group <code><a href="#block.forms">block.forms</a> </code> <dt><strong>Variations</strong> <dd>The original definition of FORM only defined the default value of <code>application/x-www-form-urlencoded</code> for the ENCTYPE attribute. RFC 1867 adds the value of <code>multipart/form-data</code> for this attribute to permit a FORM to upload one or more files in addition to the FORM data. METHOD=POST is required with this value of ENCTYPE. This file upload extension is implemented in Netscape 2.0. Most current browsers only handle ACTION for the <code>http:</code> access type, but proposals for handling the <code>mailto:</code> access type are being discussed. The LANG, DIR, and ACCEPT-CHARSET attributes are introduced with the internationalization proposal. The ACCEPT-CHARSET attribute is to provide a hint as to the character set or sets that the receiving URL is prepared to handle. Version 3 proposes the SCRIPT attribute to specify a URL which contains a limited syntax script to be downloaded to the browser for execution to preprocess the FORM output before sending it to the ACTION destination. This SCRIPT proposal may change as part of the new proposals concerning APPLET and EMBED. All elements concerning FORM are Level 2. </dl> <hr> <H2><A NAME="INPUT">INPUT</A></H2> <dl> <dt><strong>Description</strong> <dd>The INPUT element is used to specify a simple input field as part of the contents in a FORM element. <code>TYPE=text</code> is default. <code>NAME</code> defines the symbolic name of the field returned to the server on submission and must be present for all but <code>TYPE=submit|reset</code>. For <code>TYPE=checkbox|radio</code>, multiple INPUT elements may have the same NAME value. <code>TYPE=radio</code> insures that exactly one choice amongst INPUT elements with the same NAME value is selected at all times. <code>VALUE</code> is used to specify a default. For <code>TYPE=text|password</code> VALUE defines default text to be returned, which normally is null. For <code>TYPE=password</code> the value should be obscured as it is entered. For <code>TYPE=checkbox|radio</code> VALUE defines the value returned when the checkbox or radio is selected, which defaults to "on" For <code>TYPE=submit|reset</code> VALUE defines the label for the pushbutton. Multiple <code>TYPE=submit</code> should have different NAME values to identify which submission button was selected. <code>CHECKED</code> defaults the specific checkbox or radio INPUT to selected. For <code>TYPE=radio</code> the default element checked is the first among those with the same NAME value. <code>TYPE=image</code> defines an image, whose <a href="#URL">URL</a>is identified by the SRC attribute, which, when clicked, performs the form submission and sends the X,Y coordinates of the click, similar to ISMAP in the IMG element. <code>SIZE</code> and <code>MAXLENGTH</code> are only used with <code>TYPE=text|password</code>. <code>SIZE</code> is the physical size of the displayed input field expressed in characters or characters,rows. <code>MAXLENGTH</code> is the maximum number of characters that are accepted as input. <dt><strong>Minimum Attributes</strong> <dd><code><INPUT></code> <dt><strong>All Possible Attributes</strong> <dd><code><INPUT TYPE="text | password | checkbox | radio | submit | reset | hidden | image | file | range | scribble | jot" LANG="..." DIR=ltr|rtl ID="..." CLASS="..." NAME="..." VALUE="..." SRC="..." CHECKED SIZE="..." MAXLENGTH=number ALIGN=top|middle|bottom|left|right ACCEPT="..." DISABLED ERROR="..." MIN=number MAX=number MD="..."></code> <dt><strong>Elements Allowed Within...</strong> <dd>The INPUT element is defined as having no content. <dt><strong>Allowed In Content Of...</strong> <dd><code><a href="#FORM"><FORM></a> </code> <dt><strong>Variations</strong> <dd>RFC 1866 defines the TYPE attribute values of <code>text|password|checkbox|radio|submit|reset|hidden|image</code> The <a href="#TEXTAREA"><TEXTAREA></a> element should be used instead of this INPUT element for multiline input areas. <code>TYPE=hidden VALUE="..."</code> is recognized by some browsers, and is used to submit fixed information not entered by the user. Note that RFC 1866 sets a max limit of 1024 characters on VALUE. RFC 1866 only defines <code>ALIGN=top|middle|bottom</code> <p> RFC 1867 defines a mechanism for FORM-based file upload. It defines the value <code>file</code> for the TYPE attribute and defines a new ACCEPT attribute. Specifying <code>TYPE=file</code> permits attaching one or more local files to the submitted output. The browser may permit the user to specify multiple file names in response to a single INPUT element with <code>TYPE=file</code> ACCEPT is a list of media types or type patterns allowed for input. The valid ACCEPT values and meaning of those values is platform dependent. The value for the VALUE attribute specifies a default file name. The browser must ask for confirmation before sending any file based on the default file name. A value for the SIZE attribute of "<code>width,height</code>" would specify a default filename width for the input display and height sufficient to show some number of files. A value for the MAXLENGTH attribute specifies a maximum Content-Length (in bytes) which the responding server is likely to accept for transferred files. Including an INPUT element with <code>TYPE=file</code> requires also specifying <code>ENCTYPE="multipart/form-data" METHOD=post</code> on the enclosing FORM element. If the FORM does not specify this ENCTYPE, the behavior is unspecified and the file transfer is likely to be rejected by the responding server. Netscape 2.0 implements FORM-based file upload. <p> The LANG and DIR attributes are introduced with the internationalization proposal. Version 3 proposes the additional TYPE attribute values of <code>range|scribble</code>. A beta version of Netscape includes a TYPE attribute value of <code>jot</code> which is similar to <code>scribble</code>. Version 3 proposes the additional DISABLED, ERROR, MIN, MAX, and MD attributes. The Version 3 proposed <code>TYPE=range</code> uses the proposed MIN and MAX attributes to specify limits to numeric (real or integer) input. The proposed default value is halfway between MIN and MAX. The Version 3 proposed <code>TYPE=scribble</code> is to allow the user to scribble with a pointing device on top of the image specified with the SRC attribute. The Version 3 proposed DISABLED attribute would display this INPUT, but prohibit user entry/modification. The Version 3 proposed ERROR attribute defines text to be displayed in the event that the entered value for this INPUT is invalid. All elements concerning FORM are Level 2. </dl> <hr> <H2><A NAME="OPTION">OPTION</A></H2> <dl> <dt><strong>Description</strong> <dd>The OPTION element identifies a choice in a SELECT element, which in turn is part of the contents of a FORM element. SELECTED specifies that this option is selected by default. If SELECT allows MULTIPLE, then multiple options may be SELECTED. If the VALUE attribute it not present and the OPTION is selected, the OPTION contents is returned upon submission of the FORM. If the VALUE attribute is present and the OPTION is selected, the value of the VALUE attribute is returned instead of the contents. <dt><strong>Minimum Attributes</strong> <dd><code><OPTION>characters... </code> <dt><strong>All Possible Attributes</strong> <dd><code> <OPTION SELECTED VALUE="..." LANG="..." DIR=ltr|rtl ID="..." CLASS="..." DISABLED ERROR="..." SHAPE="..." >characters... </OPTION> </code> <dt><strong>Elements Allowed Within...</strong> <dd>The OPTION element may only contain parsed character data. <dt><strong>Allowed In Content Of...</strong> <dd><code><a href="#SELECT"><SELECT></a> </code> <dt><strong>Variations</strong> <dd>The DISABLED attribute was part of an early Version 2 proposal, but is not defined in RFC 1866. It is defined in Version 3, and would display this OPTION, but prohibit user selection/deselection. RFC 1866 sets a max limit of 1024 characters on VALUE. Version 3 proposes the ERROR and SHAPE attributes. The Version 3 proposed ERROR attribute defines text to be displayed in the event that selectiing this OPTION is invalid. The Version 3 proposed SHAPE attribute defines the shape of the "hotspot" on the imgage defined by the SRC attribute of the surrounding SELECT element. The proposed values of SHAPE are: <code>"default"</code>, <code>"circle x,y,r"</code>, <code>"rect x,y,w,h"</code>, and <code>"polygon x1,y1,x2,y2,..."</code>. All elements concerning FORM are Level 2. </dl> <hr> <H2><A NAME="SELECT">SELECT</A></H2> <dl> <dt><strong>Description</strong> <dd>The SELECT element defines a menu of a series of selectable input in a FORM, each identified with the OPTION element. At least one OPTION element is expected within the SELECT contents. NAME is the symbolic name of the field returned to the server on submission. SIZE determines the number of OPTIONS physically visible when the browser displays the FORM. The default selection will be the first OPTION in the SELECT contents. The MULTIPLE attribute, if present, allows multiple selections, and causes no OPTION to be the default. <dt><strong>Minimum Attributes</strong> <dd><code><SELECT NAME="...">characters... </SELECT></code> <dt><strong>All Possible Attributes</strong> <dd><code><SELECT NAME="..." SIZE=value MULTIPLE LANG="..." DIR=ltr|rtl ID="..." CLASS="..." ALIGN=top|middle|bottom|left|right DISABLED ERROR="..." SRC="..." MD="..." WIDTH=value HEIGHT=value UNITS=pixels|em>characters... </SELECT></code> <dt><strong>Elements Allowed Within...</strong> <dd>element <code> <a href="#OPTION"><OPTION></a> </code> Note that the elements <code> <a href="#INPUT"><INPUT></a> <a href="#SELECT"><SELECT></a> <a href="#TEXTAREA"><TEXTAREA></a> </code> are expressly prohibited by RFC 1866 from being nested within the SELECT element content <dt><strong>Allowed In Content Of...</strong> <dd><code><a href="#FORM"><FORM></a> </code> <dt><strong>Variations</strong> <dd>The ERROR attribute without a value was first introduced in an early Version 2 proposal but is not in RFC 1866. The LANG and DIR attributes are introduced with the internationalization proposal. Version 3 proposes the ALIGN, DISABLED, ERROR (with a value), SRC, MD, WIDTH, HEIGHT, and UNITS attributes. The Version 3 proposed DISABLED attribute would display this menu, but prohibit user entry/modification. The Version 3 proposed ERROR attribute defines text to be displayed in the event that the current selections for this menu are invalid. Version 3 proposes a SRC attribute to identify a URL for an image to be displayed instead of the OPTION texts for this menu, with each OPTION element identifying its "hotspot" on this image. If SRC is present, the texts would only be used for non-graphical browsers. All elements concerning FORM are Level 2. </dl> <hr> <address> <A HREF="http://www.webtechs.com/html-val-svc/"><IMG src="//www.webtechs.com/html-val-svc/images/valid_html.gif" ALT="HTML 2.0 Checked!"></A> Last Modified: 7 December 1995 <p> Michael J. Hannah<br> Sandia National Laboratories<br> <A HREF="mailto:mjhanna@sandia.gov">mjhanna@sandia.gov</A> </address> <hr>  <a href="http://www.sandia.gov/">Welcome to Sandia National Labs</a> || <a href="http://www.doe.gov">DOE Home Page</a> || <a href="http://www.sandia.gov/doing_bus.html">Doing Business with Sandia</a> || <a href="http://www.sandia.gov/search.html">Search Sandia Information</a> || <a href="mailto:webmaster@www.sandia.gov">Send questions about Sandia</a> ||<a href="http://www.sandia.gov/disclaimer.html">Sandia disclaimer of liability</a>  <hr> </BODY> </HTML>