HTMLInputElement

The HTMLInputElement interface provides special properties and methods for manipulating the options, layout, and presentation of <input> elements.

Instance properties

Some properties only apply to input element types that support the corresponding attributes.

align Deprecated: string: Represents the alignment of the element. Use CSS instead.
autocapitalize Experimental: string: Defines the capitalization behavior for user input. Valid values are none, off, characters, words or sentences.
defaultValue: string: Returns / Sets the default value as originally specified in the HTML that created this object.
dirName: string: Returns / Sets the directionality of the element.
inputmode: Provides a hint to browsers as to the type of virtual keyboard configuration to use when editing this element or its contents.
labels Read only: NodeList array: Returns a list of <label> elements that are labels for this element.
list Read only: HTMLElement: Returns the element pointed to by the list attribute. The property may be null if no HTML element is found in the same tree.
multiple: boolean: Returns / Sets the element's multiple attribute, indicating whether more than one value is possible (e.g., multiple files).
name: string: Returns / Sets the element's name attribute, containing a name that identifies the element when submitting the form.
popoverTargetAction: Gets and sets the action to be performed ("hide", "show", or "toggle") on a popover element being controlled by an <input> element of type="button". It reflects the value of the popovertargetaction HTML attribute.
popoverTargetElement: Gets and sets the popover element to control via an <input> element of type="button". The JavaScript equivalent of the popovertarget HTML attribute.
step: string: Returns / Sets the element's step attribute, which works with min and max to limit the increments at which a numeric or date-time value can be set. It can be the string any or a positive floating point number. If this is not set to any, the control accepts only values at multiples of the step value greater than the minimum.
type: string: Returns / Sets the element's type attribute, indicating the type of control to display. For possible values, see the documentation for the type attribute.
useMap Deprecated: string: Represents a client-side image map.
value: string: Returns / Sets the current value of the control. If the user enters a value different from the value expected, this may return an empty string.
valueAsDate: Date: Returns / Sets the value of the element, interpreted as a date, or null if conversion is not possible.
valueAsNumber: double: Returns the value of the element, interpreted as one of the following, in order: A time value, a number or NaN if conversion is impossible

Instance properties related to the parent form

form Read only: HTMLFormElement: Returns a reference to the parent <form> element.
formAction: string: Returns / Sets the element's formaction attribute, containing the URL of a program that processes information submitted by the element. This overrides the action attribute of the parent form.
formEnctype: string: Returns / Sets the element's formenctype attribute, containing the type of content that is used to submit the form to the server. This overrides the enctype attribute of the parent form.
formMethod: string: Returns / Sets the element's formmethod attribute, containing the HTTP method that the browser uses to submit the form. This overrides the method attribute of the parent form.
formNoValidate: boolean: Returns / Sets the element's formnovalidate attribute, indicating that the form is not to be validated when it is submitted. This overrides the novalidate attribute of the parent form.
formTarget: string: Returns / Sets the element's formtarget attribute, containing a name or keyword indicating where to display the response that is received after submitting the form. This overrides the target attribute of the parent form.

Instance properties that apply to any type of input element that is not hidden

autofocus: boolean: Returns / Sets the element's autofocus attribute, which specifies that a form control should have input focus when the page loads, unless the user overrides it, for example by typing in a different control. Only one form element in a document can have the autofocus attribute.
disabled: boolean: Returns / Sets the element's disabled attribute, indicating that the control is not available for interaction. The input values will not be submitted with the form. See also readonly.
required: boolean: Returns / Sets the element's required attribute, indicating that the user must fill in a value before submitting a form.
validationMessage Read only: string: Returns a localized message that describes the validation constraints that the control does not satisfy (if any). This is the empty string if the control is not a candidate for constraint validation (willValidate is false), or it satisfies its constraints. This value can be set by the setCustomValidity() method.
validity Read only: ValidityState: Returns the element's current validity state.
willValidate Read only: boolean: Returns whether the element is a candidate for constraint validation. It is false if any conditions bar it from constraint validation, including: its type is one of hidden, reset or button, it has a <datalist> ancestor or its disabled property is true.

Instance properties that apply only to elements of type checkbox or radio

checked: boolean: Returns / Sets the current state of the element.
defaultChecked: boolean: Returns / Sets the default state of a radio button or checkbox as originally specified in HTML that created this object.
indeterminate: boolean: Returns whether the checkbox or radio button is in indeterminate state. For checkboxes, the effect is that the appearance of the checkbox is obscured/greyed in some way as to indicate its state is indeterminate (not checked but not unchecked). Does not affect the value of the checked attribute, and clicking the checkbox will set the value to false.

Instance properties that apply only to elements of type image

alt: string: Returns / Sets the element's alt attribute, containing alternative text to use.
height: string: Returns / Sets the element's height attribute, which defines the height of the image displayed for the button.
src: string: Returns / Sets the element's src attribute, which specifies a URI for the location of an image to display on the graphical submit button.
width: string: Returns / Sets the element's width attribute, which defines the width of the image displayed for the button.

Instance properties that apply only to elements of type file

accept: string: Returns / Sets the element's accept attribute, containing comma-separated list of file types that can be selected.
allowdirs Non-standard: boolean: Part of the non-standard Directory Upload API. Indicates whether or not to allow directories and files both to be selected in the file list. Implemented only in Firefox and is hidden behind a preference.
files: FileList: Returns / Sets a list of File objects representing the files selected for upload.
webkitdirectory: boolean: Returns the webkitdirectory attribute. If true, the file-system-picker interface only accepts directories instead of files.
webkitEntries: FileSystemEntry array: Describes the currently selected files or directories.

Instance properties that apply only to visible elements containing text or numbers

autocomplete: string: Returns / Sets the element's autocomplete attribute, indicating whether the value of the control can be automatically completed by the browser.
max: string: Returns / Sets the element's max attribute, containing the maximum (numeric or date-time) value for this item, which must not be less than its minimum (min attribute) value.
maxLength: unsigned long: Returns / Sets the element's maxlength attribute, containing the maximum number of characters (in Unicode code points) that the value can have.
min: string: Returns / Sets the element's min attribute, containing the minimum (numeric or date-time) value for this item, which must not be greater than its maximum (max attribute) value.
minLength: unsigned long: Returns / Sets the element's minlength attribute, containing the minimum number of characters (in Unicode code points) that the value can have.
pattern: string: Returns / Sets the element's pattern attribute, containing a regular expression that the control's value is checked against. Use the title attribute to describe the pattern to help the user. This attribute only applies when the value of the type attribute is text, search, tel, url or email.
placeholder: string: Returns / Sets the element's placeholder attribute, containing a hint to the user of what can be entered in the control. The placeholder text must not contain carriage returns or line-feeds. This attribute only applies when the value of the type attribute is text, search, tel, url or email.
readOnly: boolean: Returns / Sets the element's readonly attribute, indicating that the user cannot modify the value of the control. This is ignored if the type is hidden, range, color, checkbox, radio, file, or a button type.
selectionEnd: unsigned long: Returns / Sets the end index of the selected text. When there's no selection, this returns the offset of the character immediately following the current text input cursor position.
selectionStart: unsigned long: Returns / Sets the beginning index of the selected text. When nothing is selected, this returns the position of the text input cursor (caret) inside of the <input> element.
selectionDirection: string: Returns / Sets the direction in which selection occurred. Possible values are: forward (the selection was performed in the start-to-end direction of the current locale), backward (the opposite direction) or none (the direction is unknown).
size: unsigned long: Returns / Sets the element's size attribute, containing visual size of the control. This value is in pixels unless the value of type is text or password, in which case, it is an integer number of characters. Applies only when type is set to text, search, tel, url, email, or password.

Instance methods

blur()

Removes focus from the input element; keystrokes will subsequently go nowhere.

click()

Simulates a click on the input element.

focus()

Focuses on the input element; keystrokes will subsequently go to this element.

select()

Selects all the text in the input element, and focuses it so the user can subsequently replace all of its content.

setSelectionRange()

Selects a range of text in the input element (but does not focus it).

setRangeText()

Replaces a range of text in the input element with new text.

setCustomValidity()

Sets a custom validity message for the element. If this message is not the empty string, then the element is suffering from a custom validity error, and does not validate.

showPicker()

Shows a browser picker for date, time, color, and files.

checkValidity()

Returns a boolean value that is false if the element is a candidate for constraint validation, and it does not satisfy its constraints. In this case, it also fires an invalid event at the element. It returns true if the element is not a candidate for constraint validation, or if it satisfies its constraints.

reportValidity()

Runs the checkValidity() method, and if it returns false (for an invalid input or no pattern attribute provided), then it reports to the user that the input is invalid in the same manner as if you submitted a form.

stepDown()

Decrements the value by (step * n), where n defaults to 1 if not specified. Throws an InvalidStateError exception:

if the method is not applicable to for the current type value,
if the element has no step value,
if the value cannot be converted to a number,
if the resulting value is above the max or below the min.

stepUp()

Increments the value by (step * n), where n defaults to 1 if not specified. Throws an InvalidStateError exception:

if the method is not applicable to for the current type value.,
if the element has no step value,
if the value cannot be converted to a number,
if the resulting value is above the max or below the min.

Events

Listen to these events using addEventListener() or by assigning an event listener to the oneventname property of this interface:

input: Fires when the value of an <input>, <select>, or <textarea> element has been changed. Note that this is actually fired on the HTMLElement interface and also applies to contenteditable elements, but we've listed it here because it is most commonly used with form input elements.
invalid: Fired when an element does not satisfy its constraints during constraint validation.
search Non-standard: Fired when a search is initiated on an <input> of type="search".
selectionchange event Experimental: Fires when the text selection in a <input> element has been changed.

Specifications

Specification
HTML Standard # htmlinputelement

Browser compatibility

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