HTMLInputElement

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

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

align

string: Represents the alignment of the element. Use CSS instead.

autocapitalize

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 by the list attribute. The property may be null if no HTML element 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.

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. See type attribute of <input> for possible values.

useMap

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

form Read only

HTMLFormElement: Returns a reference to the parent <form> element.

formAction

string: Returns / Sets the element's formaction attribute, containing the URI 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.

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.

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.

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.

accept

string: Returns / Sets the element's accept attribute, containing comma-separated list of file types that can be selected.

allowdirs

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.

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.

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.

mozSetFileArray()

Sets the files selected on the input to the given array of File objects. This is an alternative to mozSetFileNameArray() which can be used in frame scripts: a chrome script can open files as File objects and send them via message manager.

mozGetFileNameArray()

Returns an array of all the file names from the input.

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. Also available via the oninput event handler property.

invalid

Fired when an element does not satisfy its constraints during constraint validation. Also available via the oninvalid event handler property.

search

Fired when a search is initiated on an <input> of type="search". Also available via the onsearch event handler property.

selectionchange event

Fires when the text selection in a <input> element has been changed.

• HTML element implementing this interface: <input>