HTMLForms
HTMLForms
HTMLForms
HTML Forms are required when you want to collect some data from the
site visitor. For example during user registration you would like to collect
information such as name, email address, credit card, etc.
A form will take input from the site visitor and then will post it to a back-
end application such as CGI, ASP Script or PHP script etc. The back-end
application will perform required processing on the passed data based on
defined business logic inside the application.
There are various form elements available like text fields, text area fields,
drop-down menus, radio buttons, checkboxes, etc.
The HTML <form> tag is used to create an HTML form and it has
following syntax:
There are different types of form controls that you can use to collect data using HTML
form:
Single-line text input controls - This control is used for items that require only one line of
user input, such as search boxes or names. They are created using HTML <input> tag.
Password input controls - This is also a single-line text input but it masks the character as
soon as a user enters it. They are also created using HTML <input> tag.
Multi-line text input controls - This is used when the user is required to give details that
may be longer than a single sentence. Multi-line input controls are created using
HTML <textarea> tag.
Single-line text input controls
This control is used for items that require only one line of user input, such as search
boxes or names. They are created using HTML <input> tag.
Example
<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<head>
<title>Text Input Control</title>
</head>
<body>
<form >
First name: <input type="text" name="first_name" /> <br>
Last name: <input type="text" name="last_name" />
</form>
</body>
</html>
Attributes
Following is the list of attributes for <input> tag for creating text field.
.
Attribute Description
Type Indicates the type of input control and for text input control it
will be set to text.
Name Used to give a name to the control which is sent to the server
to be recognized and get the value.
Value This can be used to provide an initial value inside the control.
This is also a single-line text input but it masks the character as soon as a user
enters it. They are also created using HTML <input> tag but type attribute is set
to password.
Example
<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<head>
<title>Password Input Control</title>
</head>
<body>
<form >
User ID : <input type="text" name="user_id" /> <br>
Password: <input type="password" name="password" />
</form>
</body>
</html>
Multiple-Line Text Input Controls
This is used when the user is required to give details that may be longer than a single sentence. Multi-
line input controls are created using HTML <textarea> tag.
Example
<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<head>
<title>Multiple-Line Input Control</title>
</head>
<body>
<form>
Description : <br />
<textarea rows="5" cols="50" name="description">
Enter description here... </textarea>
</form>
</body>
</html>
Attributes
Attribute Description
Checkboxes are used when more than one option is required to be selected. They are
also created using HTML <input> tag but type attribute is set to checkbox.
Example
<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<head>
<title>Checkbox Control</title>
</head>
<body>
<form>
<input type="checkbox" name=“cprog" value="on"> C Programming
<input type="checkbox" name=“htm" value="on"> HTML
</form>
</body>
</html>
Attributes
Attribute Description
Type Indicates the type of input control and for checkbox input control it
will be set to checkbox.
Name Used to give a name to the control which is sent to the server to
be recognized and get the value.
Radio buttons are used when out of many options, just one option is required to be
selected. They are also created using HTML <input> tag but type attribute is set to radio.
<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<head>
<title>Radio Box Control</title>
</head>
<body>
<form>
<input type="radio" name=“gender" value="male"> Male
<input type="radio" name=“gender" value=“female"> Female
</form>
</body>
</html>
Attributes
Attribute Description
Type Indicates the type of input control and for checkbox input
control it will be set to radio.
Name Used to give a name to the control which is sent to the server to
be recognized and get the value.
Value The value that will be used if the radio box is selected.
A select box, also called drop down box which provides option to list down various options
in the form of drop down list, from where a user can select one or more options.
<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<head>
<title>Select Box Control</title>
</head>
<body>
<form>
<select name="dropdown">
<option value=“Java" selected>Java</option>
<option value=“html">HTML</option>
</select>
</form>
</body>
</html>
Attributes
name Used to give a name to the control which is sent to the server to
be recognized and get the value.
Attribute Description
value The value that will be used if an option in the select box box is
selected.
selected Specifies that this option should be the initially selected value
when the page loads.
If you want to allow a user to upload a file to your web site, you will need to use a file
upload box, also known as a file select box. This is also created using the <input> element
but type attribute is set to file.
Example
<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<head>
<title>File Upload Box</title>
</head>
<body>
<form>
<input type="file" name="fileupload" accept="image/*" />
</form>
</body>
</html>
Attributes
Following is the list of important attributes of file upload box:
Attribute Description
name Used to give a name to the control which is sent to the server
to be recognized and get the value.
accept Specifies the types of files that the server accepts.
Attribute Description
Button Controls
There are various ways in HTML to create clickable buttons. You can also create a clickable
button using <input> tag by setting its type attribute to button. The type attribute can take
the following values: This creates a button that automatically submits a form.
submit
<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<head>
<title>File Upload Box</title>
</head>
<body>
<form>
<input type="submit" name="submit" value="Submit" />
<input type="reset" name="reset" value="Reset" />
<input type="button" name="ok" value="OK" />
<input type="image" name="imagebutton" src=“a.png" />
</form>
</body>
</html>