7.6 HTML Input Form Attributes

The form Attribute

• The input form attribute specifies the form the <input> element belongs to.
• The value of this attribute must be equal to the id attribute of the <form> element it belongs to.

Example 1: The form attribute

An input field located outside of the HTML form (but still a part of the form):

<form action="/action_page.php" id="form1">
  <label for="fname">First name:</label>
  <input type="text" id="fname" name="fname"><br><br>
  <input type="submit" value="Submit">
</form>

<label for="lname">Last name:</label>
<input type="text" id="lname" name="lname" form="form1"> 

The formaction Attribute

The input formaction attribute specifies the URL of the file that will process the input when the form is submitted.

Note: This attribute overrides the action attribute of the <form> element.

The formaction attribute works with the following input types: submit and image.

Example 2: The formaction attribute

An HTML form with two submit buttons, with different actions:

<form action="/action_page.php">
  <label for="fname">First name:</label>
  <input type="text" id="fname" name="fname"><br><br>
  <label for="lname">Last name:</label>
  <input type="text" id="lname" name="lname"><br><br>
  <input type="submit" value="Submit">
  <input type="submit" formaction="/action_page2.php" value="Submit as Admin">
</form>

The formenctype Attribute

The input formenctype attribute specifies how the form-data should be encoded when submitted (only for forms with method="post").

Note: This attribute overrides the enctype attribute of the <form> element.

The formenctype attribute works with the following input types: submit and image.

Example 3: The formenctype attribute

A form with two submit buttons. The first sends the form-data with default encoding, the second sends the form-data encoded as "multipart/form-data":

<form action="/action_page_binary.asp" method="post">
  <label for="fname">First name:</label>
  <input type="text" id="fname" name="fname"><br><br>
  <input type="submit" value="Submit">
  <input type="submit" formenctype="multipart/form-data"
  value="Submit as Multipart/form-data">
</form>

The formmethod Attribute

The input formmethod attribute defines the HTTP method for sending form-data to the action URL.

Note: This attribute overrides the method attribute of the <form> element.

• The formmethod attribute works with the following input types: submit and image.
• The form-data can be sent as URL variables (method="get") or as an HTTP post transaction (method="post").

Notes on the "get" method:

• This method appends the form-data to the URL in name/value pairs
• This method is useful for form submissions where a user want to bookmark the result
• There is a limit to how much data you can place in a URL (varies between browsers), therefore, you cannot be sure that all of the form-data will be correctly transferred
• Never use the "get" method to pass sensitive information! (password or other sensitive information will be visible in the browser's address bar)

Notes on the "post" method:

• This method sends the form-data as an HTTP post transaction
• Form submissions with the "post" method cannot be bookmarked
• The "post" method is more robust and secure than "get", and "post" does not have size limitations

Example 4: The formmethod attribute

A form with two submit buttons. The first sends the form-data with method="get". The second sends the form-data with method="post":

<form action="/action_page.php" method="get">
  <label for="fname">First name:</label>
  <input type="text" id="fname" name="fname"><br><br>
  <label for="lname">Last name:</label>
  <input type="text" id="lname" name="lname"><br><br>
  <input type="submit" value="Submit using GET">
  <input type="submit" formmethod="post" value="Submit using POST">
</form>

The formtarget Attribute

The input formtarget attribute specifies a name or a keyword that indicates where to display the response that is received after submitting the form.

Note: This attribute overrides the target attribute of the <form> element.

The formtarget attribute works with the following input types: submit and image.

Example 5: The formtarget attribute

A form with two submit buttons, with different target windows:

<form action="/action_page.php">
  <label for="fname">First name:</label>
  <input type="text" id="fname" name="fname"><br><br>
  <label for="lname">Last name:</label>
  <input type="text" id="lname" name="lname"><br><br>
  <input type="submit" value="Submit">
  <input type="submit" formtarget="_blank" value="Submit to a new window/tab">
</form>

The formnovalidate Attribute

The input formnovalidate attribute specifies that an <input> element should not be validated when submitted.

Note: This attribute overrides the novalidate attribute of the <form> element.

The formnovalidate attribute works with the following input types: submit.

Example 6: The formnovalidate attribute

A form with two submit buttons (with and without validation):

<form action="/action_page.php">
  <label for="email">Enter your email:</label>
  <input type="email" id="email" name="email"><br><br>
  <input type="submit" value="Submit">
  <input type="submit" formnovalidate="formnovalidate"
  value="Submit without validation">
</form>

The novalidate Attribute

• The novalidate attribute is a <form> attribute.
• When present, novalidate specifies that all of the form-data should not be validated when submitted.

Example 7: The novalidate attribute

Specify that no form-data should be validated on submit:

<form action="/action_page.php" novalidate>
  <label for="email">Enter your email:</label>
  <input type="email" id="email" name="email"><br><br>
  <input type="submit" value="Submit">
</form>