- HTML Input Types
- HTML Input Types
- Input Type Text
- Example
- Input Type Password
- Example
- Input Type Submit
- Example
- Example
- Input Type Reset
- Example
- Input Type Radio
- Example
- Input Type Checkbox
- Example
- Input Type Button
- Example
- Input Type Color
- Example
- Input Type Date
- Example
- Example
- Input Type Datetime-local
- Example
- Input Type Email
- Example
- Input Type Image
- Example
- Input Type File
- Example
- Input Type Hidden
- Example
- Input Type Month
- Example
- Input Type Number
- Example
- Input Restrictions
- Example
- Input Type Range
- Example
- Input Type Search
- Example
- Input Type Tel
- Example
- Input Type Time
- Example
- Input Type Url
- Example
- Input Type Week
- How to Upload Files with HTML
- How to Access Files
- How to Include a Request Body
- How to Set the Content-Type
- Recap
HTML Input Types
This chapter describes the different types for the HTML element.
HTML Input Types
Here are the different input types you can use in HTML:
Tip: The default value of the type attribute is «text».
Input Type Text
defines a single-line text input field:
Example
This is how the HTML code above will be displayed in a browser:
Input Type Password
defines a password field:
Example
This is how the HTML code above will be displayed in a browser:
The characters in a password field are masked (shown as asterisks or circles).
Input Type Submit
defines a button for submitting form data to a form-handler.
The form-handler is typically a server page with a script for processing input data.
The form-handler is specified in the form’s action attribute:
Example
This is how the HTML code above will be displayed in a browser:
If you omit the submit button’s value attribute, the button will get a default text:
Example
Input Type Reset
defines a reset button that will reset all form values to their default values:
Example
This is how the HTML code above will be displayed in a browser:
If you change the input values and then click the «Reset» button, the form-data will be reset to the default values.
Input Type Radio
defines a radio button.
Radio buttons let a user select ONLY ONE of a limited number of choices:
Example
Choose your favorite Web language:
This is how the HTML code above will be displayed in a browser:
Input Type Checkbox
defines a checkbox.
Checkboxes let a user select ZERO or MORE options of a limited number of choices.
Example
This is how the HTML code above will be displayed in a browser:
I have a bike
I have a car
I have a boat
Input Type Button
defines a button:
Example
This is how the HTML code above will be displayed in a browser:
Input Type Color
The is used for input fields that should contain a color.
Depending on browser support, a color picker can show up in the input field.
Example
Input Type Date
The is used for input fields that should contain a date.
Depending on browser support, a date picker can show up in the input field.
Example
You can also use the min and max attributes to add restrictions to dates:
Example
Input Type Datetime-local
The specifies a date and time input field, with no time zone.
Depending on browser support, a date picker can show up in the input field.
Example
Input Type Email
The is used for input fields that should contain an e-mail address.
Depending on browser support, the e-mail address can be automatically validated when submitted.
Some smartphones recognize the email type, and add «.com» to the keyboard to match email input.
Example
Input Type Image
The defines an image as a submit button.
The path to the image is specified in the src attribute.
Example
Input Type File
The defines a file-select field and a «Browse» button for file uploads.
Example
Input Type Hidden
The defines a hidden input field (not visible to a user).
A hidden field lets web developers include data that cannot be seen or modified by users when a form is submitted.
A hidden field often stores what database record that needs to be updated when the form is submitted.
Note: While the value is not displayed to the user in the page’s content, it is visible (and can be edited) using any browser’s developer tools or «View Source» functionality. Do not use hidden inputs as a form of security!
Example
Input Type Month
The allows the user to select a month and year.
Depending on browser support, a date picker can show up in the input field.
Example
Input Type Number
The defines a numeric input field.
You can also set restrictions on what numbers are accepted.
The following example displays a numeric input field, where you can enter a value from 1 to 5:
Example
Input Restrictions
Here is a list of some common input restrictions:
Attribute | Description |
---|---|
checked | Specifies that an input field should be pre-selected when the page loads (for type=»checkbox» or type=»radio») |
disabled | Specifies that an input field should be disabled |
max | Specifies the maximum value for an input field |
maxlength | Specifies the maximum number of character for an input field |
min | Specifies the minimum value for an input field |
pattern | Specifies a regular expression to check the input value against |
readonly | Specifies that an input field is read only (cannot be changed) |
required | Specifies that an input field is required (must be filled out) |
size | Specifies the width (in characters) of an input field |
step | Specifies the legal number intervals for an input field |
value | Specifies the default value for an input field |
You will learn more about input restrictions in the next chapter.
The following example displays a numeric input field, where you can enter a value from 0 to 100, in steps of 10. The default value is 30:
Example
Input Type Range
The defines a control for entering a number whose exact value is not important (like a slider control). Default range is 0 to 100. However, you can set restrictions on what numbers are accepted with the min , max , and step attributes:
Example
Input Type Search
The is used for search fields (a search field behaves like a regular text field).
Example
Input Type Tel
The is used for input fields that should contain a telephone number.
Example
Input Type Time
The allows the user to select a time (no time zone).
Depending on browser support, a time picker can show up in the input field.
Example
Input Type Url
The is used for input fields that should contain a URL address.
Depending on browser support, the url field can be automatically validated when submitted.
Some smartphones recognize the url type, and adds «.com» to the keyboard to match url input.
Example
Input Type Week
The allows the user to select a week and year.
Depending on browser support, a date picker can show up in the input field.
How to Upload Files with HTML
Austin Gil
When building applications with HTML, you may eventually come to a point where you need to allow users to upload files. Surprisingly, it’s not quite as straightforward as you might assume.
In this post, we’ll look at all things you need to support file uploads in HTML.
How to Access Files
The very first step is accessing a file to upload. Unfortunately, or rather, fortunately, browsers can’t access our file systems. If they did, it would be a major security concern.
There is work being done on the File System Access API, but it’s experimental and will be limited access, so let’s just pretend it doesn’t exist.
Accessing a file requires user interaction, which means we need something in the UI for the user to interact with. Conveniently, there is the input element with a file type attribute.
On its own, a file input isn’t very useful. It allows a user to select a file from their device, but that’s about it.
To actually send the file to a server, we need to make an HTTP request, which means we need a . We’ll put the file input inside along with a to submit the form.
The input will also need a to make it accessible for assistive technology, an id attribute to associate it with the label, and a name attribute in order to include its data along with the HTTP request.
How to Include a Request Body
If we watch the network tab as we submit the form, we can see that it generates a GET request, and the payload is sent as a query string that looks like this: “ ?name=filename.txt ”. It’s essentially a key-value pair, with the key being the input name and the value being the name of the file.
Not quite what we’re going for here.
We can’t actually send a file using a GET request because you can’t put a file in the query string parameters. We need to put the file in the body of the request.
To do that, we need to send a POST request, which we can do by changing the form’s method attribute to «post» .
Now, if we explore that request, we can see that we are making a post request. We can also see that the request has a payload containing the form’s data. Unfortunately, the data is still just a key-value pair with the input name and the filename.
How to Set the Content-Type
We’re still not actually sending the file, and the reason has to do with the request “ Content-Type ”.
By default, when a form is submitted, the request is sent with a Content-Type of application/x-www-form-urlencoded . And unfortunately, we can’t send the binary file information as URL encoded data.
In order to send the file contents as binary data, we have to change the Content-Type of the request to multipart/form-data . And in order to do that, we can set the form’s enctype attribute.
Now, if we submit the form one more time, we can see the request uses the POST method and has the Content-Type set to multipart/form-data . In Chromium browsers, you’ll no longer see the request payload, but you can see it in the Firefox DevTools under the request Params tab.
Recap
With all that in place, we can upload files using HTML. To re-iterate, sending files with HTML requires three things:
- Create an input with the type of file to access the file system.
- Use a form with method=»post» to include a body on the request.
- Set the request’s Content-Type to multipart/form-data using the enctype attribute.
Thank you so much for reading. If you liked this article, and want to support me, the best ways to do so are to share it, sign up for my newsletter, and follow me on Twitter.
Austin Gil
For over ten years I helped organizations build fast, secure, accessible websites. Now I help others do the same through high-quality content, open-source projects, and presentations.
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