HTML <form> Tag
Topic: HTML5 Tags ReferencePrev|Next
Description
The <form> tag defines an HTML form that contains interactive controls which enable a user to submit information to a web server. An HTML form is used to capture user information such as username, password, address details, credit card information, and so on.
Information can be captured in the form using many different form controls, such as <input>, <textarea>, <select>, <option>, <button>. There are also labeling and grouping controls, which include the <optgroup>, <fieldset>, <legend>, and <label> elements.
The following table summarizes the usages context and the version history of this tag.
| Placement: | Block |
|---|---|
| Content: | Block, inline, and text, but not containing <form> elements |
| Start/End Tag: | Start tag: required, End tag: required |
| Version: | HTML 2, 3.2, 4, 4.01, 5 |
Syntax
The basic syntax of the <form> tag is given with:
The example below shows the <form> tag in action.
Example
Try this code »<form action="action.php" method="post">
<p>
First name: <input type="text" name="first-name">
<button type="submit" value="Submit">Submit</button>
<button type="reset" value="Reset">Reset</button>
</p>
</form>Tag-Specific Attributes
The following table shows the attributes that are specific to the <form> tag.
| Attribute | Value | Description |
|---|---|---|
accept |
content-type-list | Obsolete A comma-separated list of content types that the server accepts. |
accept-charset |
charset-list | Specifies the list of character encodings for input data that is accepted by the server processing this form. |
action |
URL | Specifies the URL of a program that processes the information submitted via the form. |
|
on |
Specifies whether the browser autofill feature for a form is on or off. |
enctype |
application/x-www-form-urlencodedmultipart/form-datatext/plain |
Specifies how the form data should be encoded when submitting the form to the server (only for method="post") |
method |
get |
Specifies which HTTP method will be used to submit the form data. |
name |
text | Specifies the name of a form. |
novalidate |
novalidate |
This Boolean attribute specifies that the form is not to be validated when submitted. |
target |
_blankframename |
Specifies a target to display the response that is received after submitting the form |
Note: The default value for the enctype attribute is application/x-www-form-urlencoded. The value multipart/form-data should be used in combination with the INPUT element (when type="file").
Global Attributes
Like all other HTML tags, the <form> tag supports the global attributes in HTML5.
Event Attributes
The <form> tag also supports the event attributes in HTML5.
Browser Compatibility
The <form> tag is supported in all major modern browsers.
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Basic Support—
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Further Reading
See tutorial on: HTML Forms.
Other form-related tags: <fieldset>, <legend>, <label>, <input>, <textarea>, <select>, <optgroup>, <option>, <button>.
