HTMLInputElement

Baseline Widely available

This feature is well established and works across many devices and browser versions. It’s been available across browsers since July 2015.

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

Instance properties

Also inherits properties from its parent interface, HTMLElement.

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

align Deprecated: A string that represents the alignment of the element. Use CSS instead.
defaultValue: A string that represents the default value as originally specified in the HTML that created this object.
dirName: A string that represents the directionality of the element.
incremental Non-standard: A boolean that represents the search event fire mode, if true, fires on every keypress, or on clicking the cancel button; otherwise fires when pressing Enter.
labels Read only: Returns a list of <label> elements that are labels for this element.
list Read only: Returns the element pointed to by the list attribute. The property may be null if no HTML element is found in the same tree.
multiple: A boolean that represents the element's multiple attribute, indicating whether more than one value is possible (e.g., multiple files).
name: A string that represents the element's name attribute, containing a name that identifies the element when submitting the form.
popoverTargetAction: Gets and sets the action to be performed ("hide", "show", or "toggle") on a popover element being controlled by an <input> element of type="button". It reflects the value of the popovertargetaction HTML attribute.
popoverTargetElement: Gets and sets the popover element to control via an <input> element of type="button". The JavaScript equivalent of the popovertarget HTML attribute.
step: A string that represents 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: A string that represents the element's type attribute, indicating the type of control to display. For possible values, see the documentation for the type attribute.
useMap Deprecated: A string that represents a client-side image map.
value: A string that represents the current value of the control. If the user enters a value different from the value expected, this may return an empty string.
valueAsDate: A Date that represents the value of the element, interpreted as a date, or null if conversion is not possible.
valueAsNumber: A number that represents the value of the element, interpreted as one of the following, in order: A time value, a number, or NaN if conversion is impossible.

Instance properties related to the parent form

form Read only: Returns a reference to the parent <form> element.
formAction: A string that represents the element's formaction attribute, containing the URL of a program that processes information submitted by the element. This overrides the action attribute of the parent form.
formEnctype: A string that represents 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: A string that represents 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: A boolean that represents 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: A string that represents 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.

Instance properties that apply to any type of input element that is not hidden

disabled: A boolean that represents 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: A boolean that represents the element's required attribute, indicating that the user must fill in a value before submitting a form.
validationMessage Read only: 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: Returns the element's current validity state.
willValidate Read only: 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.

Instance properties that apply only to elements of type checkbox or radio

checked: A boolean that represents the current state of the element.
defaultChecked: A boolean that represents the default state of a radio button or checkbox as originally specified in HTML that created this object.
indeterminate: A boolean that represents 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.

Instance properties that apply only to elements of type image

alt: A string that represents the element's alt attribute, containing alternative text to use.
height: A string that represents the element's height attribute, which defines the height of the image displayed for the button.
src: A string that represents the element's src attribute, which specifies a URI for the location of an image to display on the graphical submit button.
width: A string that represents the element's width attribute, which defines the width of the image displayed for the button.

Instance properties that apply only to elements of type file

accept: A string that represents the element's accept attribute, containing comma-separated list of file types that can be selected.
capture: A string that represents the element's capture attribute, indicating the media capture input method in file upload controls.
files: A FileList that represents the files selected for upload.
webkitdirectory: A boolean that represents the webkitdirectory attribute. If true, the file-system-picker interface only accepts directories instead of files.
webkitEntries Read only: Describes the currently selected files or directories.

Instance properties that apply only to visible elements containing text or numbers

autocomplete: A string that represents the element's autocomplete attribute, indicating whether the value of the control can be automatically completed by the browser.
max: A string that represents 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: A number that represents the element's maxlength attribute, containing the maximum number of characters (in Unicode code points) that the value can have.
min: A string that represents 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: A number that represents the element's minlength attribute, containing the minimum number of characters (in Unicode code points) that the value can have.
pattern: A string that represents 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: A string that represents 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: A boolean that represents 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.
selectionDirection: A string that represents 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).
selectionEnd: A number that represents 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: A number that represents 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.
size: A number that represents 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.

Instance methods

Also inherits methods from its parent interface, HTMLElement.

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.
select(): Selects all the text in the input element, and focuses it so the user can subsequently replace all of its content.
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.
setRangeText(): Replaces a range of text in the input element with new text.
setSelectionRange(): Selects a range of text in the input element (but does not focus it).
showPicker(): Shows a browser picker for date, time, color, and files.
stepDown(): Decrements the value by (step * n), where n defaults to 1 if not specified.
stepUp(): Increments the value by (step * n), where n defaults to 1 if not specified.

Events

Also inherits events from its parent interface, HTMLElement.

Listen to these events using addEventListener() or by assigning an event listener to the oneventname property of this interface:

cancel event: Fired when the user cancels the file picker dialog via the Esc key or the cancel button and when the user re-selects the same files that were previously selected.
invalid event: Fired when an element does not satisfy its constraints during constraint validation.
search event Non-standard: Fired when a search is initiated on an <input> of type="search".
select event: Fired when some text has been selected.
selectionchange event Experimental: Fires when the text selection in a <input> element has been changed.

Specifications

Specification
HTML Standard # htmlinputelement

Browser compatibility

BCD tables only load in the browser