This chapter describes the different form* attributes for the HTML <input> element.
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 of 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.
The formaction attribute works with the following input types: submit and image.
Example of 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 of 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.php" 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.
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").
Example of 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.
The formtarget attribute works with the following input types: submit and image.
Example of 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.
The formnovalidate attribute works with the following input types: submit.
Example of 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 the form-data should not be validated when submitted.
Example: 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>