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2. HTML Specification

2.15 Form Elements

2.15.1 - Representing Choices
2.15.2 - Form
2.15.3 - Input
2.15.4 - Option
2.15.5 - Select
2.15.6 - Text Area

Forms are created by placing input fields within paragraphs, preformatted/literal text, and lists. This gives considerable flexibility in designing the layout of forms.

The following elements (all are HTML 2 features) are used to create forms:

FORM
A form within a document.

INPUT
One input field.

OPTION
One option within a Select element.

SELECT
A selection from a finite set of options.

TEXTAREA
A multi-line input field.

Each variable field is defined by an Input, Textarea, or Option element and must have an NAME attribute to identify its value in the data returned when the form is submitted.

Example of use (a questionnaire form):

<H1>Sample Questionnaire</H1>
<P>Please fill out this questionnaire:
<FORM METHOD="POST" ACTION="http://www.hal.com/sample">
<P>Your name: <INPUT NAME="name" size="48">
<P>Male <INPUT NAME="gender" TYPE=RADIO VALUE="male">
<P>Female <INPUT NAME="gender" TYPE=RADIO VALUE="female">
<P>Number in family: <INPUT NAME="family" TYPE=text>
<P>Cities in which you maintain a residence:
<UL>
<LI>Kent <INPUT NAME="city" TYPE=checkbox VALUE="kent">
<LI>Miami <INPUT NAME="city" TYPE=checkbox VALUE="miami">
<LI>Other <TEXTAREA NAME="other" cols=48 rows=4></textarea>
</UL>
Nickname: <INPUT NAME="nickname" SIZE="42">
<P>Thank you for responding to this questionnaire.
<P><INPUT TYPE=SUBMIT> <INPUT TYPE=RESET>
</FORM>
In the example above, the <P> and <UL> tags have been used to lay out the text and input fields. The HTML user agent is responsible for handling which field will currently get keyboard input.

Many platforms have existing conventions for forms, for example, using Tab and Shift keys to move the keyboard focus forwards and backwards between fields, and using the Enter key to submit the form. In the example, the SUBMIT and RESET buttons are specified explicitly with special purpose fields. The SUBMIT button is used to e-mail the form or send its contents to the server as specified by the ACTION attribute, while RESET resets the fields to their initial values. When the form consists of a single text field, it may be appropriate to leave such buttons out and rely on the Enter key.

The Input element is used for a large variety of types of input fields.

To let users enter more than one line of text, use the Textarea element.

2.15.1 Representing Choices

The radio button and checkbox types of input field can be used to specify multiple choice forms in which every alternative is visible as part of the form. An alternative is to use the Select element which is typically rendered in a more compact fashion as a pull down combo list.

2.15.2 Form

<FORM> ... </FORM>

Level 2

The Form element is used to delimit a data input form. There can be several forms in a single document, but the Form element can't be nested.

The ACTION attribute is a URL specifying the location to which the contents of the form is submitted to elicit a response. If the ACTION attribute is missing, the URL of the document itself is assumed. The way data is submitted varies with the access protocol of the URL, and with the values of the METHOD and ENCTYPE attributes.

In general:

The Level 2 specification defines and requires support for the HTTP access protocol only.

When the ACTION attribute is set to an HTTP URL, the METHOD attribute must be set to an HTTP method as defined by the HTTP method specification in the IETF draft HTTP standard. The default METHOD is GET, although for many applications, the POST method may be preferred. With the post method, the ENCTYPE attribute is a MIME type specifying the format of the posted data; by default, is application/x-www-form-urlencoded.

Under any protocol, the submitted contents of the form logically consist of name/value pairs. The names are usually equal to the NAME attributes of the various interactive elements in the form.

NOTE: The names are not guaranteed to be unique keys, nor are the names of form elements required to be distinct. The values encode the user's input to the corresponding interactive elements. Elements capable of displaying a textual or numerical value will return a name/value pair even when they receive no explicit user input.

2.15.3 Input

<INPUT>

Level 2

The Input element represents a field whose contents may be edited by the user.

Attributes of the Input element:

ALIGN
Vertical alignment of the image. For use only with TYPE=IMAGE in HTML level 2. The possible values are exactly the same as for the ALIGN attribute of the image element.

CHECKED
Indicates that a checkbox or radio button is selected. Unselected checkboxes and radio buttons do not return name/value pairs when the form is submitted.

MAXLENGTH
Indicates the maximum number of characters that can be entered into a text field. This can be greater than specified by the SIZE attribute, in which case the field will scroll appropriately. The default number of characters is unlimited.

NAME
Symbolic name used when transferring the form's contents. The NAME attribute is required for most input types and is normally used to provide a unique identifier for a field, or for a logically related group of fields.

SIZE
Specifies the size or precision of the field according to its type. For example, to specify a field with a visible width of 24 characters:

INPUT TYPE=text SIZE="24"

SRC
A URL or URN specifying an image. For use only with TYPE=IMAGE in HTML Level 2.

TYPE
Defines the type of data the field accepts. Defaults to free text. Several types of fields can be defined with the type attribute:

CHECKBOX

Used for simple Boolean attributes, or for attributes that can take multiple values at the same time. The latter is represented by a number of checkbox fields each of which has the same name. Each selected checkbox generates a separate name/value pair in the submitted data, even if this results in duplicate names. The default value for checkboxes is "on".

HIDDEN

No field is presented to the user, but the content of the field is sent with the submitted form. This value may be used to transmit state information about client/server interaction.

IMAGE

An image field upon which you can click with a pointing device, causing the form to be immediately submitted. The coordinates of the selected point are measured in pixel units from the upper-left corner of the image, and are returned (along with the other contents of the form) in two name/value pairs. The x-coordinate is submitted under the name of the field with .x appended, and the y-coordinate is submitted under the name of the field with .y appended. Any VALUE attribute is ignored. The image itself is specified by the SRC attribute, exactly as for the Image element.

NOTE: In a future version of the HTML specification, the IMAGE functionality may be folded into an enhanced SUBMIT field.

PASSWORD is the same as the TEXT attribute, except that text is not displayed as it is entered.

RADIO is used for attributes that accept a single value from a set of alternatives. Each radio button field in the group should be given the same name. Only the selected radio button in the group generates a name/value pair in the submitted data. Radio buttons require an explicit VALUE attribute.

RESET is a button that when pressed resets the form's fields to their specified initial values. The label to be displayed on the button may be specified just as for the SUBMIT button.

SUBMIT is a button that when pressed submits the form. You can use the VALUE attribute to provide a non-editable label to be displayed on the button. The default label is application-specific. If a SUBMIT button is pressed in order to submit the form, and that button has a NAME attribute specified, then that button contributes a name/value pair to the submitted data. Otherwise, a SUBMIT button makes no contribution to the submitted data.

TEXT is used for a single line text entry fields. Use in conjunction with the SIZE and MAXLENGTH attributes. Use the Textarea element for text fields which can accept multiple lines.

VALUE
The initial displayed value of the field, if it displays a textual or numerical value; or the value to be returned when the field is selected, if it displays a Boolean value. This attribute is required for radio buttons.

2.15.4 Option

<OPTION>

Level 2

The Option element can only occur within a Select element. It represents one choice, and can take these attributes:

DISABLED
Proposed.

SELECTED
Indicates that this option is initially selected.

VALUE
When present indicates the value to be returned if this option is chosen. The returned value defaults to the contents of the Option element.

The contents of the Option element is presented to the user to represent the option. It is used as a returned value if the VALUE attribute is not present.

2.15.5 Select

<SELECT NAME=... > ... </SELECT>

Level 2

The Select element allows the user to chose one of a set of alternatives described by textual labels. Every alternative is represented by the Option element.

Attributes are:

ERROR
Proposed.

MULTIPLE
The MULTIPLE attribute is needed when users are allowed to make several selections, e.g. <SELECT MULTIPLE>.

NAME
Specifies the name that will submitted as a name/value pair.

SIZE
Specifies the number of visible items. If this is greater than one, then the resulting form control will be a list.

The Select element is typically rendered as a pull down or pop-up list. For example: 

<SELECT NAME="flavor">
<OPTION>Vanilla
<OPTION>Strawberry
<OPTION>Rum and Raisin
<OPTION>Peach and Orange
</SELECT>
If no option is initially marked as selected, then the first item listed is selected.

2.15.6 Text Area

<TEXTAREA> ... </TEXTAREA>

Level 2

The Textarea element lets users enter more than one line of text. For example:

<TEXTAREA NAME="address" ROWS=64 COLS=6>
HaL Computer Systems
1315 Dell Avenue
Campbell, California 95008
</TEXTAREA>
The text up to the end tag (</TEXTAREA>) is used to initialize the field's value. This end tag is always required even if the field is initially blank. When submitting a form, the line terminators are implementation dependent.

In a typical rendering, the ROWS and COLS attributes determine the visible dimension of the field in characters. The field is rendered in a fixed-width font. HTML user agents should allow text to extend beyond these limits by scrolling as needed.

NOTE: In the initial design for forms, multi-line text fields were supported by the Input element with TYPE=TEXT. Unfortunately, this causes problems for fields with long text values. SGML's default (Reference Quantity Set) limits the length of attribute literals to only 240 characters. The HTML 2.0 SGML declaration increases the limit to 1024 characters.

HTML 2.0 Specification (Internet Draft) - 29 NOV 94
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