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HTML Input Types


This chapter describes the different input types for the <input> element.


HTML Input Types

Here are the different input types you can use in HTML:

  • <input type="button">
  • <input type="checkbox">
  • <input type="color">
  • <input type="date">
  • <input type="datetime-local">
  • <input type="email">
  • <input type="file">
  • <input type="hidden">
  • <input type="image">
  • <input type="month">
  • <input type="number">
  • <input type="password">
  • <input type="radio">
  • <input type="range">
  • <input type="reset">
  • <input type="search">
  • <input type="submit">
  • <input type="tel">
  • <input type="text">
  • <input type="time">
  • <input type="url">
  • <input type="week">

Input Type Text

<input type="text"> defines a one-line text input field:

Example

<form>
  First name:<br>
  <input type="text" name="firstname"><br>
  Last name:<br>
  <input type="text" name="lastname">
</form>
Try it Yourself »

This is how the HTML code above will be displayed in a browser:

First name:

Last name:


Input Type Password

<input type="password"> defines a password field:

Example

<form>
  User name:<br>
  <input type="text" name="username"><br>
  User password:<br>
  <input type="password" name="psw">
</form>
Try it Yourself »

This is how the HTML code above will be displayed in a browser:

User name:

User password:

The characters in a password field are masked (shown as asterisks or circles).



Input Type Submit

<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

<form action="/action_page.php">
  First name:<br>
  <input type="text" name="firstname" value="Mickey"><br>
  Last name:<br>
  <input type="text" name="lastname" value="Mouse"><br><br>
  <input type="submit" value="Submit">
</form>
Try it Yourself »

This is how the HTML code above will be displayed in a browser:

First name:

Last name:


If you omit the submit button's value attribute, the button will get a default text:

Example

<form action="/action_page.php">
  First name:<br>
  <input type="text" name="firstname" value="Mickey"><br>
  Last name:<br>
  <input type="text" name="lastname" value="Mouse"><br><br>
  <input type="submit">
</form>
Try it Yourself »

Input Type Reset

<input type="reset"> defines a reset button that will reset all form values to their default values:

Example

<form action="/action_page.php">
  First name:<br>
  <input type="text" name="firstname" value="Mickey"><br>
  Last name:<br>
  <input type="text" name="lastname" value="Mouse"><br><br>
  <input type="submit" value="Submit">
  <input type="reset">
</form>
Try it Yourself »

This is how the HTML code above will be displayed in a browser:

First name:

Last name:


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

<input type="radio"> defines a radio button.

Radio buttons let a user select ONLY ONE of a limited number of choices:

Example

<form>
  <input type="radio" name="gender" value="male" checked> Male<br>
  <input type="radio" name="gender" value="female"> Female<br>
  <input type="radio" name="gender" value="other"> Other
</form>
Try it Yourself »

This is how the HTML code above will be displayed in a browser:

Male
Female
Other

Input Type Checkbox

<input type="checkbox"> defines a checkbox.

Checkboxes let a user select ZERO or MORE options of a limited number of choices.

Example

<form>
  <input type="checkbox" name="vehicle1" value="Bike"> I have a bike<br>
  <input type="checkbox" name="vehicle2" value="Car"> I have a car
</form>
Try it Yourself »

This is how the HTML code above will be displayed in a browser:

I have a bike
I have a car

Input Type Button

<input type="button"> defines a button:

Example

<input type="button" onclick="alert('Hello World!')" value="Click Me!">
Try it Yourself »

This is how the HTML code above will be displayed in a browser:


HTML5 Input Types

HTML5 added several new input types:

  • color
  • date
  • datetime-local
  • email
  • month
  • number
  • range
  • search
  • tel
  • time
  • url
  • week

New input types that are not supported by older web browsers, will behave as <input type="text">.


Input Type Color

The <input type="color"> is used for input fields that should contain a color.

Depending on browser support, a color picker can show up in the input field.

Opera Safari Chrome Firefox Internet Explorer

Example

<form>
  Select your favorite color:
  <input type="color" name="favcolor">
</form>
Try it Yourself »

Input Type Date

The <input type="date"> is used for input fields that should contain a date.

Depending on browser support, a date picker can show up in the input field.

Opera Safari Chrome Firefox Internet Explorer

Example

<form>
  Birthday:
  <input type="date" name="bday">
</form>
Try it Yourself »

You can also use the min and max attributes to add restrictions to dates:

Opera Safari Chrome Firefox Internet Explorer

Example

<form>
  Enter a date before 1980-01-01:
  <input type="date" name="bday" max="1979-12-31"><br>
  Enter a date after 2000-01-01:
  <input type="date" name="bday" min="2000-01-02"><br>
</form>
Try it Yourself »

Input Type Datetime-local

The <input type="datetime-local"> 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.

Opera Safari Chrome Firefox Internet Explorer

Example

<form>
  Birthday (date and time):
  <input type="datetime-local" name="bdaytime">
</form>
Try it Yourself »

Input Type Email

The <input type="email"> 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.

Opera Safari Chrome Firefox Internet Explorer

Example

<form>
  E-mail:
  <input type="email" name="email">
</form>
Try it Yourself »

Input Type File

The <input type="file"> defines a file-select field and a "Browse" button for file uploads.

Opera Safari Chrome Firefox Internet Explorer

Example

<form>
  Select a file: <input type="file" name="myFile">
</form>
Try it Yourself »

Input Type Month

The <input type="month"> allows the user to select a month and year.

Depending on browser support, a date picker can show up in the input field.

Opera Safari Chrome Firefox Internet Explorer

Example

<form>
  Birthday (month and year):
  <input type="month" name="bdaymonth">
</form>
Try it Yourself »

Input Type Number

The <input type="number"> 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:

Opera Safari Chrome Firefox Internet Explorer

Example

<form>
  Quantity (between 1 and 5):
  <input type="number" name="quantity" min="1" max="5">
</form>
Try it Yourself »

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:

Opera Safari Chrome Firefox Internet Explorer

Example

<form>
  Quantity:
  <input type="number" name="points" min="0" max="100" step="10" value="30">
</form>
Try it Yourself »

Input Type Range

The <input type="range"> 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:

Opera Safari Chrome Firefox Internet Explorer

Example

<form>
  <input type="range" name="points" min="0" max="10">
</form>
Try it Yourself »

Input Type Search

The <input type="search"> is used for search fields (a search field behaves like a regular text field).

Opera Safari Chrome Firefox Internet Explorer

Example

<form>
  Search Google:
  <input type="search" name="googlesearch">
</form>
Try it Yourself »

Input Type Tel

The <input type="tel"> is used for input fields that should contain a telephone number.

Opera Safari Chrome Firefox Internet Explorer

Example

<form>
  Telephone:
  <input type="tel" name="phone" pattern="[0-9]{3}-[0-9]{2}-[0-9]{3}">
</form>
Try it Yourself »

Input Type Time

The <input type="time"> allows the user to select a time (no time zone).

Depending on browser support, a time picker can show up in the input field.

Opera Safari Chrome Firefox Internet Explorer

Example

<form>
  Select a time:
  <input type="time" name="usr_time">
</form>
Try it Yourself »

Input Type Url

The <input type="url"> 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.

Opera Safari Chrome Firefox Internet Explorer

Example

<form>
  Add your homepage:
  <input type="url" name="homepage">
</form>
Try it Yourself »

Input Type Week

The <input type="week"> allows the user to select a week and year.

Depending on browser support, a date picker can show up in the input field.

Opera Safari Chrome Firefox Internet Explorer

Example

<form>
  Select a week:
  <input type="week" name="week_year">
</form>
Try it Yourself »

HTML Exercises

Test Yourself With Exercises

Exercise:

In the form below, add an input field for text, with the name "username" .

<form action="/action_page.php">
<>
</form>

Start the Exercise


HTML Input Type Attribute

Tag Description
<input type=""> Specifies the input type to display