Hello dear readers! welcome back to another section of my tutorial on Html. In my last tutorial guide we discussed about Html fonts and how to style your web pages with various fonts and also how to change font sizes. In this tutorial post, we will be discussing about how to create various Html forms.
Html Forms are required when you want to collect some data from your site's visitors. For example, during user registration you would like to collect some informations like name, email address, credit card, date of birth and so on.
A form takes the inputed datas from the site's visitors and then posts it to a back end application such as ASP Script, CGI or PHP Script and so on. The back end application performs the required processing on the passed data based on defined business logic inside the application.
There are various form elements available like text fields, textarea fields, drop down menus, radio buttons, checkboxes, etc.
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The Html <form> tag is used to create a Html form and it has the following syntax:
<form action="script url" method="GET l POST">
form content
</form>
form content
</form>
Form Attributes
Apart from common attributes, following is the list of the most frequently used form attributes:
| Sr.No | Attribute & Description |
|---|---|
| 1 |
action
Backend script ready to process your passed data.
|
| 2 |
method
Method to be used to upload data. The most frequently used are GET and POST methods.
|
| 3 |
target
Specify the target window or frame where the result of the script will be displayed. It takes values like _blank, _self, _parent etc.
|
| 4 |
enctype
You can use the enctype attribute to specify how the browser encodes the data before it sends it to the server. Possible values are −
application/x-www-form-urlencoded − This is the standard method most forms use in simple scenarios.
mutlipart/form-data − This is used when you want to upload binary data in the form of files like image, word file etc.
|
So now that we have discussed about form attributes, let us move on to the next which is the Html form controls.
HTML Form Controls
There are different types of form controls that you can make use of to collect data using Html form, they are listed below:
- Text Input Controls
- Checkboxes Controls
- Radio Box Controls
- Select Box Controls
- Files Select boxes
- Hidden Controls
- Clickable Buttons
- Submit and Reset Buttons
Text Input Controls - There are three types of text input used on forms:
Single-line text input control - This control is used for items that require only one line of the user's input, such as search boxes or names. They are created by using Html <input> tag.
Password input control - This is also single-line text input but it masks the character as soon as a user enters it (Input tag). They are also created by using Html <input> tag.
Multi-line text input control - This is used when the user is required to give details that may be longer than a single sentence. Multi-line input controls are created using Html <textarea> tag.
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Single-line text input controls
This control is used for items that require only one line of user input, such as search boxes or names. They are created by using Html <input> tag, lets quickly look at a brief example below.
Example
Below is a basic example of a single-line text input used to take first name and last name:
<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<head>
<title>Text Input Control</title>
</head>
<body>
<form>
First name: <input type="text" name="first_name" />
<br>
Last name: <input type="text" name="last_name" />
</form>
</body>
</html>
<html>
<head>
<title>Text Input Control</title>
</head>
<body>
<form>
First name: <input type="text" name="first_name" />
<br>
Last name: <input type="text" name="last_name" />
</form>
</body>
</html>
Feel free to try the above code out using your text editor for a better understanding. You can also drop your questions via the comment box below.
Attibutes
Following are the list of attributes for <input> tag for creating text field.
| Sr.No | Attribute & Description |
|---|---|
| 1 |
type
Indicates the type of input control and for text input control it will be set to text.
|
| 2 |
name
Used to give a name to the control which is sent to the server to be recognized and get the value.
|
| 3 |
value
This can be used to provide an initial value inside the control.
|
| 4 |
size
Allows to specify the width of the text-input control in terms of characters.
|
| 5 |
maxlength
Allows to specify the maximum number of characters a user can enter into the text box.
|
Password Input Controls
This is also a single-line text input but it masks the character as soon as a user enters it. They are also created using Html <input> tag but type attribute is set to password.
Example
Below is a basic example of a single-line password input used to take user password:
<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<head>
<title>Password Input Control</title>
</head>
<body>
<form>
User ID: <input type="text" name="user_id" />
<br>
Password: <input type="password" name="password" />
</form>
</body>
</html>
<html>
<head>
<title>Password Input Control</title>
</head>
<body>
<form>
User ID: <input type="text" name="user_id" />
<br>
Password: <input type="password" name="password" />
</form>
</body>
</html>
Feel free to try the above code out using your text editor for a better understanding. You can also drop your questions via the comment box below.
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Attributes
Following are the list of attributes for <input> tag to create password field.
| Sr.No | Attribute & Description |
|---|---|
| 1 |
type
Indicates the type of input control and for password input control it will be set to password.
|
| 2 |
name
Used to give a name to the control which is sent to the server to be recognized and get the value.
|
| 3 |
value
This can be used to provide an initial value inside the control.
|
| 4 |
size
Allows to specify the width of the text-input control in terms of characters.
|
| 5 |
maxlength
Allows to specify the maximum number of characters a user can enter into the text box.
|
Multiple-Line Text Input Controls
This is used when the user is required to give details that may be longer than a single sentence. Mult-line input controls are created using Html <textarea> tag. Here is a brief example below.
Example
Below is a basic example of a multi-line text input used to take item description:
<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<head>
<title>Multiple-Line Input Control</title>
</head>
<body>
<form>
Description: <br />
<textarea rows="8" cols="70" name="Description" >
Enter description here..
</textarea>
</form>
</body>
</html>
<html>
<head>
<title>Multiple-Line Input Control</title>
</head>
<body>
<form>
Description: <br />
<textarea rows="8" cols="70" name="Description" >
Enter description here..
</textarea>
</form>
</body>
</html>
Feel free to try the above code out using your text editor for a better understanding. You can also drop your questions via the comment box below.
Attribute
Following are the list of attributes for <textarea> tag.
| Sr.No | Attribute & Description |
|---|---|
| 1 |
name
Used to give a name to the control which is sent to the server to be recognized and get the value.
|
| 2 |
rows
Indicates the number of rows of text area box.
|
| 3 |
cols
Indicates the number of columns of text area box
|
Checkbox Control
Checkboxes are used when more than one option is required to be selected in a webpage. They are created using Html <input> tag but type attribute is set to checkbox.
Example
Below is a basic example of Html code for a form that has two checkboxes:
<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<head>
<title>Checkbox Control</title>
</head>
<body>
<form>
<input type="checkbox" name="english" value="on" > English
<input type="checkbox" name="maths" value="on" > Maths
</form>
</body>
</html>
<html>
<head>
<title>Checkbox Control</title>
</head>
<body>
<form>
<input type="checkbox" name="english" value="on" > English
<input type="checkbox" name="maths" value="on" > Maths
</form>
</body>
</html>
You can try the above code out to see what it is going to produce.
Attribute
Following are the list of attributes for <checkbox> tag.
| Sr.No | Attribute & Description |
|---|---|
| 1 |
type
Indicates the type of input control and for checkbox input control it will be set to checkbox..
|
| 2 |
name
Used to give a name to the control which is sent to the server to be recognized and get the value.
|
| 3 |
value
The value that will be used if the checkbox is selected.
|
| 4 |
checked
Set to checked if you want to select it by default.
|
Radio Button Control
Radio buttons are used when out of many options, just one option is required to be selected. They are created using Html <input> tag but type attribute is set to radio.
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Example
Below is a basic example of Html code for a form that has two radio buttons:
<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<head>
<title>Radio Box Control</title>
</head>
<body>
<form>
<input type="radio" name="course" value="calculus" >Calculus
<input type="radio" name="course" value="statistics" > Statistics
</form>
</body>
</html>
<html>
<head>
<title>Radio Box Control</title>
</head>
<body>
<form>
<input type="radio" name="course" value="calculus" >Calculus
<input type="radio" name="course" value="statistics" > Statistics
</form>
</body>
</html>
Attributes
The following are the list of attributes for radio button.
| Sr.No | Attribute & Description |
|---|---|
| 1 |
type
Indicates the type of input control and for checkbox input control it will be set to radio.
|
| 2 |
name
Used to give a name to the control which is sent to the server to be recognized and get the value.
|
| 3 |
value
The value that will be used if the radio box is selected.
|
| 4 |
checked
Set to checked if you want to select it by default.
|
Select Box Control
A select box, also called a drop down box which provides options to list down various options in the form of drop down list, from where a user can select one or more options.
Example
Below is a basic example of Html code for a form that has one drop down box:
<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<head>
<title>Select Box Control</title>
</head>
<body>
<form>
<select name="dropdown">
<option value="Maths" Selected>Maths</option>
<option value="physics" Selected>physics</option>
</select>
</form>
</body>
</html>
<html>
<head>
<title>Select Box Control</title>
</head>
<body>
<form>
<select name="dropdown">
<option value="Maths" Selected>Maths</option>
<option value="physics" Selected>physics</option>
</select>
</form>
</body>
</html>
Attributes
Following are the list of attributes for <select> tag.
| Sr.No | Attribute & Description |
|---|---|
| 1 |
name
Used to give a name to the control which is sent to the server to be recognized and get the value.
|
| 2 |
size
This can be used to present a scrolling list box.
|
| 3 |
multiple
If set to "multiple" then allows a user to select multiple items from the menu.
|
File Upload Box
If you want to allow a user to upload a file to your web site, you will need to use a file upload box, also known as a file select box. This is also created using the <input> tag but type attribute is set to file.
Example
Below is a basic example of Html code for a form that has one file upload box:
<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<head>
<title>File Upload Box</title>
</head>
<body>
<form>
<input type="file" name="fileupload" accept="image/*" />
</form>
</body>
</html>
<html>
<head>
<title>File Upload Box</title>
</head>
<body>
<form>
<input type="file" name="fileupload" accept="image/*" />
</form>
</body>
</html>
You can try the above code out to see what its going to produce and dont forget to ask your questions in the comment box below.
Attributes
Following are the list of attributes for a file upload box.
| Sr.No | Attribute & Description |
|---|---|
| 1 |
name
Used to give a name to the control which is sent to the server to be recognized and get the value.
|
| 2 |
accept
Specifies the types of files that the server accepts.
|
Button Control
There are different ways in Html to create clickable buttons. You can also create a clickabe button using the <input> tag by setting it's type attribute to button. The following below are the given values which can be taken by the type attribute:
| Sr.No | Type & Description |
|---|---|
| 1 |
submit
This creates a button that automatically submits a form.
|
| 2 |
reset
This creates a button that automatically resets form controls to their initial values.
|
| 3 |
button
This creates a button that is used to trigger a client-side script when the user clicks that button.
|
| 4 |
image
This creates a clickable button but we can use an image as background of the button.
|
Example
Below is a basic example of Html code for three types of buttons:
<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<head>
<title>Buttons</title>
</head>
<body>
<form>
<input type="submit" name="submit" value="Submit" />
<input type="reset" name="reset" value="Reset" />
<input type="button" name="ok" value="Ok" />
</form>
</body>
</html>
<html>
<head>
<title>Buttons</title>
</head>
<body>
<form>
<input type="submit" name="submit" value="Submit" />
<input type="reset" name="reset" value="Reset" />
<input type="button" name="ok" value="Ok" />
</form>
</body>
</html>
Hidden Form Control
Hidden form controls are used for hiding data inside a web page which later on can be pushed to the web server. This control hides inside the code and do not appear on the actual page. For example, following hidden form is used to keep current page number. When a user clicks on next page, the value of the hidden control will be sent to the web server and there in the web server, it will decide which page will be displayed next based on the passed current page.
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Example
Below is a basic example of Html code for three types of buttons:
<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<head>
<title>Hidden Form Control</title>
</head>
<body>
<form>
<p>This is page 5</p>
<input type="hidden" name="pagename" value="5" />
<input type="submit" name="submit" value="Submit" />
<input type="reset" name="reset" value="Reset" />
</form>
</body>
</html>
<html>
<head>
<title>Hidden Form Control</title>
</head>
<body>
<form>
<p>This is page 5</p>
<input type="hidden" name="pagename" value="5" />
<input type="submit" name="submit" value="Submit" />
<input type="reset" name="reset" value="Reset" />
</form>
</body>
</html>
You can also try the above code using your text editor to see the result for your self.
Alright guys! This is where we are rounding up for this tutorial post. In my next tutorial, we are going to be studying about How to Embed Multimedia into a Html web page.
Feel free to ask your questions where necessary and i will attend to them as soon as possible. If this tutorial was helpful to you, you can use the share button to share this tutorial.
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Thanks for reading and bye for now.
Feel free to ask your questions where necessary and i will attend to them as soon as possible. If this tutorial was helpful to you, you can use the share button to share this tutorial.
Follow us on our various social media platforms to stay updated with our latest tutorials. You can also subscribe to our newsletter in order to get our tutorials delivered directly to your emails.
Thanks for reading and bye for now.