Learning HTML5 Form Attributes (Part 2) - SitePoint

This excerpt from HTML5 & CSS3 for the Real World, 2nd Edition by Alexis Goldstein, Louis Lazaris, and Estelle Weyl, explores key HTML5 form attributes. The book is available in stores and as an ebook.

Key Concepts:

• pattern Attribute: Validates user input against a regular expression. Essential for free-form text fields, ensuring data conforms to a specific format. Remember to clearly inform users of the required pattern using the title attribute, which enhances browser error messages and tooltips. Regular expressions themselves can be complex, but readily available resources can assist.

• disabled Attribute: Prevents user interaction with form controls. Useful for conditionally disabling fields until certain criteria are met. CSS's :disabled pseudo-class allows styling of disabled elements. Disabled fields aren't submitted with the form.

• readonly Attribute: Prevents editing, but allows focus and submission of the field's value. Ideal for displaying information users can't modify, like pre-filled data.

• form Attribute: Associates form elements with forms outside their nesting structure. Solves the limitation of non-nestable forms by linking elements to a different form using its ID. Removing this attribute requires el.removeAttribute('form'), not setting it to an empty string.

• multiple Attribute: Enables selection of multiple values in various input types (file, email). Note that browser support for range input with this attribute is limited. Spaces after commas are now allowed for email input on iOS, despite not being valid email syntax.

• autocomplete Attribute: Controls browser autocompletion. Setting it to "off" disables this feature, recommended for sensitive data. Browser behavior can override developer settings.

• datalist and list Attributes: Create a dropdown list of suggested values for input fields. Supported widely except in Safari. Combines a <datalist></datalist> element with <option></option> elements and the list attribute on the input field.

• autofocus Attribute: Automatically focuses on a specific element on page load. Generally discouraged for usability and accessibility reasons. Only one element per page can have this attribute.

Further Attributes: Many other input-specific attributes exist, including alt, src, height, width (for images), step, min, max (for numbers and dates), dirname, formaction, formenctype, formmethod, formnovalidate, formtarget, inputmode, minlength, maxlength, checked, name, size, type, and value.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs): The provided text answers common questions about these attributes, covering their functionality and usage in form validation and user experience enhancement. The FAQs clarify the purpose and application of each attribute individually.

Figure 4.4: Datalist in Firefox

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