<input type="button">

The HTML <input type="button"> element is a specific version of the <input> element used to create a clickable button with no default value. It has been superseded in HTML5 by the <button> element.

Browsers generate a control for a clickable button with no default value. The button can have any label on it. The control itself varies from one browser to another.

Attributes

This element can have any of the global attributes in addition to the following:

disabled

This Boolean attribute indicates that the user cannot interact with the button. If this attribute is not specified, the button inherits its setting from the containing element, for example <fieldset>; if there is no containing element with the disabled attribute set, then the button is enabled. The disabled control's value isn't submitted with the form and the click event will not be dispatched on disabled controls.

Firefox will, unlike other browsers, by default, persist the dynamic disabled state of a <button> across page loads. Use the autocomplete attribute to control this feature.

autofocus HTML5

This Boolean attribute lets you specify that the button should have input focus when the page loads, unless the user overrides it, for example by typing in a different control. Only one form-associated element in a document can have this attribute specified.

autocomplete

The use of this attribute on a <button> is nonstandard and Firefox-specific. By default, unlike other browsers, Firefox persists the dynamic disabled state of a <button> across page loads. Setting the value of this attribute to off (i.e., autocomplete="off") disables this feature.

form HTML5

The form element that the button is associated with (its form owner). The value of the attribute must be the id attribute of a <form> element in the same document. If this attribute is not specified, the <button> element must be a descendent of a form element. This attribute enables you to place <button> elements anywhere within a document, not just as descendents of their <form> elements.

formenctype

Since the input element is a submit button, the formenctype attribute specifies the type of content that is used to submit the form to the server. Possible values are:

• application/x-www-form-urlencoded: The default value if the attribute is not specified.
• multipart/form-data: This value is used if an <input> element is used with the type attribute set to file.
• text/plain

If this attribute is specified, it overrides the enctype attribute of the element's form owner.

formaction HTML5

The URI of a program that processes the information submitted by the button. If specified, it overrides the action attribute of the button's form owner.

formmethod

Since the input element is a submit button, the formmethod attribute specifies the HTTP method that the browser uses to submit the form. Possible values are:

• post: The data from the form is included in the body of the form and is sent to the server.
• get: The data from the form is appended to the form attribute URI, with a '?' as a separator, and the resulting URI is sent to the server. Use this method when the form has no side-effects and contains only ASCII characters.

If specified, this attribute overrides the method attribute of the element's form owner.

formnovalidate

Since the input element is a submit button, the formnovalidate attribute specifies that the form is not to be validated when it is submitted. If this attribute is specified, it overrides the novalidate attribute of the element's form owner. This is a Boolean attribute.

formtarget

Since the input element is a submit button, the formtarget attribute is a name or keyword indicating where to display the response that is received after submitting the form. This is a name of, or keyword for, a browsing context (for example, tab, window, or inline frame). If this attribute is specified, it overrides the target attribute of the element's form owner. The following keywords have special meanings:

• _self: Load the response into the same browsing context as the current one. This value is the default if the attribute is not specified.
• _blank: Load the response into a new unnamed browsing context.
• _parent: Load the response into the parent browsing context of the current one. If there is no parent, this option behaves the same way as _self.
• _top: Load the response into the top-level browsing context (that is, the browsing context that is an ancestor of the current one, and has no parent). If there is no parent, this option behaves the same way as _self.

name

The name of the button, which is submitted with the form data.

type

The type of the button. Possible values are:

• submit: The button submits the form data to the server. This is the default if the attribute is not specified, or if the attribute is dynamically changed to an empty or invalid value.
• reset: The button resets all the controls to their initial values.
• button: The button has no default behavior. It can have client-side scripts associated with the element's events, which are triggered when the events occur.

value

The initial value of the button.

Examples

This creates a new button input with the label 'Click me'. 

<input type="button" value="Click me">

Specifications

Browser compatibility

See also

• The generic <input> element and the interface used to manipulate it, HTMLInputElement
• The HTML5 replacement for <input type="button">, the <button> element.